Performer Of The Week: Rita Ora

THE PERFORMER | Rita Ora

THE SHOW | Descendants: The Rise of Red (July 12, 2024)

THE PERFORMANCE | In graduating from Disney Channel to to Disney+, the Descendants franchise upped its game in virtually every arena, delivering a bigger, bolder, campier experience than ever before. And no one embodied this more fully than Rita Ora as the unapologetically villainous Queen of Hearts.

It's a character we've seen portrayed countless times before, from Helena Bonham Carter in 2010's live-action Alice in Wonderland to the 1951 animated Disney version that gave generations of children some of their earliest nightmares. And it would have been all too easy for Ora to follow their established lead, squawking her lines until her face matched the red of her cowl.

Instead, Ora charted her own path by digging her heels into the character's complexities, resulting in the creation of a refreshingly vulnerable villain that was both larger than life and fully grounded, never sacrificing one for the sake of the other. There was also a devilishly unhinged undertone to Ora's performance, even in her character's more comedic moments, that made her all the more captivating.

And let's talk about those show-stopping vocals, shall we? Whether she was rapping about her character's painful past or growling out a malicious threat, Ora's musical stylings packed a powerful, pitch-perfect punch, capable of breaking your heart one minute while threatening to rip it out the next. And not everyone can effortlessly transition from a vocal run into a menacing cackle — that's the kind of special skill you put on your résumé.

In her quest to embody the franchise's most nuanced villain yet, Ora didn't just understand the assignment put before her. She passed with flying colors and earned extra credit. To borrow a phrase from the queen herself, love may not be it, but Ora's performance most definitely was.

Scroll down to see who scored Honorable Mention shout-outs this week...

With the trial now underway on Apple TV+'s (newly renewed) Presumed Innocent, Rusty Sabich is more on edge than ever — and series lead Jake Gyllenhaal, with his latest performance, allowed a window into everything Rusty is feeling. It clearly pained Rusty to hear daughter Jaden posit (with love!) that mayyyybe he committed so unlikely an act that he suffered disassociation. Barely had Rusty processed that gem when wife Barbara disclosed her kiss with a bartender. Here, Gyllenhaal perfectly communicated to us the conflict within. Is Rusty heartbroken? Bristled by the betrayal? Feeling that Barbara "evened a score"? Gyllenhaal led with measured silence before erupting, as Rusty (too violently) railed at she who'd "grinded" him so hard about his affair. Rusty and Barbara would reconnect by episode's end for a quieter moment, where Rusty spoke for many by asking, "Why do you stay..?" Gyllenhaal's expression there was that of an imperfect man counting his few remaining blessings. — Matt Webb Mitovich

All of Sheryl's talk about getting murdered in this week's Evil has us worried that our time with Christine Lahti will come to an end even sooner than we thought. If so, that's a real shame, especially in light of the Emmy winner's performance in Episode 8 of the show's final season. Lahti's scene in the confessional, opposite Mike Colter's David, was a fitting example of how good she is at making us care about a character who's made some highly ill-advised choices in the past few seasons. She walked in, all business, Lahti wearing Sheryl's tough-chick attitude like armor. And she discussed her own potential demise with a brusque, matter-of-fact tone that belied her deep worry. But Sheryl's granddaughters are her soft spot, and Lahti had her character crumble with fear as she considered that her actions may have dire consequences for Kristen's girls. Major props to Lahti for mixing Sheryl's rage ("I f—king hate you guys," she spat, through tears, as David offered her forgiveness) with a fatalistic sadness, repeatedly shaking her head and growing more frustrated as he pointed out that it's never too late for redemption. Is it too late for us to hope that the show protects Rad G at all costs?! — Kimberly Roots

As Vought International's straw man of a CEO, Colby Minifie's Ashley has had a ringside seat to her de facto boss Homelander's brutal string of heinously high crimes. And for four seasons, we watched as the ensuing trauma slowly, and often hilariously, eroded her mental health. In this week's episode, Ashley appeared to reach her breaking point, and Minifie more than rose to the emotionally evocative occasion. As Ashley rattled off to A-Train some of her more egregious acts of complicity, Minifie grounded her alter ego's manic episode with desperation and regret. And when Ashley tearfully confessed, "It's so easy to become a monster around here," Minifie allowed us to see the humanity beneath the figurehead's hardened, mostly comedic shell. A-Train later presented Ashley an express pass out of the house of horrors, but she ultimately, inevitably refused. Minifie's barely audible, delicately rendered "I can't" underscored the character's heartbreaking, no-win predicament. — Michael Ausiello

Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!