So many of our favorite series are returning from hiatus.
And some of them are finally making their season debut. But fortunately for us, that means more characters to dissect for our Characters of the Week.
Let’s dive right in with characters who left us glued to the screens and moved us from Will Trent to Days of Our Lives
Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk) – Days of Our Lives
(Peacock/Screenshot)
While Kristen’s arc with Peter is coming to a ridiculous conclusion, her performance has been top-notch. This has been one of the most emotional stories Kristen has had for a while.
Her struggle with guilt and anger, and her deep grief that she can never make things right with Peter, have humanized her.
I usually have little use for Kristen, but I actually was starting to like her
.. at least until she went back into revenge mode toward the end of the week. – Jack Ori
Charlotte “Lotte” Moriarty (Vicki Lawerence) – Palm Royale
(Courtesy of Apple TV)
Just when we thought Palm Royale‘s cast couldn’t get any more jaw-dropping, Carol Burnett convinces her partner-in-crime and comedic wing-woman, Vicki Lawrence, to join her.
And, even better, Lawrence plays Burnett’s biological mother. It’s a Mama’s Family reunion like we never could’ve imagined!
Although Lotte was introduced in the season premiere as a nun at the convent boarding school, the real Norma Dellacorte attended and died at, who sent Agnes to take her place in Palm Beach, we only discovered in the most recent episodes that the bonkers apple doesn’t fall far from the crazy tree in that Lotte was also Agnes’s mother.
So far, we’ve learned that she was sent to the convent as a pregnant unwed woman, lived as a nun while the Swiss compound was a convent, then served as a nurse when it was a birthing clinic, and is now the concierge at the ski resort it became.
Which puts her at a spry 105 years of age. Seriously.
(Courtesy of Apple TV)
In the short time the main players have been staying under her roof, she’s facilitated Norma’s reunion with various characters, left a trail of breadcrumbs to the lineage of her granddaughter, and served questionable schnapps.
She also regaled guests with a dramatic telling of Frampus, the local celebrity ghoul-demon they burn “whore brooms” to commemorate, and made a daring escape on an animal-powered, high-speed sled.
Despite Norma/Agnes/Carol Burnett’s affectionate “Shut up, Mama,” Lotte is a self-propelled powerhouse who wields a mean shovel. – Diana Keng
Dr. Van Markus (Alex MacNicoll) – Brilliant Minds
(Pief Weyman/NBC)
Just when we thought Brilliant Minds couldn’t make us cry any harder, the series delivered an emotional episode about brain death. While it was a vital story arc, it hurt that they focused on one of their own, killing off Van’s girlfriend Michelle (Stacey Farber).
We’ve seen Alex MacNicoll give some layered performances as Van, but he blew us away as Van’s life crashed down around him.
Van and Michelle had only recently reunited, so it was heartbreaking watching him go through the stages of grief. While Michelle’s body was still warm, she wasn’t responding, and Van didn’t understand why Dr. Wolf wouldn’t fight like he usually would.
Van refused to give up, even stealing an ambulance to take Michelle elsewhere. That dream sequence was painful because we thought his hope brought her back, and then saw the painful acceptance that she was really gone.
As much as Van loved using his Mirror-Touch to help other patients, he needed to walk away and give more time to his son. Liam had just lost his main custodial parent, and Van is all he has left.
We’ll miss Van Markus on our screens.
Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) – Will Trent
(Lynsey Weatherspoon/Disney)
Almost everyone on Will Trent’s season premiere was still unraveling from the events from five months ago, but especially Will himself.
Will has always tried to be contained, so I loved seeing him express his emotions. Being in therapy has done him a world of good.
However, James Ulster’s escape from prison set him back because that man could play mind games with him, even in his head.
Will suffered from the mental mind games that he heard James taunting him at the crime scene, and he feared his anger issues would make him turn into Ulster.
While it was delightful to watch Ramón Rodríguez and Greg Germann banter again, Will’s anguish was real. He feared Ulster hurting someone he cared about, and hated that he wasn’t officially involved.
We hate seeing Will suffer, and there’s more to come now that he traded places with Calvin. Will would never let Ulster hurt a kid, and Ulster knew that, but what revenge will he take on Will? – Laura Nowak
Bex Henderson (Melissa Roxburgh) – The Hunting Party
( Ralph Bavaro/NBC)
We love procedurals led by fierce females, and Bex Henderson showed what a badass she was on The Hunting Party Season 2 premiere.
She used Oliver’s death to fuel her resolve and black AG Mallory to reinstate her team. She wasn’t backing down, and we loved that about her.
Bex is always a fantastic profiler, but she was in over her head when the weekly killer, Ron Simms, kidnapped her.
She used her regular profiling skills and played away, but when she could, she overpowered him. All her emotions of the last few months caught up to her.
It was raw, emotional, and honest, and showed how Bex struggled to process Oliver’s death and that the first case back was harder than expected.
She’s a professional, though, and Shane and Hassani talked her down, reminding her that these killers weren’t worth it, meaning losing her soul for.
Seeing Bex struggle and heal while hunting these killers will make this season even more interesting.
Tamar Rabinyan (Niv Sultan) — Tehran
(Apple TV/Screenshot)
Mossad agent Tamar is back in action this week, and that deserves a shoutout. Every day in her life is worth celebration, as she puts it on the line for the greater good.
Tehran Season 3 Episode 1 picks up moments after Milad is killed by a car bomb. Tamar is on the run, hardly having a moment to process what just happened before she’s fighting for her life again.
Now rogue, she’s on her own and at the mercy of those willing to work with her to survive (and save the day). She finds refuge at a women’s shelter, hinting at a larger story to come. I can’t think of anyone better to highlight the fight for women’s rights in Iran than Tamar.
When she discovers that Marjan was investigating nuclear components making their way into Iran, she has to move fast. And who better to infringe upon than her nemesis, Faraz, and his long-suffering wife, Nahid?
As the credits roll, Tamar is holding Nahid at gunpoint. But would she really hurt the woman? I’d love to see the two find common ground, and if the focus on women comes to be, I just may get my wish. – Carissa Pavlica
Grieving Parents, Sonya, Amy — Half the Cast, Basically – Doc
(FOX/Screenshot/Canva)
There are some episodes where your eyes simply bounce from one person on-screen to the next while you’re watching an episode.
And Doc Season 2 Episode 10 was that episode. It was easily the most devastating hour of the series to date, but the performances really got into masterclass level as one of the three patients, a teen athlete and hero, Charlie, died, and the doctors worked tirelessly to save him to no avail.
The scene was haunting. And there was no moment of it that wasn’t positively gutwrenching to witness.
Amy outside with Charlie’s parents resulted in some heartbreaking work as she recalled some of her first recovered memories from losing her own child.
She was quietly breaking right alongside the parents as she essentially watched history repeat itself and felt exactly what they were.
(John Medland/FOX)
Meanwhile, Sonya was at her most vulnerable yet — completely torn up over the loss and the guilt she felt in how her actions may have contributed to it.
Hannah was a step away from a full breakdown as the full weight of how her actions impacted everything weighed heavily on her.
But, truthfully, the most riveting moments of all were from Chris’ parents. His father falling to his knees and praying and sobbing was so visceral that it knocked the wind out of me.
And then Chris’ mother pushed it to the edge with heartshattering wails that were so raw and visceral, I had to remind myself that it was just fiction.
The grieving mother, hurling her entire body on her dead son, sobbing, and wailing, asking the remaining doctors’ Why did you stop?” is still haunting my thoughts days later. – Jasmine Blu
Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments, share if you’d like, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.
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