Characters of the Week: Tracker, Chicago PD & 6 Standouts Who Ruled the Week

This week delivered some strong performances and compelling emotional arcs.

Whether they were chasing justice, confronting painful truths, or finally embracing vulnerability, our Characters of the Week reminded us why we keep tuning in.

From crime dramas to romance, these are the characters who left the biggest impression this week.

Joanna (Half Man)

(Courtesy of HBO)

Richard Gadd’s show can be frustrating at times, and in Half Man Season 1 Episode 3, it feels like ragebait to see Niall make some choices.

Joanna is the antidote that voices this frustration without cushioning or padding.

Julie Cullen’s performance is the highlight of the episode as she captures Joanna’s problem with the logic before her.

It would have been easy to be insulted and retreat, but she advocates for Alby and helps Niall decide to tell the truth. – Denis Kimanthi

Meredith Grey (Grey’s Anatomy)

(Disney/Anne Marie Fox)

While the Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 finale was heavily focused on Teddy and Owen’s exit, it also explored Meredith potentially seeing history repeat itself as Nick was brought in.

She could have taken control, ordering everyone around and constantly buzzing in from the gallery, and it’s not like she hasn’t done that in the past.

However, she chose to trust. She put her faith in Bailey, and then in Winston when the situation got scarier.

Throughout all this, Meredith talked things through with Amelia and faced her feelings for Nick, whom she had called her husband earlier in the hour.

Within this, she realized how much she wanted to be with him, proving just how far she’s come from the woman who ran to the other side of the country without thinking too much of him.

Second love can happen, and when it does, you’ve got to hold onto it. This is the growth we’ve needed for the longest time. – Alexandria Ingham

Nolan Price (Law & Order)

(Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

Nolan’s courtroom antics can be frustrating, making me excited when he stops to listen and consider other possible sides to a suspect’s story.

It was difficult for Nolan to believe that a fellow fire chief would steal a gold necklace, and easier to think that a rookie took it and the chief found out it.

It seemed unlikely that a murder would stem from a jewelry robbery, but the rookie swore his captain stole it and made him lie. He didn’t deny that he killed him, but that the captain came for him first.

The rookie had a rap sheet, but as he reminded everyone, it was years ago, and he had changed for his family.

That hit home for Nolan because the suspect had changed his life, making it unfair to hold his past over him; otherwise, he’d never get a second chance.

I’d hoped Nolan would continue with that compassion, but he had his prosecutor image to uphold. We need to see more of these that make him think.

Faith Mitchell (Will Trent)

(Matt Miller/Disney)

Faith has always been fierce, but she proved she’s following in Amanda’s footsteps on the Will Trent Season 4 Finale.

Faith used her observation skills to realize Nick wasn’t just a troubled, violent teen, but that he’d been abused by a sex trafficker himself.

Faith is a wonderful cop, but she’s also a mom to a son, so she’s used to dealing with teenage boys, and she’d be heartsick if anything like that happened to Jeremy.

It took a while, but she earned Nick’s trust by showing she cared and by allowing him and Lizzie to stay involved in the case.

Faith both believed that Nick and Lizzie had better resources to entrap Lizzie’s father and gain the medical records of the other trafficked girls he treated.

Once she realized how big this case was, Faith recognized that the GBI was too closely connected, and I loved how she went back to her roots to work the case.

Tom Moore (Hope Valley: 1874)

(Jeff Weddell/ Hallmark Media)

Tom Moore started off being stoic and stubborn at the beginning of Hope Valley: 1874, but Rebecca Clark softened him, and it was a delight to witness.

He used to look down on the prospectors, but when they were robbed, and he and Constable Vaughn learned that Jeremiah was responsible, he worked out a deal.

Tom would rehire Jeremiah and garnish his wages until everyone had been repaid. He didn’t have to help, but he realized even good people make mistakes.

Tom was on a mission to court Rebecca, but he didn’t want to rush her when she was still grieving her husband.

Therefore, he got her ring back, but tried not to take credit for it. However, nothing stays a secret in small towns, and that gesture showed his devotion to Rebecca. – Laura Nowak

Eva Imani (Chicago PD)

(Lori Allen/NBC)

Was Imani exasperating and very much channeling her predecessor, Upton, during Chicago PD Season 13 Episode 20? Absolutely.

Nevertheless, Imani was undeniably fascinating to watch throughout the hour, and it was an insightful centric that she owned.

For the entire hour, Imani was like a live wire, hopped up on caffeine and sugar, singularly focused on finding her sister.

And the moment she got a lead, she was racing through the case as if she feared that if she slowed down or paused for a second, she’d run out of time.

Imani was all anxious movement and energy, and Arienne Mandi certainly captured all of these nuances of the character incredibly well.

And then, the second she came face-to-face with her sister, whom she hadn’t seen in 22 years, she was hit with that wondrous combination of excitement, relief, and then the reality of the situation hit her when Shari didn’t even know who she was.

Reenie Greene (Tracker)

(Darko Sikman/CBS)

Fortunately for us, Tracker Season 3 Episode 19 finally revisits an ongoing arc with Reenie and takes her from supporting figure to center stage.

And the hour is all the better for it, giving us more insight into this character, whom we’ve already seen by Colter’s side, having his back.

The hour gives Reenie depth and reveals new layers to her, allowing her to be vulnerable in a way neither viewers nor even Colter has experienced before.

We get a peek behind the guard that Reenie always has up and discover this complicated woman with a bit of a past, battling a deep loneliness she’s still actively working to shake, even after building a circle of people who care around her.

Reenie feels so… human, and it’s a refreshing examination of a character we’ve loved but didn’t always know.

Lethro Jethro Gibbs (NCIS: Origins/NCIS)

(Erik Voake/CBS)

Oh boy, did Gibbs make NCIS: Origins Season 2 Episode 18 a worthwhile finale.

The entire sophomore season of NCIS: Origins has been fantastic, and it’s truly worked to build up this world we always thought we knew. It’s the perfect prequel in that way.

The finale really does some heavy lifting in cementing just how profoundly deep Gibbs and Mike’s brotherhood was, largely because Gibbs literally took a bullet for Mason Franks, saving his life.

And the hour also marks the literal origins of NCIS, sparking new possibilities and an opportunity for Gibbs to finally use his words and express to Lala, in his typical Gibbs way, how he feels.

He truly puts himself out there, racing to her home like something ripped from a scene of a Romcom, as he makes his grand gesture and seals it with a searing kiss.

It’s such a significant moment for Gibbs, him finally giving in to feelings he was fighting.

(Courtesy of CBS)

Special Mention: NCIS Season 23 Episode 19 may not have physically featured Gibbs.

But his presence was felt in the most satisfying of ways as the unseen but still influential figure who avenges Vance’s devastating murder.

He doesn’t even have to be onscreen to be a badass.

Over to you, TV Fanatics. Did your faves make the list? Who’s missing? Sound off below!

• Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 5-11-26 promise that Lexie’s resurrection will be one of the most exciting stories in a long time.

• Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 18 tackled some messy police issues, but Lena’s personal storyline was the episode’s MVP. Our review!

• It’s Jake’s bachelor party in Fire Country Season 4 Episode 18. Wait, Jake is getting married? We dive into this bizarre storyline.

• For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 7 reveals that this show is not lacking a good storyline, just that it didn’t focus on it. Our review!

• Ron Cooper is laid to rest on Your Friends & Neighbors Season 2 Episode 6, and Coop discovers his well-kept secret in an unlikely place.

TV Fanatic is searching for passionate contributors to share their voices across various article types. Think you have what it takes to be a TV Fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.

You can view the original article HERE.