We have some new faces and familiar ones, but one thing that’s undeniable is the effect they had on the narrative and viewers.
Our Characters of the Week are fierce, complex, and kept us glued to the screens, piquing our interest and resonating with us in some way or another. But more than anything, they left us wanting more.
Let’s get into the characters who stood out to us this week. And we’d love to hear from you about yours!
Cole Dunmire (Tulsa King Season 3 Episode 2)
Every once in a while, a show hands you a character who makes you want to scream, hug, and shake them all at once. This week (probably this season), that’s Cole Dunmire.
Cole is a walking contradiction.
On the one hand, he’s Jeremiah’s dutiful son — willing to burn, bleed, and even kill for a father who treats him like dirt. On the other hand, he’s the guy who steps in to stop a sexual assault in a parking lot, revealing a flicker of the good heart buried under all that damage.
That branding-iron scene said it all. Cole came home wounded from Dwight’s porch, desperate for comfort. What did Jeremiah give him? Certainly not a hospital or even an ounce of compassion.
Instead, Cole got seared flesh and more humiliation. And he took it, because, deep down, he still wants daddy’s approval. It’s heartbreaking.
But then we got that moment with Spencer. It was a flash of instinct revealing a glimmer of the man he could be if he ever escaped the abuse.
Cole wants to be honorable, but he just doesn’t know how to be that in Jeremiah’s world. And if he ever found a different kind of father figure — say, Dwight Manfredi — who treated loyalty like love instead of punishment, Cole might finally see what family is supposed to look like.
That’s what makes him so compelling. He’s dangerous, yes. But he’s also a boy who never stopped craving a connection with his dad. And for me, that makes Tulsa King’s Cole Dunmire one of the most fascinating characters this week.
Judomaster (Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 7)
Peacemaker Season 2 has been a bag full of surprises, and you can never guess what James Gunn is cooking with every new episode.
While John Cena’s Chris Smith, aka Peacemaker, goes through a rollercoaster of emotions, trying to find his place in universe(s), he is met with unexpected enemies and allies. The most recent addition to his team is Nhut Le’s Judomaster, who once scared the hell out of the 11th Street Kids.
Team Peacemaker and Judomaster have always maintained a strong hatred for each other, but Season 2 Episode 7 sees Rip turn over a new leaf.
Absolutely no one was expecting Judomaster to swoop in to save the day when Leota Adebayo was being chased by a mob of angry Nazis. It’s after their joint escape that we learn there’s more to the character than badass kung fu and hot Cheetos.
Leota, ever the conversationalist, bonds with Rip the same way she did with Chris. And despite losing a game of Scrobble, she helps Judomaster gain a new perspective on life, and of course, Peacemaker.
Rip then decides to join the fray and assists Ads in reuniting with her friends. And not just that, he earns the utter respect of not only Peacemaker but also the fans as the episode comes to a close.
Chris takes the blame and protects the 11th Street Kids while being crushed by guilt, and Judomaster understands, taking the cue.
Peacemaker Season 2 finale is going to be a multiverse mayhem, and having a strong ally like Judomaster will surely up the chances of Team Chris surviving it.
Mia Jordan (The Morning Show Season 4 Episode 3)
There’s nothing worse than knowing your capabilities and own worth and value while bumping up against people and institutions that don’t.
Throughout The Morning Show, Mia has always been the character who has fought tooth and nail to get where she is, and is fantastic at her job, but is always facing some form of scrutiny or another, or some kind of glass ceiling or red tape that interferes with her ascent to her rightful place.
“Wait your turn,” and “wait a little longer” have been sentiments that hung over the character as friends, foes, colleagues, and everything in between and beyond have dangled opportunities in front of her like carrots, while making her a pawn, they move across the chessboard as they pursue their own power plays and ambition.
But not anymore. In an hour that showed once again how Mia, a woman often there for everyone else, had also been chronically let down by those same people, she finally had enough and strolled out of a place that ran on blood, sweat, and tears, and cost her so much pain in the process.
You could visibly see the exact moment she had reached her tipping point, as the episode was aptly titled, and finally realized she had had enough.
Up against a woman she deemed a friend, Stella, making her the same empty promises that those before her had, it was absolutely satisfying to see Mia finally do something that had been years in the making — quit.
There’s a saying about that you should “go where you’re celebrated,” and all we’ve seen is everyone under the sun take this formidable, passionate, powerful, brilliant woman for granted. It was such a satisfying character moment for her, and made Mia Jordan the standout of a quiet hour!
Jake Griffin (Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 2)
It’s no secret that the revolving door casts on shows, particularly Dick Wolf ones, can be frustrating, and we rarely know what we’re going to get when that happens.
For Olivia’s elite squad, we got newbie Jake Griffin, and he has a reputation that precedes him, a nickname that raises questions, and some connections that should have everyone on high alert.
It’s evident that we’re to wonder if he really is there to learn from Olivia and SVU, or does he dutifully have to play spy to the fascinating Chief Tynan? The verdict isn’t out on that one.
But when it comes to his debut, he was a hot mess of a character in the most fascinating of ways that left us wanting to see more.
Griffin is a competent cop, but while it’s clear that his street reputation has some layers to it that leave you wanting to figure him out, it’s his strong sense of empathy throughout the investigation that was striking — even how deeply sickened and disoriented he was witnessing sexual assault in that club.
He’s already deeply affected emotionally by sex crimes.
Even as he fumbled in so many ways throughout the case, his motivations and intentions were in the best place, and he was effective at making a survivor feel comfortable.
Griffin is a fascinating conundrum.
Plus, as someone who enjoys the Cott brothers (Riverdale‘s Casey Cott was always stellar) and Corey, himself, was great in the late Filthy Rich, his performance will likely be worth the watch.
Eva Imani (Chicago PD Season 13 Episode 1)
They didn’t waste any time giving Eva Imani a hell of an introduction, and it’s safe to say that it’s one that stuck with viewers right out of the gate.
Imani somehow possesses both the scrappiness of a junkyard dog and the feralness of a street cat, which aligns well with the grittiness that we’ve come to expect from Chicago PD and the Intelligence Unit.
She seems to run on adrenaline and sass, doesn’t care to play well with others, and is utterly devoted to the job for all the right reasons.
To some, she could be a taste that one has to acquire. Still, her effortless willingness to back and cover Voight despite not knowing him, and her ability to tank her investigation with ATF for the sake of actual justice on behalf of the many people who died at the hands of their perpetrator, made her compelling.
Imani is memorable and has many of the qualities that we’ve come to expect from Intelligence characters of the past, and she certainly was a standout during the premiere!
Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.
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