Heroic actor of the week (4/12): Jesse Rath and Katie McGrath

Katie McGrath and Jesse Rath absolutely stole the show in this week’s installment of Supergirl season 6, earning them both our Heroic Actor of the Week award.

We’re only four months into the year and 2021 has been full of incredible comic book and superhero television. From the return of almost all of the Arrowverse shows to the debut of both outstanding Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney Plus shows WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, there has been so much comic book goodness this year to provide fans of the genre with the escapism we have all been craving.

With fantastic programming comes fantastic performances. Performances that stand out in a genre that is so unfairly underappreciated. Performances that deserve to be honored. And so, after being retired last season because of the lack of film and TV content on our screens, we are bringing our Heroic Actor of the Week column back so that we can honor those fantastic performers.

There have been a lot of phenomenal performances this year so far, with WandaVision‘s Elizabeth Olsen, Superman and Lois‘ Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch and The Flash‘s Candice Patton among the standouts thus far. But this week, it was the performances of Jesse Rath and Katie McGrath, who absolutely stole the show on the third episode of Supergirl season 6, that have earned our first Heroic Actor of the Week award of 2021.

Katie McGrath and Jesse Rath – Supergirl

When an actor is consistently great at what they do, you often get used to seeing them impress on a weekly basis. That’s not to say you take their performances for granted, but part of you does grow accustomed to them regularly delivering.

Jesse Rath is the perfect example of this because his performance as Brainiac-5 on Supergirl over the past four seasons has been, without question, one of the best in the genre. And one of the many reasons for that is his unwavering commitment to bringing the somewhat-robotic, hilariously-awkward and unflinchingly direct twelfth-level intellect to life. And he’s always so consistent at what he does that it literally feels like we’re watching a somewhat-robotic, hilariously-awkward and unflinchingly direct twelfth level intellect on our screens.

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However, as consistent as he is in bringing the techno side of his techno-organic character to life, he’s equally so at stunning viewers with an absolute powerhouse of a performance when Brainy allows his emotions to take over. To use the show’s analogy, he’s excellent at keeping things in little boxes, but when he throws those boxes away, he’s nothing short of captivating.

That’s what happened in the latest episode of Supergirl‘s sixth season, “Phantom Menaces”, as Brainy finally broke down in front of Lena Luthor because of how much he truly hated Lex. And that was all clear for us to see, not just from the subtly powerful words in the script, but because of the anguish in his voice, the sheer desperation to make it go away – and that was all down to Rath’s incredible award-worthy performance.

Speaking of award-worthy, let’s talk about his scene partner. Like Rath, the incomparable Katie McGrath is no stranger to making viewers pay attention with a scene-stealing turn as Lena Luthor has experienced every single emotion imaginable throughout her five seasons on the show. And she did the same here, as Lena acted as a foil for Brainy and his desperate plan to kill Lex. A moment of brilliance for the character as it captured how she had learned from her pervious mistakes, it all came to life with a seemingly effortless performance from McGrath.

The veteran star has captivated us with powerhouse performances in the past, but there was a quietness, a gentle elegance about this one that made it so beautiful. And it worked perfectly opposite Rath’s larger but equally as beautiful turn.

This was a magnificent scene – one of the best on TV this week – and it once again highlighted why Jesse Rath and Katie McGrath work so well together on screen. The truth is that this writer could write a whole lot more about how incredible these two were this week, but I don’t need to because the real truth is that the performances say more than my words ever could.

This was an absolute masterclass.

Supergirl is airing its sixth and final season on The CW on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Come back next week to find out who the next Heroic Actor of The Week will be. You can check out previous winners here.