The TVLine Performers of the Week: Anjana Vasan and Paapa Essiedu

Team TVLine
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

THE PERFORMERS | Anjana Vasan and Paapa Essiedu

THE SHOW | Black Mirror

More from TVLine

THE EPISODE | “Demon 79” (June 15, 2023)

THE PERFORMANCES | Netflix’s chilly anthology is always a reliable source of high-tech dread, but it’s also a reliable source of top-notch acting, and the newly released Season 6 was no exception, with several standout turns to be found in the fresh batch of episodes. Our favorite, though, was actually a double act, with Vasan and Essiedu forming a very unlikely pair — the meek shoe salesgirl and the demon commanding her to kill — as they layered comedy on top of horror on top of apocalyptic drama to make “Demon 79” this season’s most entertaining installment.

Vasan — who first grabbed our attention as unassuming assassin Pam on Killing Eve — went the mousy route again here as salesgirl Nida, who lived a drab life in 1970s England. Vasan knows how to blend into the background, but she also showed hints of violent impulses beneath Nida’s timid exterior. Into her life strolled Gaap, a demon who took the form of a flamboyant rock star played by I May Destroy You alum Essiedu. He informed Nida that she needed to kill three people in three days to save the world from fiery destruction, and just the visual contrast between the funky, charismatic Gaap and the quiet wallflower Nida was enough to get us laughing. Essiedu was playfully devilish as Gaap needled Nida to make her required kills, and Vasan shivered with understandable panic as Nida grappled with the immense weight of her mission. The two actually made a terrific comedy team, in spite of all the carnage they created, and brought about as much lighthearted fun as we could ask from a horror story about ritual sacrifice.

Their mission went awry, though, and Vasan and Essiedu displayed a genuine tenderness as Nida and Gaap faced an uncertain future… but at least they faced it together. “Demon 79” certainly wasn’t standard-issue Black Mirror — there wasn’t even a smartphone in sight — but it absolutely delivered on a human level (and a demon level), thanks to Vasan and Essiedu’s divinely inspired duo.

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

Best of TVLine

Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter

Click here to read the full article.