In my opinion, she was the only person that should have won this year. Zendaya has won her second Emmy, and second for her portrayal of Rue Bennett from Euphoria, for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Like I said, this was one of the few categories that I thought was a locked-on favorite from the moment the nominees were announced. I’m not trying to be disrespectful towards the other nominees as they were also great in their own rights, but Zendaya was just a little better with her portrayal of Rue.
A decent amount of Euphoria’s success can be attributed to the metaphoric rise of Zendaya as an actress. From breaking out as an actress by playing Rocky Blue in the Disney Channel’s Shake It Up to now winning multiple Emmys as Rue for HBO’s massive hit show Euphoria, playing Mary Jane (MJ) in the billion-dollar Spider Man Franchise, and portraying Channi in the Sci-Fi epic Dune movies, it truly is remarkable how far Zendaya has come in only a few short years.
She really has become the most exciting and promising young actress in Hollywood today. And, as I said, her portrayal of Rue is a big part of that.
Moreover, there aren’t many actresses, let alone relatively new ones, who would have been able to convey Rue Bennett as a realistic, relatable high school student that is struggling with addiction and the hardships of high school’s societal demands as well as Zendaya has.
The problems, struggles, triumphs, and downfalls that Rue suffers throughout the two seasons of Euphoria have led to some of the most memorable and emotional moments from the show, which is all down to Zendaya’s fantastic acting. A true testament to her skills and determination to her craft.
Now, Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh were fantastic in Killing Eve and also had an outside shout for this Emmy, while Laura Linney also brought the character of Wendy Bryde from Ozark to life with a tremendous amount of poise and class, but none of these characters, in my opinion, can compare to Rue Bennett.
They just don’t have the depth or characterization that Rue has.
Sure, that’s more of a writing issue rather than the actresses, but I’m confident that the Television Academy considered that fact when they decided to end up voting for Zendaya as Rue Bennett over the other nominees.
Nevertheless, I don’t want to take any credit away from Zendaya’s performance with quibbles over “writing choices” as last night was her moment to shine. She rightfully earned that Emmy award and I believe will win more Emmys with future performances.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Television Academy) (Lead Actress in a Drama Series: 74th Emmy Awards – YouTube)
