Anushka Halve
For Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep), it all starts with the four magic words, “Where have you been?” There’s a new vulnerability to Oliver, one that we haven’t seen in the previous seasons, whenever he’s looking at Loretta.
They share a mentor-mentee, equal terms colleague, but also boss-employee relationship. What is so gorgeous about the characters’ relationship is how it refuses to fix itself within a particular power dynamic as they navigate the corrosive, not-quite-profit-making restaurant industry.
What the show loses in narrative urgency in season two, it makes up for with rich characterisation, spending much more time on the relationship between Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and his demon bestie Crowley (David Tennant).
We know Mobius would come through for Loki. It is a tender portrait of a male friendship in a fantasy universe, the likes of which is reminiscent of the OG fantasy bromance: Sam and Frodo from The Lord of the Rings series.
Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) grapple with the challenges of a publicly queer relationship in the second season. What consistently shines through is their unconditional love and support for each other.
An all-consuming rage binds Beef's Danny (Steven Yeun) and Amy (Ali Wong), fuelling and corroding these two strangers in equal measure. Their gradually escalating games of one-upmanship are what make the show such a tense anxiety carousel.
Pedro Pascal as Joel is outstanding, and after The Mandalorian, must get his own plaque as Hollywood’s official ‘Favourite Adoptive Dad’. Bella Ramsey nails it as Ellie – a rebellious teenager with a secret, surviving in a post-disaster world.