In "And the Winner is...", we see Joan and Hedda Hopper conspiring against Bette, trying to ruin her chances of winning the Oscar. Because they're horrible and childish, Joan and Hedda call up members of the Academy and get them to not vote for Bette. Hedda explains to them how awful Bette is, and Joan talks about how wonderful the others in the category are. Joan still isn't happy (is she ever happy?) though, and Hedda thinks up a wonderful, awful idea. You see, Bette won't get the Oscar, Joan will. It's a perfect plan, except for the fact that Joan is not nominated. So they have to do some extra work.
So Joan calls up Geraldine Page (Sarah Paulson, who has finally graced us with her presence), and with some convincing, Page allows Joan to accept the award on her behalf, should she win. Next up is Anne Bancroft, who is busy acting in a play and won't be able to attend the Awards. Bancroft accepts Joan's offer to accept the award, and Joan is pretty happy about it.
In the green room, Bette and Joan meet again. You can tell that they really want to kill each other, and it's just really uncomfortable for everyone else in the room. It's now time for Joan to present the award for Best Director, which happens very quickly. That leads to the next scene, in which Joan shows the Best Director to where he needs to go. It's now time for Best Actress, a moment Bette and Joan have waited for for a long time. If Bette gets her way, she'll win. If Joan get her way, she'll win (well, kinda). The name on the envelope is called, and it's Anne Bancroft. So off goes Joan, accepting the award for Bancroft. Bette is, understandably, shocked and upset. It's bad enough to lose the Oscar. She had to witness her enemy accepting the award, rubbing it in her face. Joan poses with the "other" winners (AKS the people that have actually won), and she acts like this is her Oscar. But did anyone expect anything different?
This episode was my favorite of the season, and I really loved seeing Bette's reaction to Joan acting as if she won the Oscar. I'm excited to see where else the show will go from here. This cast is really incredible, though. Sarandon, Lange, and Hoffman continue to be the standouts, but everyone in this cast is a delight to watch.
Episode Grade: A+
Episode Score: 10/10
