Soap Wire: Performer of the Week: Karan Kendrick on 'Beyond the Gates'

Eva: I feel like I lost everything.

Mona (reaches out her hand, appearing sympathetic): Good.

When I tell you I audibly gasped and said “Oops!” I meant it.

Ms. Karan Kendrick has been serving for the past two weeks, but this week? I had to give her performance of the week.

The moment I saw her last name was Kendrick, I instantly thought of Kendrick Lamar—because just like him, she’s been dropping bars. Whether it’s in her lines, her facial expressions, or her body language, Karan Kendrick embodies culture. She’s giving “that’s my auntie, and she doesn’t play.”

The scenes between Karan and Ambyr Michelle have been phenomenal—from Mona sizing Eva up at the country club with visible disappointment after learning about Eva and Leslie/Dana/Sherry/Anna/Lulu’s scheme against Ted and Nicole, to confronting Eva again at the poker table. Mona chewed her out, listened to her pain, and gave the illusion of sympathy—until she made it very clear she was not here for it. She still has smoke for Eva.

Mona is extremely close to the Duprees, and that small gesture—reaching out her hand—was not forgiveness. It was her way of saying: I’m still angry. You’re a grown woman who couldn’t stand firm in her convictions. And now I have to clean up the mess you made—even after I was kind to you.

The scenes she shared with Trish (who plays Dana/Leslie/Anna/Lulu/Sherry) were just as powerful. Confronting someone you considered a friend—someone who betrayed you and jeopardized not only your job, but your relationship with your boss and the reputation you’ve built—that’s no small thing. And Karan delivered it flawlessly.

Those three scenes were absolutely insane—in the best way. The emotion. The body language. The stillness. The subtle movements in her face that revealed just how deeply she disagreed with everything Eva and her mother had done.

Karan may not be on the main cast, but I’m eagerly waiting to see which storylines she gets pulled into next, because she has been outstanding since the big reveal.

Kudos to you, Karan Kendrick—and congratulations on being Soapwire’s Performance of the Week.