‘Love Story’ Episode 8 Just Turned Sarah Pidgeon Into An Emmy Frontrunner

By Hope Sloop

Watching Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette in Episode 7 of Love Story left me feeling as though we might be looking at one of the first true frontrunners of the 2026 Emmy Awards race. Her performance in Episode 8, “Exit Strategy,” only solidified my standing on this issue.

**Spoilers ahead for Episode 8 of Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, now streaming on Hulu**

In an Emmy year that has struggled to find its standouts, we now have one person who is leading the pack, and it all comes down to the line, “Everything in my life has changed.

Each episode has required Pidgeon to attack Carolyn Bessette’s quiet but firm demeanor while adding layers to this person that the world pretended to know. It’s easy for those who were around at the time to say they remember Carolyn being a drug addict or having John wrapped around her pinky finger, or saying that she had no control over him and was merely a puppet for this man. Everyone has their own perception and to be able to play someone who is so many different things to different people is something that Pidgeon does well, especially in these later episodes.

The entirety of Episode 8 takes place in the couple’s apartment, which Carolyn correctly points out as being “John’s apartment” later in the episode. We open on a cigarette-smoking Carolyn, who is clearly at or near her wits’ end, living her life almost fully as an agoraphobe after her previous experiences out in the world. She spends her days lounging around her apartment with a cigarette in her mouth or her hand, contemplating her next move, and if she even has any say in where her life goes next. 

Photo: Hulu

These scenes, before John (Paul Anthony Kelly) arrives home from work — and from his life, which has gone on as though nothing has changed — are felt on a deeply emotional level as Pidgeon brings a sorrow, longing, and confusion to life with vigor. It’s magnified only by a scene in which this not-so-happily-married couple turns on the TV to news of Princess Diana’s car crash, which completely wrecks Carolyn’s world. Once again, Pidgeon channels everything through her eyes, as Kelly’s character brushes off the beloved princess’s death as though it’s an everyday occurrence.

What Pidgeon does shockingly well is make Carolyn feel not like the singular individual that she was, but make her understandable to anyone and everyone who is watching. The exact details may not be relatable but the pain and the fear of a collapsed marriage, a bad decision, and — perhaps the worst of all — a mother who will come to find out she was right, are all felt. I watched every thought that would cross my own head if I were Carolyn cross her head and then some, making me wonder if I should ever trust my heart and not my head. 

It’s these little moments where doubt creeps in and fear of the unknown rears its ugly head, that make Pidgeon’s performance accolade worthy. For a woman who was not known for keeping her heart on her sleeve, the I Know What You Did Last Summer actress makes it feel like she was never given the opportunity to be her real self. 

There’s also the fact that Pidgeon perfectly captures the multitudes of any woman, making us laugh at Carolyn’s silliest moments as she makes us cry at her tender scenes. To attack both sides of the coin and still disappear into a role that is inspired by someone so well known to the world is not an easy task and it’s one that Pidgeon makes look like child’s play. 

Photo: FX/Hulu

For that reason, we predict the actress will receive her first Emmy nomination for Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, and possibly even a win, as well. And it would be deserved.

The first eight episodes of Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette are now streaming on Hulu. The season finale airs on Thursday, March 26.

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