I haven't checked what tapes each actor submitted, but if Damian Lewis submitted Q&A that's a hell of an episode to have to contend with. And, for the record, Cranston has only lost out once for his 4th Emmy (he has three to date for BB)... Kyle Chandler's win was for the year during which Breaking Bad aired no episodes.
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Ok, I went and looked at the episodes submitted. Lewis did indeed select Q&A, because of course, and Cranston picked a great ep as well (Say My Name). If Hamm hasn't won by now, he won't win while either of these men are eligible. That's my story, I'm sticking to it.
In the less heralded but amazing category of Lead Actress in a Comedy, while I will be happy if just about any of them win goddamnit Amy Poehler needs an Emmy, people. Steve Carell never won an Emmy for Michael Scott, and if Leslie Knope suffers the same fate it will be just as unfortunate. Plus, she got to submit a two-parter... strategically, that always helps (damn you Tina Fey and 30 Rock's final season! Don't steal Amy's Emmy with your own double-tape!) That said, Julia Louis-Dreyfus' pick is tremendous physical comedy which always gets love, so who the hell knows. But seriously, if this comes down to Leslie Knope's wedding vs. Selina Meyer walking through a glass door accidentally, we all win.
And probably the closest category to me, Supporting Actor in a Drama, I can't even decide. Mandy Patinkin was by far the bright spot of Homeland's second season. Aaron Paul submitted the episode with Jesse's incredible awkward dinner with the Whites. Peter Dinklage got to be drunk, crude, indignant, and also incredibly moral and upstanding by the end of his submission. Voters love that kind of grandstanding. I did, too.
So many deserving nominees; we all win!
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.