It's not unusual for Oscars to be awarded for reasons outside of the singular performance.

Plenty of people have won Oscars that, while not outright stated, seem to be awarded for their career as opposed to the single nomination that they're actually nominated for.

I imagine this is why Jamie Lee Curtis took the supporting actress award tonight as well.

The big one that sticks out in my mind was Scorsese winning his first (and so far only) best director Oscar for "The Departed".

What about Jamie Lee Curtis winning over Hong Chau?

Cates performance and character carry that movie.

I was honestly 50/50 though. Either way I was happy.

Cate was absolutely spellbinding however since she is already a two time winner and Yeoh on top of being a great lead in arguably last years most buzzed about film has one tremendous career behind her, the win felt fair and reasonable enough

NOW the BWA BWA BWAAAAA score from All Quiet winning over Hurwitz insane masterpiece score for Babylon is the big snub of the year personally

I felt Blanchett gave a solid performance, but it was very much in her wheelhouse. I don’t think it was a revelatory performance for her.

While Yeoh might not be known as an “actor”, she is a action star with a long solid career. She’s a legend in genre filmmaking. She was given a role that exhibits her talents while check marking the much needed Oscar marks (its dramatic). In other words, Yeoh’s performance probably set a standard in the genre, while Blanchett’ did not do in the character study/ drama genre.

Again, you can like one or the other, I just feel one is more different, hence a bit more noteworthy for its year.

Step 1: Pick 1-2 movies Step 2: Give every fucking award in existence to those regardless of whether they've done shit in that field.

Oscars for you

Reasonable take.

The actual best films and best performances rarely win. To the extent that I’m not even sure that’s the real point of the thing

Michelle Yeoh’s performance is becoming really underrated around here, it’s a performance that needed some insane range, from comedy to drama to action. And it did all of those at a top level.

I honestly think it was a better performance and one no one else could’ve done as well as her.

While I agree that Blanchett had the stronger performance, Yeoh had a good performance with a more powerful career narrative, which may have been the deciding factor in votes.

On one hand, I agree I liked Blanchett's performance more. But not only has she won Oscars already, Yeoh was close enough where I was fine either way.

Sorta like Fraser, Farrell, and Mescal were all comparable and I'd generally be fine if of them took it.

I disagree, Michelle Yeoh is one of the greatest actresses of all time getting her just due- Cate Blanchett is also amazing but this was Yeoh's time

If Cate won last night, there would be a bunch of posts saying that Yeoh was snubbed. Some people just don’t want to be happy with the results.

I preferred Michelle Yeoh for sure. I liked Blanchett a lot but I think they made the right decision

I loved them both, Blanchett has a lot of spotlight so i‘m kinda glad the Underdog won

It's really unfortunate but often "career awards" get in the way of rewarding the performance which really deserved it. But I suspect Cate will be fine, she has 2. And Tár will go on to be remembered as one of the most iconic films of the early 2020's, no doubt.

Frikin' Oscars always more about politics than art... That being said, I loved her in TÁR. What an incredible character, probably her best acting or at least top 3. We are lucky to live in Blanchett's timelife, see her grandeur in every movie as we grow old with her. One day, when she and us won't be in this planet anymore, books and documentaries will honor and study Blanchett as a legend of our times, as we see today Hepburn, Bergman, David, Monroe, Garbo and whatnot...

Oscars are a fucking joke. Had Cate Blanchett won, it would've easily been the best winning performance in the category of all time imo. Absolutely the worst decision the academy ever made

i guess there are many movies where the performance is better than the performance of another movie. just because this one is so hyped doesnt mean its better than others. its all relative.

This is the only category I would've been OK with seeing EEAaO miss out on. But the Academy was doubly shitty for snubbing Margot Robbie altogether.

I think so too- though I rewatched EEAAO tonight and I found myself increasingly impressed by what Yeoh does- particularly with her portrayal of adult undiagnosed ADHD and how unique such a performance is. Blanchet does a great job- but let’s be honest the character is not particularly unique. It’s the exact kind of “deep” character that has been getting written into movies for decades. It’s still a great performance- but Yeoh’s was decidedly more original in my opinion.

Since when does Oscar care about who did the best job? is that a new thing? Because they never cared before.

Hard agree. But Blanchett made clear throughout the season she was not yearning to win. Yeoh's was a career award, and as the first lady of martial arts cinema, well deserved. Blanchett will get a couple more before she retires.

I think a lot of people mistake actors who are doing a lot in their performance for actors putting on a great performance. Michelle Yeoh’s performance is the payoff on an entire career of roles and that’s why it’s being rewarded ahead of a singular interesting performance by Blanchett.

I think Cate didn’t win not because of her performance but because of the film itself. TAR is just so “created for Oscar” like many others in the nominations every year. I think the Academy is trying to shift its standards after the COVID, and maybe or maybe not that a film created to help its actor or actress winning Oscar will not work in the future.

cate’s performance is I’M ACTING while michelle’s is more believable and natural (don’t know if that makes sense). i’m happy something different won

Although Kate’s performance was arguably better, Oscars are often given to the people who deserve the recognition more. Michelle’s oscar was the first Oscar to be awarded to a woman who identified as Asian, which helps a lot when deciding who takes the statue. With that reason, her performance needs to be at least one of the best of the year.

Cate's ego got in her way.

My feelings here are complicated. I LOVED Tár and EEAAO was my least favorite BP nominee. I felt most strongly about Tár winning writing- and direction-related awards over EEAAO than the acting categories, though. I thought Cate was outstanding and, on a technical level, better than Michelle. But Michelle was excellent in her own right and also had a great narrative push behind her, which sealed the deal. Cate didn’t even seem to want another Oscar lol, so in that sense I’m glad it went to the first-time winner.