The Shocks that Defined the Night

Teyana Taylor’s supporting actress win was one of the biggest surprises of the evening, but her speech is what turned it into a real campaign turning point. When she said, “to my brown sisters and little brown girls,” it hit with clarity and honesty. That is the type of moment that sticks, especially when ballots opened the same morning. The performance earned her the statuette. The speech may have expanded her Oscar lane.

Hamnet winning Best Picture, Drama was another genuine shock. Sinners was widely expected to take it. Instead, the international-leaning membership rallied behind Chloé Zhao’s film. Zhao’s reaction said everything. It was not polite surprise, but real disbelief. Their support had been visible with Paul Mescal’s supporting nomination, Zhao’s director nomination, and Jessie Buckley’s Best Actress, Drama win. This was genuine enthusiasm. Emotion won the category.

Paul Thomas Anderson delivered one of the biggest sweeps of the night. He won director, screenplay, and Best Picture, Musical or Comedy. None of the individual wins were shocking, but taking all three created a clear message. The Globes did not divide the category. They chose a leader and Anderson’s film is a full-season player.

Brazil claimed the night’s most meaningful momentum. Last year, Fernanda Torres became the first Brazilian actress to win a Golden Globe. This year, Wagner Moura added his own milestone as the first Brazilian actor to win. His speech deepened the impact. When he said, “The Secret Agent is a film about memories or the lack of memory, and generational trauma. I think if trauma can be passed down along generations, values can too. So this is to the ones that are sticking with their values in difficult moments,” he connected the win directly to the film’s core. Combined with the film’s victory in International Feature, the moment may have pushed The Secret Agent into the Best Picture conversation.