This week, we're down a co-host, as Fox 32 Chicago's Jake Hamilton has to deal with a tooth problem. (The way he tells it, he chipped his tooth saving a bevy of adorable puppies, but we're guessing that's an embellishment.) So, AwardsBlend co-hosts Sean O'Connell and Fox 5 DC's Kevin McCarthy hold down the fort, and they kick off their discussion with a spoiler-free review of Ryan Coogler's new Black Panther.

AwardsBlend dives into the meat of the Oscar race, and this week, Sean and Kevin analyze the Best Actor and Actress races... to see if they actually are races, at all. While both co-hosts think that Gary Oldman is a lock to win Best Actor for his work as Winston Churchill in Joe Wright's Darkest Hour, they split on Best Actress. Kevin feels like Frances McDormand has Best Actress in the bag for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Sean, on the other hand, thinks that momentum might be shifting away from McDormand, and that Sally Hawkins could steal some thunder if The Shape of Water starts to dominate on Oscar night.