Joe Biden smirks his way through Paul Ryan's remarks
Vice-president can't keep a straight face as he listens to rival's arguments
He is known for his blunt opinions, but the US vice-president showed something else in his arsenal as he took on his Republican wannabe: the smirk.
Well, not just the smirk, there was also the guffaw and the exasperated grin.
Joe Biden's expressions during Thursday's vice-presidential debate theatrically conveyed dismay, disbelief or amusement at the various points Paul Ryan was making. And they became a key part of the show.
During the 90 minutes he sat across the table from his opponent, Biden smirked, lifted his eyes to the ceiling, and gave mocking smiles. At one point, he raised his hands in the air; at another point while Ryan was talking, he mouthed: "Not true."
Twitter and other social media was soon abuzz with criticism and praise of the 69-year-old's reactions.
Ryan, 42, employed his own signature expression throughout the contest - a boyish tilt of the head, with a smile that melts into a frown at both ends. It's a look that can be read a number of ways, but on this night mostly seemed to express sympathy for someone whose ideas had gone tragically astray.
Ryan got a laugh, too, as he provided a translation for moderator Martha Raddatz when Biden cryptically criticised Ryan's plans as "a bunch of stuff".