Natasha Lyonne acts her heart out in hilarious ways opposite her scene partner in Poker Face’s third episode. No, I don’t mean Lil Rel Howrey, Danielle Macdonald, or Larry Brown, all of whom are tremendous in “The Stall.” The hour finds Lyonne’s Charlie trying to stay hidden from Cliff (Benjamin Bratt) after he almost caught her in episode two. Megan Suri’s Sara distracted him by saying Charlie is headed to California when she’s actually somewhere in Texas now. While at a gas station, a rowdy mutt jumps into the front seat of her car and refuses to leave. And just like that, Charlie makes room for a tiny but loud companion she didn’t ask for. What’s worse? Its barking is only soothed by a bigot radio talk show. “Great, a MAGA dog,” she quips silently to herself.
Poker Face is a shining example of a show built around its star. It’s a love letter to Lyonne, who fits into Charlie’s shoes like a pro. Her trademark wit, deadpan one-liner deliveries, and surprising depth transform PF into more than a delectable Rian Johnson mystery-of-the-week drama. (He’s really got a knack for pitch-perfect casting: Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, and now, Lyonne as Charlie Cale). Here, Charlie doles out sarcastic rapid-fire remarks to an audience of one: a pooch she’s trying to get rid of. Lyonne is essentially making the most of her screen time, dialing up the comedy as the show increases its complex suspense in “The Stall.”
Charlie gets stuck at a Texan barbeque joint when the dog runs out to eat the customers’ meals. Instead of paying, Charlie sticks around the farm and restaurant to work as a waitress. (Hey, she’s taking Marge’s advice to earn cash and leave no trace). She befriends the chef and co-owner, George Boyle (Brown), within three days of working there. That’s another wise ploy from the writers’ room. Charlie, as gruff as she might appear, is innately likable. She can converse with anyone: a meat-loving cook, a voice-changing radio host, a teen convenience store employee, a smarmy casino owner, or—as seen in episode four—a bunch of band members. She’s easy to connect with. That makes it easy to believe relative strangers trust her with their secrets.
GRADE FOR SEASON 1, EPISODE 4: A-
This applies strongly to George, who takes Charlie on a culinary journey to acquaint her with wood and meat smells. Episode director Iain B. MacDonald’s phenomenal camerawork minutely captures George’s cooking and Charlie inhaling the various scents. (I’m a vegetarian and that footage even made me hungry!). However, when Charlie gives her new pal a bunch of DVDs for fun, she consequently puts him on a dangerous path. She hands him Okja, boldly claiming, “I’ve only seen the first half but it’s pretty cute so far.” Oh, boy.
Charlie does not anticipate George’s change of heart after watching Bong Joon-ho’s film about a young girl who tries to save her genetically modified pet pig from the meat industry. But the man is ready to abandon his business and go vegan overnight. He confides in her, and she supports him. But George’s decision shocks his wife, Mandy (Macdonald), and his brother, Taffy (Howrey), who are having an affair. The duo team up to murder George so the BBQ restaurant doesn’t close down since Taffy also has loan sharks to answer.
Poker Face commendably subverts its own format in “The Stall.” It opens with George crying over the grill and whispering to himself that he’s a murderer. So we’re lulled into assuming he’s the culprit when, in fact, he’s mourning the animals he’s killed so far. To add to the twists, Charlie didn’t roll into town the same night as his death. She’s been around for a few days, working alongside George, Taffy, and Mandy and familiarizing herself with their place. At least she’s on the case because she’s lost another friend again.
After Charlie finds her “fascist dog” beaten on the side of the road—Taffy injured the dog when it tried to interrupt the murder—she knows “malfeasance has occurred.” Naturally, our human lie detector sniffs Taffy and Mandy out, eventually connecting the dots of their plan as Poker Face makes the most of its hourlong runtime. In the process, Lyonne and Howrey share delightfully funny moments as she tries to convince him she knows the truth because of the dog, and he tells her the animal witness can’t talk.
I love that Charlie goes through the motions of how Taffy did it—running from the radio station to George’s van to pretending to hit the dog—to be sure. Now that’s commitment. Another detail I loved? Shane Paul McGhie’s radio jockey, Austin. He’s one man handling several local stations, using his voice to discern various on-air personalities. Charlie uses Austin—who cannot overstate how bored he is at his job—by making him modulate his voice as Taffy to secure a confession from Mandy. And you know what, if you beat a cute pooch, you should go straight to jail. (Okay, yes, the George thing sucks, too).
After solving George’s death, Charlie is off on her next adventure in episode four, “Rest In Metal.” But we don’t see her until 20 minutes into the 47-minute installment. Thankfully, Chloë Sevigny is present to tide us over. She leads “Rest In Metal” as Ruby, a has-been rockstar working at a Home Depot-like store. She still annually tours for a few weeks with her band, Doxxxology, in sad bars across the country. Their new drummer, Gavin (Nicholas Cirillo), is a younger, kookier fella’ who says things like, “If you’re wearing shoes, you’re just not grounded.” He quickly befriends Doxxxology’s new merch seller, Charlie, who takes up her next gig on the road.
Gavin doesn’t know that according to Poker Face’s trajectory so far, any buddy of Charlie’s is fair game to die. So, when he plays his new song, “Sucker Punch,” for Ruby and her bandmates, he writes his death sentence. Doxxxology is thirsting for a big hit decades after their song, “Staplehead,” blew up decades ago. But they didn’t even write this one-hit-wonder; it was their former drummer, so she gets all the royalties. Not this time, Ruby schemes. The crew electrocutes Gavin on stage, making it look like an amp accident. It’s one of the show’s more sudden, oddly gruesome deaths. They proceed to steal his track and sell it off as their own.
Once again: Charlie Cale is on the case. She suspects foul play after seeing their performance footage and closely inspecting a polaroid she took moments before Gavin’s disastrous demise. Ruby and the gang wearing thick rubber boots to be safe from possible electrocution, indicating they knew what would happen, is her biggest clue. While she reveals Doxxxology’s nefarious plans to their new backers, Charlie comes this close to captivity again. Her video of punching a dude dressed as Krampus (that’s how he pranks unsuspecting folks) goes viral. Cliff, apparently a TikTok user, gets wind of Charlie’s location and lands up at the bar. Thankfully, our girl has made enough friends (what’s new), so she barely escapes before he fits her into the trunk of his car or something.
As a Benjamin Bratt fan, I hope he has more to do in Poker Face than simply showing up for two minutes to scare Charlie into running away. Similarly, as enjoyable as episodes three and four have been—and they are endlessly intriguing—PF risks becoming too dependent on a familiar thesis. How often can Charlie find herself in a situation where a stranger she meets ends up six feet into the ground? But it’s still early into the show, so I’m not complaining. The Columbo-esque gimmick is paying off richly. I’m thrilled there are six more episodes of Charlie finding herself in a mess she has to dig herself out of.
Stray observations
- It bears repeating: Every scene with Lyonne and the tiny dog was incredible. Her frustration at not being able to stop his barking is palpable. No wonder she leaves him in the care of Austin since his MAGA-rants seemed to calm him down.
- Poker Face’s casting is on-point. Every guest performer crushes their role, from Sevigny and Brown to Cirillo and Howrey, all aces. I can’t wait to see the rest of the roster show up.
- It’s impressive that Charlie uses Marge’s trick to use super glue on wounds for Jed in episode two, and Gavin in episode four when a drunk bargoer throws a stapler at his head. (You know, to match with “Staplehead”).
- The final “Rest In Metal” curveball that Gavin used Benson’s theme song for his “Sucker Punch” music notes is so sharp and perfect.
- I’m curious if Poker Face will reveal any details about Charlie’s history. What’s her family like, if she has one? What did she study? What’s her astrological sign? Does any of it even matter if you’re only concerned with her “human lie detector” schtick?
- Let’s end with a dialogue that Sevigny delivers with cutting precision. When Gavin casually tells her to recreate another big hit, like it’s that easy, she asks, “Why don’t I just fucking traipse into the fucking forest and capture a bejeweled fucking Pegasus?”