Poker Face Season 2, Episodes 1-10 Review

The archetypal 3 episodes of Poker Face premiere connected Peacock connected Thursday, May 8. New episodes watercourse play done July 10.

American tv is successful the mediate of a roar of throwback dramas astir competent professionals solving caller problems each episode. But earlier The Pitt saw its archetypal diligent oregon Elsbeth resumed ineligible proceedings successful the satellite of The Good Wife, determination was Poker Face, whose 2nd play continues to beryllium however good a revival of the Columbo-style enigma known arsenic the howcatchem works successful this caller TV era. At a clip erstwhile spot successful institutions is astatine an each clip low, Rian Johnson’s bid offers an improbable leader who’s perpetually connected the fringes of society, warring for victims who would different ne'er spot justice.

These beardown fundamentals were each established successful play 1, wherever quality prevarication detector Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) went connected the tally from the mob and recovered herself wandering from municipality to municipality solving quirky murders. Season 2 rapidly puts speech that larger menace and lets Charlie conscionable drift connected her own, picking up unusual jobs that link her to some the killers she foils and their victims.

In Poker Face’s cleverest innovation connected the Columbo look – which broke from whodunit normal by showing its culprits successful the enactment and hinging the play connected however they’d beryllium caught (hence “howcatchem”) – each occurrence opens connected the killer’s position earlier flashing backmost to uncover however Charlie’s been lurking implicit their enarthrosis the full time. The power allows the writers to rapidly physique up their villains and past show the calamity of their crimes, whose fallout often has wide-reaching implications beyond their victims’ lives. Take play 2’s astir skillful usage of this tendency: In “Hometown Hero,” Simon Rex earns our sympathy arsenic Rocket, a insignificant league shot pitcher recognizing he’ll ne'er unrecorded up to his afloat potential. The episode’s execution unfortunate adjacent benignant of has it coming, but the greater transgression – putting his squad itself astatine hazard – is committed against Rocket’s fans.

He’s 1 of the galore Poker Face killers with an outsized consciousness of entitlement; different examples this play see a girl who cares for her abusive parent successful hopes of inheriting her luck and a kid who can’t basal immoderate threats to her postulation of golden stars. Johnson has focused connected people warfare successful his Knives Out films, but there’s much breadth to the themes connected Poker Face – though its killers are conscionable arsenic odious.

But the top spot of the amusement is Lyonne. She brings truthful overmuch vigor and charm to each country arsenic Charlie tries to befriend astir everyone she meets. There’s plentifulness of wit successful her perpetual wonderment astatine however she gets dragged into truthful overmuch play – this successful spite of her repeated badgering of radical who don’t truly privation to speech to her. But her warmth is often rewarded successful unexpected ways: When she encourages a firefighter’s aspirations to beryllium a tap-dancer, it leads to a favour that allows Charlie to drawback a slayer reddish handed.

Such zany scenarios are par for the course: Season 2 doubles down connected the silliness of its predecessor, sometimes to the constituent of surreality, similar the occurrence wherever Kumail Nanjiani plays a bull mentation of real-life “Tiger King” Joe Exotic. It often gets meta, too, which works successful a loving tribute to Heat but feels overdone successful the Johnson-directed, Knives Out-mirroring premiere. Because Poker Face leans truthful hard into its absurdity, it’s a amended showcase for impermanent stars with heavy comedic backgrounds: Richard Kind, David Alan Grier, and John Mulaney each enactment successful memorable appearances this season. Onscreen villain extraordinaire Giancarlo Espositio, by contrast, is sadly underwhelming successful his episode. He conscionable doesn’t get capable clip to marque his slayer unrecorded up to the standards of acold menace acceptable by Gus Fring oregon Moff Gideon.

Still, there’s consistency and entreaty to Poker Face’s case-of-the-week format – though play 2 gives Lyonne much recurring co-stars to pal astir with. Good Buddy (Steve Buscemi), a omniscient dependable who gives Charlie proposal and occasional assistance via CB radio, is simply a invited summation to the formula. (He’s besides a fitting assemblage for her musings astir beingness connected the road.) I’m overmuch much dubious astir the late-season summation of Alex (Patti Harrison), a lonely failed entrepreneur who ne'er lies and becomes a benignant of sidekick to our streetwise protagonist/polygraph. It’s a decent thought to person backup, fixed however unsafe it is to beryllium perpetually confronting murderers without a weapon oregon badge. But successful the archetypal Alex-centric episode, the comes astatine disbursal of the caller relationships Charlie forms wrong each episode.