This article contains spoilers fromPoker Faceepisode 6.Episode 6 ofPoker Faceis full of so many unexpected plot twists that fans need a map just to keep up with the chaotic storyline. The Peacock original series follows Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) as she makes her way through the US solving inexplicable murders along the way. The trick is she has a nose for lying the way that babies have an ear for knowing when their parents are trying to sneak their favorite snacks in peace. She has a very strong sense of knowing when someone is trying to pull one over and her dedication to figuring out mysteries that borders on the obsessive.
She’s not too different fromBenoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), only she’s a little less country and a little more rock & roll. Her first foray into the world of using her unique talent to solve a crime puts her on the permanent run from a big-time mobster in Las Vegas. Normally, people see Benjamin Bratt and run toward him. However, he’s not usually playing Cliff LeGrand – hired hitman for the same mobster that wants Charlie out of the picture for good. It gives every case she stumbles upon a time limit with deadly consequences if she’s not back on the road before Cliff comes around.
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Funny enough, any resemblance Charlie bears to Benoit Blanc isn’t just a coincidence.Rian Johnson & Ram Bergmanare both brilliant minds who worked on theKnives Outseries as well as creator & executive producer (respectively) forPoker Face. Their new TV series has already gained critical acclaim for its revolving door of A-list actors, witty humor, and refusal to take itself too seriously. It even has a 99% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes! Aside from the first four episodes that premiered on January 26th, new episodes ofPoker Facedebut weekly.
Each episode is a little wackier than the last which is part of the fun. It helps that Charlie is played by the charismatic Natasha Lyonne. In some ways, Charlie is similar to her character inRussian Doll. In other ways, Charlie is just a regular woman with an unusual gift who still believes in people enough to fight for them when they can’t fight for themselves. Season 1, episode 6, “Exit Stage Death” is a reminder that she’ll even fight for people when they don’t really deserve it.
The newest episode ofPoker Faceopens with Kathleen Townsend (Ellen Barkin) pretending to angrily reunite with former co-star Michael Graves (Tim Meadows) and ends with Charlie revealing their plot to kill his wife Ava (Jameela Jamil). The episode is pretty par-for-the-course forPoker Face. . . minus the ending, in which police swarm the theater to arrest the murderers but are themselves arrested in awe as Kathleen performs her character’s final monologue. In fact, not only do they let her finish but some of them even shed a tear or two along with Charlie at the sheer amount of emotion & honesty Kathleen puts into what she knows is her last performance for a long, long time.
Just to recap: Michael & Kathleen pretend to reunite only to secretly have been planning to murder his wife Ava. Their ultimate goal is gaining access to the money she’s earned while encouraging women into the stock market. Their method of execution is as far-fetched as it is slightly hilarious, if only because it’s so unexpected. Michael drugs Phil (Chris McKinney), the stage manager, so he can replace the bolt of a trap door with a piece of dry ice and moves the safety mat from beneath it. Kathleen rigs a stage light to fall and ‘almost’ hit Michael, prompting him to fake a heart attack so Ava rushes to the stage to save him.
The result? She runs on stage just as the dry ice lock melts, falls through the trap door, hits on her head on the ground, and dies immediately. The type of dramatic hijinks one might see in a soap opera or aJim Carrey movie from the 90s. It’s a full-proof plan complete with Michael & Kathleen faking an argument pulling word-for-word from an episode of the show they’d previously worked on together. It would’ve gone perfectly had it not been for Charlie. This is wherePoker Facegets a little confusing.
Johnson & co. have perfected a formula when it comes to the popular streaming series. The episode starts with a focus on the victim, it shows their unfortunate demise, Charlie stumbles unwittingly into the story, something innocuous happens, she solves the case, and then she’s driving off into the sunset as the authorities rush in to arrest the guilty parties. Yet, the police atthe end of episode 6 ofPoker Facegive pause when they see Kathleen still performing.
This could be a commentary on the leeway entertainers receive for bad behavior just because they’re talented. This could be a result of dramatic effect, a testament to how effective Kathleen’s monologue is even in the midst of her being outed as a murderer. This could also just be a case of white privilege in action, the police giving a white woman the chance to be arrested gracefully despite her crime of conspiring to murder an innocent woman. Whatever the case, it’s an odd ending to a wild case that’ll surely have fans on edge for the next episode.
