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Poker Face Season 2 review: Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonnes murder mystery is a gift for TV lovers everywhere
Peacock's "Poker Face" is back for a second season, and this murder mystery from Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne remains one of the best, most innovative shows on TV. Review.
In an age of truncated TV seasons or 10-hour-long movies that fail to understand the medium of television, Season 2 of Poker Face feels like a gift from the streaming gods.
Created by Rian Johnson and led by Natasha Lyonne, this charming mystery-of-the-week series takes its cues from old-school shows, primarily Columbo. Each episode is an exquisitely crafted mystery box that can stand on its own, with every episode following a similar pattern.
First, we witness a new murder, where both victims and killers are played by a roster of spectacular guest stars. Then, "human lie detector" Charlie Cale (Lyonne) enters the scene, using her unique ability to unpick the killer's deception and crack the case. It's a tried-and-true formula that carries over from week to week, but don't think for a second that Poker Face is formulaic. As the show heads into its second season, co-showrunners Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman keep finding new ways for Poker Face to play within the constraints it's set for itself, unlocking new delights in each new installment.
Poker Face Season 2 switches things up somewhat, with wonderful success.
Poker Face is, by nature, a show where everything is in flux. As Season 2 opens, Charlie is on the run from crime boss Beatrix Hasp (Rhea Perlman), introduced in the Season 1 finale. That means she follows the road wherever it takes her, from apple orchards to funeral homes.
Within this flux, many elements remain the same: Almost every location is remote and rural, and every location is populated by murderers. The "why" for the murders changes from episode to episode. Often, the killer has a nasty yet non-deadly plan up their sleeve to deal with their victim, only to turn to murdering when their victim appears to get the upper hand. In most episodes, it's their following cover-up that unveils the true extent of their malice and desperation.
Charlie's involvement also remains a constant, with Lyonne continuing to play this ragtag detective to gravel-voiced perfection. Just like in Season 1, every episode reveals about halfway through that Charlie has some kind of personal connection to the victim. More than that, she's often been around for the events of the first half of the episode, just out of sight. Trying to pick up on her presence in those opening scenes remains one of Poker Face's greatest joys, along with guessing which guest stars are marked for death and which ones will be doing the killing.
However, in Season 2, Charlie isn't always trying to get justice for a murder victim as she did in Season 1. Several installments actually see her trying to prove someone's innocence. Often, the parties she's trying to protect are unexpected: an alligator, a child, even a pitching machine! This motley assortment is proof of Poker Face's constant inventiveness. Even a switch to bigger city settings in the latter half of the season presents an exciting challenge. How do Charlie's roaming charms translate to an urban environment? For that matter, how would Charlie staying put in one place impact Poker Face's freewheeling versatility?
The answers are all, unsurprisingly, great, and Poker Face doesn't lose an ounce of variety as it roars through Season 2. That variety extends from its central mysteries to its guest stars. Poker Face knows how to play to all of its guests' strengths and then some. Melanie Lynskey shows up as an unfulfilled woman repressing a darker interior, reminiscent of her turn as Shauna in Yellowjackets. Richard Kind and John Mulaney geek out about Stephen Sondheim in what feels like a callback to the Documentary Now! spoof of the Original Cast Album: Company documentary. And Cynthia Erivo gets to prove just how much of a chameleon she is in not one, not two, but five roles.
These constant change-ups, even within a set formula, cement Poker Face as one of current TV's most fun, most varied shows. That's the power of well-crafted, truly episodic television.
