Poker Face - Episodes 3 & 4 Review

Opinion posted February 15, 2023 in Arts & Entertainment by Sophia Clements.

(Spoilers Ahead)

This new murder mystery show has started to get into a groove with these last two episodes, starting a formula that is becoming familiar with each new episode.

Each episode begins with a story that brings the viewer in with a new story, ending in the murder of a character that has just started to become likable.

As the show continues to follow Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) she enters halfway into each episode coming off her chase to take a break from life on the road and take a job to earn money for mostly just gas and food.

Then she inevitably runs into a murder and as she stumbles upon clues to figure it out, the audience is on the edge of their seats waiting to see her discover what they already know.

Episode three takes place at a Texas barbeque joint, where Charlie gets a job working in the kitchen. The barbeque place is run by brothers George and Taffy Boyle (Larry Brown and Lil Rel Howery) with the help of George’s wife, Mandy (Danielle MacDonald).

The Boyles have a popular and successful barbeque business, but that all comes to a halt when George watches 2017’s “Okja” and has a change of heart.

Taffy Boyle decides to take it into his own hands and kill his brother, but make it seem like a suicide all so he could take control of the business with his brother’s wife- that was in on it. Mandy was in on it the whole time and plotted to kill her own husband to be with her brother.

With the help of a little dog, Charlie begins to unravel the mystery by using floss, a college student and “the stall”.

Episode four opens with struggling singer, Ruby Ruin (Chloë Sevigny) and her band embarking on a tour, right after they found their new drummer Gavin (Nicholas Cirillo), looking for their next big hit.

They play a few shows with a little crowd turnout as they try to shy away from their old big hit “Staplehead” - which they call cursed because their old drummer gets all the money for the song.

The band tries and fails to create a new hit, not making any moves with “Merch Girl” until Gavin stumbles into their motel room with his song, “Sucker Punch.” The band realizes they need this song to succeed but hatch a plan to kill Gavin so the same thing doesn’t happen again.

While performing on stage Gavin mysteriously gets electrocuted during their performance, but luckily his new buddy and the band’s merch girl, Charlie is watching.

As she unravels this new mystery she gets caught in a viral video, leading Frost (Benjamin Bratt) straight to her. Since episode one she has been hiding from Frost, and this is already the second time she’s had a too-close encounter.

Lyonne is entertaining as always in both episodes, making the series a fun watch from the start. Getting launched into these mini worlds, watching a story unfold, and then rewatching it through Charlie’s eyes makes the show so intriguing.

Poker Face is Rian Johnson’s most recent masterpiece, right off the heels of the success of “Glass Onion” and it just makes the wait for the next “Knives Out Mystery” more unbearable.

Sophia Clements is a second-year majoring in public relations. To contact her, email sbc6003@psu.edu.

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