If you thought you couldn’t love Charlie anymore, here’s an episode that showcases the best of this impeccable blend of acting and writing. Poker Face Episode 7 is almost perfect with its well timed jokes and scary moments. It’s rare that we really feel that Charlie is in danger. It is the nature of this small show that relies on the immense talent of Natasha Lyonne. Things felt different this week and Charlie felt vulnerable in a way she hasn’t felt since the first episode. Joe Lawson, whose brilliant BoJack Horseman defined what emotional comedy could be, wrote a fantastic episode that gave us everything we wanted from the series and things we didn’t even know we needed.
This revenge story is so minutely written that you won’t see the twist coming until it punches you in the face. Labyrinthine and vicious, this is more The Cask of Amontillado mixed with a dash of Monkey’s Paw. Karma almost always gets you, as Justin Timberlake sang: What goes around, comes back around.” Poker Face Episode 7 takes us to the track where racing is racing, and all is fair with a ribbon on the leash. Buckle up, racing fans. You’re in for a bumpy ride.
The usual formula of murder introduction and then Charlie’s timely involvement got a revamp this week. That’s the point of this entertaining show. It has some of the best episodic mysteries, but they’re mixed in new ways to keep things from getting stale. Like Murder She Wrote and Colombo, we get a new crime each week and watch our hero solve it. The difference with Poker Face is that we know who did it and how. We get into Charlie’s sarcastic mind and watch her find out. It’s a spider paying off. I could never get enough of watching Charlie taunt killers as they stumbled around wondering how she could know so much.
So far, Charlie has come in behind the back of a murder and needed to get justice for the victim. In Poker Face Episode 7, she gets something potentially better than justice. Charlie takes the best revenge for her victim, who fortunately does not die. The killer is free, but forced to live with the knowledge that you can’t beat Karma, and once your flow is gone, there’s no turning back. Charlie didn’t put the killer behind bars, but she did enough damage that they’ll never be the same again.
Davis McDowell (Charles Melton, Riverdale) is the future of racing. He is handsome, fast and handy with social media. Unfortunately, he’s also a bit of an asshole. His rival is Keith Owens (Tim Blake Nelson of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities). After McDowell beats him with a legal but annoying bump, Owens is determined to race one more time and retire on top. McDowell, who has more talent than wits, pokes the bear by filming a Tik Tok destroying Owens’ mailbox. Feeling disrespected and angry, Owens broke into McDowell’s garage and tampered with his race car. The next day, when they race, McDowell crashes into the concrete barrier at full speed and his car catches fire. But that’s not what happened.
Charlie gets involved when McDowell’s mother, Jean (Angel Desai), comes into her job. They both work for Kamelot Karts, a children’s amusement park near the circuit. When Davis comes over to visit the kids, he stays to help Charlie. The tough guy we thought we knew is a cover for a sweeter man who loves his family and is generous with his time. He spends the day with Charlie and even tries to kiss her before Owens’ daughter Katy (Jasmine Aiyana Garvin) appears and embarrasses him at the cart track. It’s a humiliating series of losses and explains why he was angry enough to come to Owens’ house and destroy his property.
Davis was home the night before the race. His mother took the call from the tow truck and left him at home to sober up. He saw Keith messing around with his car. He did some tinkering himself and on the day of the race he handed over the keys to his car to Katy, and the rest is history. Davis uses Charlie’s abilities against her and involves her in investigating the crash, knowing that all roads will lead to Keith. It’s a clever little ruse that could have worked if Charlie wasn’t so damn brilliant himself.
In yet another surprise twist, Keith admits to sabotaging Davis’ car. Davis thought he had gotten away with everything and got ready to raise money. Unfortunately, he wasn’t out of Charlie’s earshot when he told a small child that Katy’s seatbelt was a fluke. When Jean then tells her that Davis was home the night of the burglary, she has all the information she needs to solve the case. Charlie goes looking for clues in Davis’s garage and is caught.
With nothing to lose and more curiosity than sense, she confronts Davis, and he admits everything. She narrowly escapes when Jean finds them, and she drives off. Davis tries to run her over in his tow truck, but the clumsy vehicle is no match for Charlie’s Baracuda and she escapes again. Just before Davis’s race the next day, Charlie tells him he is a monster and Katy is coming for him.
Charlie has been able to catch the criminal every week leading up to this one. Unfortunately, she couldn’t put Davis behind bars, but luckily Katy didn’t die. Davis is a sociopath who got away with attempted murder, but his victory lap will be short. His new sponsor won’t be happy with him if he doesn’t perform, and Charlie put Katy in his head. She lives there rent-free and he can’t help it. The pale blue eye of time always overtakes us.
Every week Poker Face reinvents the who done it series. Just when I think I’ve got it all figured out, they throw us something else. Poker Face Episode 7 gave us another reason to love Natasha Lyonne and this incredible series. She is the best version of all of us. She is intelligent, capable, courageous and above all honest. With creative and funny stories and a cavalcade of great weekly stars, this is the kind of series worthy of prestige television. Peacock recently teased a season 2 pickup. i call [email protected] You know you’ve got a hit on your hands. Stop playing with us and admit it’s ordered. Find all our Poker Face coverage here.
As editor-in-chief of Signal Horizon, I enjoy watching and writing about genre entertainment. I grew up on old fashioned slashers, but my real passion is television and all weird and ambiguous stuff. My work can be found here and Travel Weird, where I am the editor-in-chief.
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