Winter Warmer Watchlist - Poker Face - Season Two

Poker Face returned to Stan for its second season.

Ceated by Rian Johnson and starring Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a woman with the innate ability to detect when people are lying, who finds herself solving murders as she travels across the United States.

This could be US streamer Peacock's biggest series. Well Twisted Metal returns later this month, so the Anthony Mackie lead series will continue their solid winter programming.

Back in February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season, however we have no news on a third season as yet. Spoilers below about the finale, The End of the Road.

Alongside Lyonne, this episode stars Justin Theroux as "The Iguana" / Todd Tolocci, Lili Taylor as Agent Darville, Patti Harrison as Alex, Haley Joel Osment as Kirby Kowalczyk, Taylor Schilling as Agent Annie Milligan, Simon Helberg as Agent Luca Clark, Rhea Perlman as Beatrix Hasp & Adam Arkin as Mark Getzler.

Some of the finales casting did actually appear in previous episodes.

The twelfth episode & season finale is the 22nd overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Laura Deeley, and directed by main lead actress Natasha Lyonne.

The series follows Charlie Cale, a woman with the ability to detect if people are lying, who is now embarking on a fresh start after criminal boss Beatrix Hasp cancels a hit on her. In the episode, Charlie and Alex reach Indiana to try and save Beatrix Hasp from a deadly assassin.

The episode received critical acclaim, with critics praising the episode's plot twist, performances, tone, directing, and set-up for next season.

So how does it all go down, While traveling to Greenville, Indiana to meet with Beatrix Hasp (Perlman), Charlie (Lyonne) and Alex (Harrison) are called by Luca (Helberg), who warns him that "The Iguana" might be following them, and it could be anyone. 

Charlie hangs up the phone before the FBI can trace her precise location; while Luca and Milligan ( Schilling) deduce she is heading for Indiana, there are over 50 safe houses in the state.

Charlie and Alex stop at a diner to eat. Charlie notices a suspicious man. When he yells at Alex, calling her "oyster girl", they flee the diner and he is tackled by other patrons. As they reach Hasp's house, Charlie investigates the area. Hearing Alex scream, she returns to the car, but finds her missing. In the house, she discovers the bodies of multiple federal agents and of Hasp. Alex appears, and Charlie deduces she is the Iguana.

Alex explains that she had killed powerful people across different circles in the world, but felt depressed and stagnant in her career until her agent told her about Charlie, who cannot be lied to and is the only one with a connection to Beatrix Hasp. Through meticulously controlling her reactions, she has been able to lie to Charlie and earn her trust. 

When she found that Kirby (Haley Joel Osment) was going to get married, she hired another assassin (Theroux) to kill him and find a patsy. Alex then killed the other assassin to cover her tracks, and framed herself to gain Charlie's sympathy. At the diner, she attacked a man in the bathroom by offering an oyster so that he would later recognise her, making Charlie believe he was the Iguana.

Alex prepares to kill Charlie, but the latter reveals that she caused a small fire in the kitchen, which alerted the authorities and allowed the FBI to find the safe house. Taking Charlie hostage at gunpoint, Alex flees in the Barracuda with the FBI in pursuit. Charlie goads Alex into playing Two Truths and a Lie: if Charlie wins, they both live and become nemeses, but if Charlie loses, Alex will drive them both off a cliff. Charlie wins the game, but the car's brakes fail. Charlie is able to jump out of the car and is pulled over the cliff by Luca.

Luca tells Charlie that she will be hunted by the FBI. Nevertheless, he lets her go with a warning that he will arrest her if he finds her again. At the bottom of the cliff, Milligan finds the Barracuda empty. Charlie and a stray dog are picked up by a trucker (Steve Earle) on the way to Wichita, Kansas.

Also starring in the second season, Giancarlo Esposito, Katie Holmes, Gaby Hoffmann, Kumail Nanjiani, Kathrine Narducci, Ben Marshall, Kevin Corrigan, Sherry Cola, Cynthia Erivo, Margo Martindale, B. J. Novak, John Mulaney, Ego Nwodim, & Sam Richardson.

So here is hoping for a third season? Well maybe, it did get a little tired throughout this season.

I must say I enjoyed the first season a little more. Both seasons however stream on Stan, NOW!