Warning! Spoilers forward for Poker Face season 2, episode 4.
Poker Face delivers one among its most far-fetched (and most enjoyable) homicide mysteries thus far in season 2, episode 4, “The Style of Human Blood.” After securing a much-needed contemporary begin in episode 3, “Whack-a-Mole,” Charlie Cale randomly locations her finger on a map of america to see the place she ought to go first, and lands on the Florida Panhandle. Unsurprisingly for that setting, the episode kicks off with one of many wildest murders within the collection thus far.
Fran, a police officer performed by Gaby Hoffmann, is livid after being handed over for “Officer of the Yr” eight occasions in a row in favor of Kumail Nanjiani’s “Gator Joe,” a TikTok-ing, catchphrase-spouting, corporate-sponsored influencer cop with an alligator sidekick. Fran slips Joe a reptile laxative to embarrass him in entrance of his adoring followers, however the dose finally ends up killing him. Realizing she’ll be came upon after they do the post-mortem, she feeds his corpse to his personal alligator. Enter Charlie, who, it seems, has fallen in with some animal rights activists hoping to liberate Joe’s alligator.
What separates Poker Face from other case-of-the-week whodunit shows like Columbo and Ironside is that its protagonist is an newbie detective; she’s not formally affiliated with the police. This newest episode performs round with that distinction by planting Charlie at an awards ceremony for cops. So, we’re watching a detective present the place our detective is the one individual within the room who isn’t a cop.
Kumail Nanjiani Has A Ton Of Enjoyable Spoofing Tiger King & Gaby Hoffmann Grounds The Absurdity
Poker Face Season 2, Episode 4 Has One other Pair Of Nice Visitor Stars
Very like Poker Face’s three-episode season premiere, “The Style of Human Blood” is anchored by a few incredible visitor stars. Hoffmann grounds the ridiculousness in actual human emotion. As Charlie factors out, the setup of this storyline is completely ludicrous, however Hoffmann performs the guilt and the panic completely straight. Nanjiani’s Floridian accent slips out and in all through the episode, however he’s nonetheless hilarious as all the time. Gator Joe is a mixture of Joe Unique and a generic “Florida Man,” and Nanjiani has a ton of enjoyable with that function.
Gator Joe is a mixture of Joe Unique and a generic “Florida Man,” and Nanjiani has a ton of enjoyable with that function.
The episode presents the Florida Panhandle Cop Awards (or “FlopaCopas”) as primarily the Oscars for cops, and it wrings a ton of nice gags out of that absurd comedian premise. When the award for “Finest Inner Affairs Investigation” is introduced, each cop within the room boos. The “Finest Undercover Cop” winner can’t be there to simply accept his award as a result of he’s nonetheless embedded within the cartel. Poker Face is as much a comedy series as a homicide thriller collection, and this episode actually leans into the comedy.
Poker Face Season 2, Episode 4’s Ending Brings The Story Full Circle
Fran’s Disaster Of Conscience Is A Bit Too Handy, However The Remaining Punchline Redeems It
Wyatt Cain’s script builds to a fantastic ending that brings the episode full circle. Wracked with guilt, Fran resigns from the police pressure and takes a job on the alligator sanctuary run by the animal rights activists as a type of penance. Her new boss tells her she’s doing good work and that, if she retains it up, she might win “Volunteer of the Month.” This Twilight Zone-style back-to-square-one twist suggests she’ll begin the cycle another time and get right into a years-long rivalry with one other volunteer that can escalate into one thing lethal.
Poker Face releases new episodes on Peacock each Thursday.
“The Style of Human Blood” may need a a lot sillier setup than the typical Poker Face episode — the entire thing is principally a lavish, hour-long Florida Man meme — however its execution is simply as good. Cain’s script regularly escalates the stakes with contemporary twists that preserve you guessing, just like the revelation that Joe’s sun shades had been mounted with a live-streaming digital camera when he died. Fran’s disaster of conscience towards the top is slightly too handy, however that “Volunteer of the Month” punchline makes up for it.
Poker Face Season 2, Episode 4
9/10
- Launch Date
-
January 26, 2023
- Community
-
Peacock
- Administrators
-
Fortunate McKee, Natasha Lyonne, Janicza Bravo, Ben Sinclair
- Writers
-
Wyatt Cain, Alice Ju
-
Natasha Lyonne
Charlie Cale
-
Benjamin Bratt
Cliff Legrand
- “The Style of Human Blood” executes a foolish premise in a extremely good approach
- Kumail Nanjiani has a ton of enjoyable parodying Joe Unique
- Gaby Hoffmann grounds the absurdity
- The thriller story wraps up a bit too conveniently
