Poker Face Season 1 Ranked
“Poker Face” was my favourite scripted show of 2023. It is an artistic collaboration between director Rian Johnson (“Knives Out”, “The Last Jedi”), actor/producer Natasha Lyonne (“Orange is the New Black”, “Russian Doll”), showrunners Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, and other writers and creators. It is available on Peacock, and the first season has ten episodes. It stars Natasha Lyonne as a woman on the run who travels alone across the United States getting herself involved in complicated murders along the way. So many people liken this show “Poker Face” to the 1960s-1970s detective show “Columbo'' starring Peter Falk for many reasons, but one of the most exciting is that “Poker Face” attracts a very high calibre of guest actors to co-star in each episode alongside Natasha. Each episode can be treated as a standalone mystery, but there is also an overarching story of Charlie running from a powerful and mysterious figure who seeks revenge. As each episode is a standalone tale, each week we are brought into an entirely new setting with new characters. So that is something novel and exciting about this show that a lot of other scripted shows can’t give you. A big draw of the show is also Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale. Charlie is a very unique character for a lot of reasons, most importantly that she has a gift: she has an uncanny ability to tell when a person is lying. (Any other “Lie to Me” fans out there reading? What's up!) Something also incredibly special about “Poker Face” is the cinematography - those beautiful American desert settings. The thing that I keep saying about this show is it’s so cinematic. There’s also Charlie’s singular style and badass car.
Here is my personal ranking of each episode of the first season of “Poker Face”.
First Place: Episode 5, “Time of the Monkey”
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Notable guest stars: Judith Light, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Simon Helberg
I can’t read the title of this episode without hearing The Zombies’ 'Time of the Season” in my head, so you’re welcome for that. A brief description of this episode is that Charlie gets a job in a senior residence where she befriends two women who live there and have a criminal past. The first time that I saw this episode, I wrote the following review on the TV show tracking app Serializd:
One of the best episodes of television that I have ever seen?
Which seals the deal for this being my #1 ranked episode of the series. Now, rewatching it one year later, I am not sure if I feel the exact same way. But I still rate this episode a 5/5 and I am still wowed by it. The acting is one of the biggest features of this episode that sends it into the stratosphere. The casting of Judith Light and S. Epatha Merkerson into these roles seemed to be a stroke of genius. It didn’t even feel like two guest actors, it felt like two people who wholly embodied these characters, cared about them, and really took the time to make them feel real. This episode put forth real effort into building a world and a story that was so detailed and engrossing that by the time our main character Charlie Cale finally turned up on the scene she felt almost incidental. In the lesser episodes, the audience is probably just dying for Charlie to show up and make her appearance. But not in this one. The feelings of all of the characters were so intense and loaded with such a rich backstory that the audience is pushed to be so invested, and you are really forced to think. The episode was like a Swiss watch – planned so well and executed beautifully. The episode is about long held grudges, biding your time, morality, and revenge. Judith Light even won an Emmy for her appearance – not a surprise to any of us who saw the episode and yet a surprise to people like me who rarely feel like the right actor wins the right award for the right role.
Second Place: Episode 8, “The Orpheus Syndrome”
Rating: 5/5
Notable guest stars: Nick Nolte, Cherry Jones, and Luis Guizman
The short description of this episode is that Charlie befriends an older, lone wolf veteran movie makeup and puppet artist named Arthur (played by Nick Nolte) and encounters different characters that have inhabited Arthur's world for decades. This episode was so special because of the very rich world-building. Natasha Lyonne actually co-wrote AND directed this episode, and it’s very impressive. Nick Nolte’s character has a beautiful house of horrors – set pieces, puppets, props, costumes. The prop work and makeup work in this episode were incredible. And everyone in this world has a gorgeous mid-century modern house – except for Luis Guizman’s character Raoul, who plays an assistant locked away in a basement a la Milton in the 1999 movie “Office Space''. Nick Nolte’s performance was so compelling and anchored the episode. Also, the novelty and fun of seeing a favourite character actor Luis Guizman here was great. It’s always fun to see what characters Charlie gravitates towards and adores. Sometimes she’s wrong with her instincts, but this time she was right. Arthur is a gentle soul who has been through hell and walks through life with guilt. Unfortunately, of course, nothing is exactly as it seems, and Charlie, Arthur, and Raoul have to work together in a fun way to try and solve an age-old mystery. The notable themes are guilt, letting things go, blame, and absolution. This episode could have been a heavy one, but Charlie can’t help but make it funny and light.
Third Place: Episode 1, “Dead Man’s Hand” (The Pilot)
Rating: 5/5
Notable guest stars: Benjamin Bratt, Adrien Brody, and Dascha Polanco
Ahh: The pilot. The first episode that hooks you in, that sets the scene, that introduces Charlie Cale and the entire concept of the show! When we were all thinking What is this????? I did rate the pilot a 5 out of 5, but I think on the whole, I prefer the episodes I mention above, for several reasons. One, this episode is darkly violent! With the reunion of Natasha Lyonne and Dascha Polanco in this episode, it feels like a mix of “Orange is the New Black” and……..the 1995 film “Casino”????? Yes, because Natasha’s character Charlie Cale is introduced to us as a server working in a Laughlin, Nevada casino, with Adrien Brody’s character Sterling Frost Jr. being the owner and Benjamin Bratt’s character Cliff being his security detail. With the very first episode you can see the calibre of actors that this show has attracted. Benjamin Bratt? Adrien Brody? As George Costanza of “Seinfeld” once famously said about Marisa Tomei, “An Oscar winner! An Oscar winner, Jerry! You know what that’s like?”
We get introduced to Charlie’s superhuman talent of being able to tell when a person is lying, or “bullshitting” immediately. We are shown a murder, and Charlie has no idea what’s going on – only that certain people are lying to her for reasons that she cannot figure out. In the midst of all of this, Sterling Frost Jr. wants to hire Charlie specifically so that he can use her bullshit detector for his own benefit, but Sterling and Cliff appear ambiguous and shady enough that Charlie is at a crossroads with what to do while becoming more and more obsessed with the mystery presented in front of her.
Both the pilot and the season’s last episode are completely different from the case of the week episodes that make up the majority of the show. This episode feels grander, more cinematic, beautiful, far-reaching, and accomplished. The cinematography, the action, the acting, and the drama are amazing. This episode is special and practically a mini movie on its own. Adrien was fantastic, something that I always tend to say about him when I watch him act. You really feel like you know about his character immediately and there are decades of stories within his actions and his face. I could easily see a two hour movie being set at this casino with these characters and I think that that speaks to the great world-building that this episode accomplished. This episode is about friendship, regret, trying to do the right thing, and big time daddy issues.
Fourth Place: Episode 6, “Exit Stage Death”
Rating: 4.5/5
Notable Guest Stars: Tim Meadows, Ellen Barkin, and Jameela Jamil
TIM MEADOWS AND ELLEN BARKIN!!! ?!!?!??! !!!!!??!?!?! Do you see the casting genius within this show? Two people who are 90’s icons to me, being partnered up, both attractive, both great actors, both people whom I have always liked and followed throughout their careers? Yes? After this episode I wrote that I would love to watch an erotic thriller starring these two. I mean – it’s Ellen Barkin. The casting people are like matchmaking geniuses. The short description for this episode is that Charlie Cale finds herself working as a server at a dinner theatre. Once again, this episode does a fantastic job of setting up an entire world before Charlie even enters the scene. Tim Meadows and Ellen Barkin play veteran Hollywood actors who were known for starring together in a detective show and are now kind of floundering. Tim’s character is married to JAMEELA JAMIL of all people – just kidding, he’s married to Jameela’s character, a young, hot, wealthy fashion designer, and we meet Tim’s character as he is literally lounging around a pool. The life of a sugar baby, Baby! Ellen’s character shows up to convince him that they need to start acting together again, and eventually they will meet Charlie at this horrid seeming dinner theatre. The acting, the character building, the horrible play, the acting within it, were all incredible. I truly believed Ellen and Tim’s relationship but that is not surprising to me as somebody who has always found these actors both compelling and charismatic. While a mystery set in the world of stage is always fun and exciting, the plot was kind of plot holey and certain things kept gnawing at me when it came to the motivations and the mystery. But the Tim and Ellen cachet definitely makes this one of my favourite episodes of the series. This episode did a good job of setting up the dynamic between these characters and making me wonder about the before and after of this story.
Fifth Place: Episode 9, “Escape from Shit Mountain”
Initial rating: 3.5, Today’s rating: 4
Notable Guest Stars: Joseph Gordon Levitt, David Castaneda, OSCAR NOMINEE Stephanie Hsu, and Chris Cortez
Joseph Gordon Levitt?????? Starring in a project directed by Rian Johnson????? Well, yes! And that’s happened two times before. “Brick” in 2005, and “Looper” in 2012. JGL is certainly one of Rian’s muses/angels, alongside Daniel Craig and Natasha Lyonne now too. JGL is starring in this episode as a super wealthy asshole. As both a “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “10 Things I Hate About You” fan it might be surprising that I only ranked this episode in fifth place, but hear me out.
It is so different from the rest of the episodes in that it is so. Fucking. Dark. Whoever wrote this one is a real sicko. I know that I keep using the ‘cinematic’ adjective about this show and saying “It’s like a movie!!!" but this episode really is. This episode goes deep into nihilism, good versus evil, fantasy versus reality, and perhaps even the supernatural. The themes of this episode are very heavy, and it’s hard to watch. While “Poker Face” and especially Natasha’s character can be light and comic, this episode doesn’t really lean into that. Instead, the theme of this episode seems to be: the world is a truly dark place and can Charlie even survive it? Add to that the absolutely beautiful opening to this episode that had me in rapture starring Chris Cortez and Natasha Lyonne in some kind of hot, sexy mountain honeymoon phase. Chris stars as this incredibly hunky lumberjack GOD that Charlie finds happiness with for a brief, shining, glorious moment. My god, he was something! And then that was all ripped away with no explanation. So confusing! So frustrating! So hot! These are the reasons why it does not get the highest rating from me. Sorry.
Sixth Place: Episode 10, “The Hook”
Rating: 4/5
Notable guest stars: Ron Perlman, Benjamin Bratt, Simon Helberg, Clea Duvall, and Rhea Perlman
Ahhhh. The last episode of the season. As I stated about the pilot, this is just not like the other episodes at all. With the pilot, that’s a good thing, with this episode, I’m more neutral. I’m not sure what the plan was for this show as a whole. Did the creators know that they were going to do a second season when they made this episode? When did they find out? Did they find out right before they made it? Because this episode, to me, shows a lack of cohesion, decision-making, and organization. I'm sure many people were excited about the “But I’m a Cheerleader” reunion between Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall, and that’s great! But Clea plays Natasha’s sister, a suburban mother who is incredibly hostile towards Charlie, and the reunion wasn’t exactly warm. The entire concept of the show is that Charlie is constantly on the run from a vicious, all-powerful, overwhelming figure who wants nothing but her dead – and that all kind of deflated like a balloon in this episode. Why? Does Ron Perlman have other commitments? I felt like there’s no real motivation to be interested in an arc that is completely ripped away from you. We know that Season 2 is looming so the show tries to set that up but it all feels very lackluster after this episode. That being said, I did kind of enjoy rewatching it. There’s some fun, style, and humour, and it’s pretty far-reaching. Charlie finds herself in several different locales and crazy predicaments and there's a lot of plot. So it was interesting, I will say that! A year after watching it though, I had zero memory of the episode altogether, which is not a good sign. It was not memorable.
Seventh Place: Episode 4,”Rest in Metal”
Rating: 4/5
Notable Guest Stars: Chloe Sevigny and Nicholas Cirillo
In this episode, Charlie Cale is a MERCH GIRL! That job title will become relevant to you later. But she’s a MERCH GIRL for this heavy metal band that is currently touring. She gets to know these band members and finds that there’s some dark lore surrounding them and that these characters are not what they seem. I am a fan of Chloe Sevigny so I was excited about this one. I was a little unsure about her performance, as it felt kind of Courtney Love-lite? But it was easier on me the second time that I watched it. I thought that Nicholas Cirillo, an actor who doesn’t even have his own Wikipedia page, did a great job of being a likeable sort of hero in this story. He’s meant to be annoying, but he did have a puppy dog quality. Unfortunately, this was not one of my favourite episodes. I think the fact that everyone except Nicholas's character was unlikeable was one of the main problems. Also, the motivations of the characters seemed more far-fetched and harder to reconcile than usual. This episode is about the music industry, trying to find success, sacrifice, and inspiration.
Eighth Place: Episode 2, “Night Shift”
Rating: 4/5
Notable Guest Stars: Hong Chau, Megan Suri, Colton Ryan, John Ratzenberger, Brandon Micheal Hall, and Chelsea Frei
Oooh, “Night Shift”. The very second episode of the series! Charlie is now on the run and meets her first gaggle of characters with a murder and a mystery to solve. Charlie’s iconic car breaks down and she finds herself at a truck stop. What was cool about this episode and this setting is the sheer amount of characters that Charlie encounters. She meets a lot of young people who work day jobs at this stop and she encounters a lot of truckers, one played by recent OSCAR NOMINEE Hong Chau. Just look at that cast list! Absolutely crazy. The first time that I watched this episode I didn’t like how it left me feeling. What’s harsh and difficult about “Poker Face” is that the victims often seem innocent, likeable and charismatic. Charlie gets to know strangers in a fast amount of time and we’re shown a window into their life and soul. Some of them befriend her and are so sweet that it melts the heart. And then bam. It’s murder time. The cast of characters was great in this episode and I was charmed by Hong Chau, Brandon Micheal Hall, and Chelsea Frei. But I didn’t love the story and I guess it gave me a sense of emptiness and dread. If anyone watched “The Girl from Plainville” from 2022 as I did, both Chloe Sevigny and Colton Ryan had major roles in that show also. I assumed that people liked this episode, especially Hong Chau’s character and her interactions with Charlie, but it just wasn’t my favourite. I was surprised to see that this was the third episode Rian Johnson directed, along with the pilot and “Escape from Shit Mountain”.
Ninth Place: Episode 7, “The Future of the Sport”
Initial rating: 4, Today’s rating: 3.5
Notable Guest Stars: Tim Blake Nelson as Keith, Charles Melton as David
Oooooooooof, I feel badly about this one. I mean, Charles Melton. Everyone’s favourite recent almost Oscar nominee and owner of one of the most beautiful facial structures that I have ever seen. In this episode Charlie Cale finds herself temporarily working at a (picture me Googling “What are race car places called?”) race track where Charles Melton and Tim Blake Nelson play bitterly antagonistic rival drivers. Oh yeah... we’re at the Race Place! On “Poker Face”! There is a lot that was novel about this episode. I loved the casting (clearly) and the surprise of Charles having the much bigger role than Tim. I loved that everyone was so thoughtfully cast from Davis’s mother to Keith’s wife and daughter. I loved that Charles’s character Davis flirts with and hits on Charlie. And there were more novel things that I would rather save for you. But this episode didn’t really hit it for me. The story, the motivations and actions of the characters, were hard to really buy into. And on second viewing, my elation at simply seeing Charles Melton here was kind of dampened by the straightforward story. There wasn’t much mystery here at all. This episode is definitely trying to do some commentary on the background of people that find success in life and who is even allowed to play the game, but those potentially interesting themes felt like an afterthought in all of the racing action. Sim Simma. Who got the keys to my race car?
Tenth Place: Episode 3, “The Stall”
Rating: 3.5/5
Notable Guest Stars: Lil Rel Howery, Danielle MacDonald, Larry Brown, and Shane Paul McGhie
Oooh! Once again I feel so bad. Lil Rel Howery! The darling of "Get Out" (2015). Danielle MacDonald! I loved her in “Dumplin’” (2018)! But this episode was just not my favourite. I mentioned that for a lot of these case of the week “Poker Face” episodes, we spend a good portion of the beginning of each episode being introduced to a world that Charlie then saunters her way into. I just couldn't find this particular setting interesting. And for most of the episode, Charlie is distracted by a fascist dog. Yes, that’s right. Unfortunately, Lil Rel and Danielle play very unlikeable people and I just couldn’t get invested in their BBQ stall, their BBQ plans, and their BBQ dreams. Also, since Larry Brown’s character seemingly lived alone in a trailer, I assumed that he was single and that Lil Rel and Danielle’s character were married. It turns out that Danielle’s character is married to Larry Brown’s? But did they even have one scene together? I was confused. I just felt like this episode didn’t do the greatest job of making me care about this stall, and establishing the relationships therein to make me really invested in what was going to happen. I could never really get a grasp on understanding the characters' motivations for their actions. Shane Paul McGhie gets a fun role right at the end of the episode and I loved Larry’s character befriending Charlie and bonding with her over movies at the beginning, but the ‘meat’ of this episode was just my least favourite. People who love high jinks involving strong-personality dogs, and fans of “Okja” (2017), might love it though.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope that you all enjoyed "Poker Face" as much as I did, and I very much look forward to the next season!
Sources: Wikipedia, IMDb
App/Website: Serializd
