Poker face
LAST LOOKS
Season 2
Episode 2
Editor’s rating
Only Natasha Lyonne Could Direct an Episode so dedicated to the Beauty and Horror of Moviemaking. And Only Giancarlo Esposito Could Play a man so cursed to run a “Temple to the Dignity of Death.”
Photo: Sarah Shatz/Peacock
Can we take a moment to celebrate Natasha lyonne? I know we celebrate her hairly often – the phrase “can we take a moment to celebrate Natasha lyonne?” Itself is something to say at least once a weeke – but the second episode of Poker face‘s sophomore season is a testament to her range and hediosyncrasies. As Charlie, She Get to Show Shades of the Character We’ve Rarely Seen before, but lyonne’s stamp is all over “Last looks” as its director and co-writer. Who but HER WOULD INCLUDE REPEATED REFERENCES to the 1980 Dennis Hopper Film Out of the blue and its Cult Star, Linda Manz?
The episode opens with a distinctly ’70s vibe as we enter a funeral home and watch a man BLULGEON HIS WIFE with a fireplace poker. That’s the Murder Charlie Needs to Solve – IT’S A PIVOTAL SCHEEN IN A MOVIE’S’S BEING FILMED. And yes, it’s a period piece set in 1973, which Explains the aesthetic lyonne embrace for those early moments. The real people to keep an eye on here are fred (giancarlo esposito, cursed to play endless variations of not-nice people), who has begrudgingly loaned out his real funeral home to this production, and fred’s wiffe, Greta (Katie Holmes). Lifestyle and finds herself drafuned to the thrill of Moviemaking. Fred is humorless, reminding Greta of their Mission: “Real People Grieving Real Death, That What Our Lives Are About.” Greta, Meanwhile, Has One Foot out the door, as evidenced by the fact that and forgets to tell the hoppenstammers, a colorful biker family, that their matriarch.
AFTER FRED GIVES GRETA ANOTHER SPEECH ABOUT How they are caratakers of a “temple to the dignity of Death,” she decides she can put it to anymore and says a divorce. One of the Movie’s Makeup Artists has offered to help her find work in miami, and she needs out from the “deresing Haunted Shithole.” Fred, who is a fourth-generation funeral director, doesn’t see a path for eather of the death-centered lives they’re leading. “There is no out,” he says ominously. But there may be an option beyond divorce – iTu just not one Greta Will Like Much. Watching the Murder Schene Being Filmed Upstairs Plants Homicidal Ideas in Fred’s Head. No Matter How Much Blood Spatter Hits the Wall every time the man Strikes his wife, a reset makes it all look like. And when the crew wraps at 7 am the Next Morning, they’ll Strike the Set Dresing and Scrub Eveling Down. Convenient!
That Night, Greta Arrives Home Late and Sloshed, Unwilling to Hear Fred’s Apologies or Discuss Staying Put. She’s made up her mind, and than’s the tan Clearer one she shakes Fred a Photo of Her Packed Bags. While grets in the shower doing a Lively renders of “Ring My Bell” – Go off, Katie Holmes – Fred Moves the Suitcases Downstairs, Placing Right Where The Murder Skenes Place. Once Greta Hits Her Mark, he comes up bend her and bashes her head in with a fireplace poker. The Blood Spatter Matches What’s Already on the Wall (Again, Convenient!) And he Drops the Bloody Poker Next to the Other Bloody Pokers. DISPOSING OF THE BODY ISN’t hard – this is a funeral parlor! Fred Creemates Greta and Presses Her Remains Into a Record that Plays Santo & Johnny’s 1959 Classic “Sleep Walk.” Crew Arriva on Schedule and Begins Dismantling the Set (and the Evidence of Greta’s Murder) The Next Morning, it LOOKS LIKE FRED HAS COMMITTED THE PERFECT CRIME.
Of Course, it offten LOOKS LIKE UNIL Charlie Cale Arriva. We have caught up with her, she’s lounging on the beach in a funny hawaiian shirt and sipping soda out of a novelty drinking hat. She also has a semi-captive audience in a young child who’s sort of listening as she is explains that it’s been three months synce sheard anything from Beatrix or the five families, and she’s on a self-imbepment kick, switching her cigarettes for a Cotton-Cotton-Cotton-Cotton hot. But the THING ABOUT VAPES IS THAT THEY NEED BATTERIES, WHICH CEOs Charlie on a fateful errand to public (The Site of so many fetefulr) and into the path of Tommy (Kevin Corrigan). He’s got an eye on her 1969 Plymouth Barracuda, The Perfect Car to use as dresing in the 1973-set period piece he’s working on. Soon Enough, Charlie is at the Funeral Home, and when the actor playing a corpse comes down with Covid, Charlie Gets a New Cash Paying Gig. With fake stitches across her throat, she hangs out in an open coffin vaping as the movie’s climate fight happens beex. Apparently The Director DOESN’T Mind the Cotton Candy Smoke Wafting Up From A Supposedly Dead Body.
Everyone she goes, Charlie SEEMS TO MAKE FRIENDS. Here, she unfortunately bonds with soon-be-murdered greta, who tells that and she went to cosmetology schoo to work with living people, but ended up falling into makeup on Dead bodies when she met Fred. In the worst meet-cute of all time, he creted her pars After the car accent that left her orphaned as a very naïve 25 -ear-op. They’ve been Together Ever Since. Charlie Also Kind of Bonds With Fred Becauses the Only One On the Crew Who SEEMS Genuinely Interested in His Life’s Work. Fred excitedly tells her about all the breakthroughs in cremeatory science. It’s a Common Misconception that Dead Bodies Are Tourned Int Ash; In fact, a person Remains are Ground-up bone fragments only look like, and they can be infused intoe just about anything: stained glas, cufflinks, fireworks, and, yes, records. Greta doesn’t want to be a record, though. Not even the tells charlie on their drunken night out – when she’s taking a break from flirting with tommy, that is – fred has already picked out a song, “Sleep walk,” to press her remains into. “Its like I’m Already Dead,” She Says Bell Launching Into a Tirade About “Sleep Walk,” Slide Guitar, and Cultural Appropriation. Wen Charlie and Greta Part Back at the House, Charlie’s Already Aggreed to Pick Her Up The Next Morning to Her to Miami.
For reasons we already know, geta isn’t there to be Charlie arriva. Although Fred Tells Charlie That Greta Has Left Him, Her Suspitions Are Piqued Wen and Spots Him Dancing to “Sleep Walk.” She decides to confront Him at the hoppenstammer funeral – he nansing the family if mama banshee has anytheering with person on her person Batteries Will Explode in the Furnace, something to keep in mind – and fred the Same Story. “She Said She Wanted to Leave with the film crew and she did,” he insists to charlie, and he’s not lying. Because you can infuse remains into all sorts of things, that doesn’t exactly put charlie’s Mind at ease. She Connects with the crew at a new location, where tommy confirms that no one has seen geta all day. She was drunkenly blowing up Tommy’s Phone the Night before, but his texts to geta since moing have unanswered. Meanwhile, Charlie Consults with Paige From Set Dec, who confirms that the team cleaned up the grisly mess at the house earlier that day. Are they sura the Blood was fake? Still Unsetled, Charlie and Tommy Decide to Head Back to the Death House to do some snooping.
Its not long before Charlie Spots Something. While hiding from Fred in the coffin on the wall Schene set, she sees a drop of blood on the lightbulb directly above hef, and that’s Enough to Confront Fred. While he and it is must be movie blood that the crew neglect to clean propperly, charlie notes that she was in the coffin all day yesterday and knows there are Silk Cloth covering the Lights. “THIS MOVIE SHOOT GOVE YOU THE PERFECT COUNT TO STOP HER, TO KEEP SERIE FOREVER Trappled Inside of A Song That You Got to Choose,” She Challenges Him. “AM I Getting Warmer?” I love Charlie when she’s being this aggressive – she obviously really like Greta, and she’s reasonably pissed! But before she can get to say to her to her face that it did and kill kill his wife, tommy bursts in, Having just reciped a miach beach selfie from greta. I ALSO LOVE Charlie in “AW, Jeez” Apology Mode as she tes Tries to console a crying fred. She really feels like she’s one Wrong. Be he leaves her alone in his office, though, she Hears Greta’s “Ring My Bell” Ringtone and Finds Her Phone in a Desk Drawer. Just as charlie discovers the beach selfie is from 2022, fred coma up bend her and knacks her out.
The Final Act of the Episode is Masterfuly Done, Starting with Charlie Waking Up Inside A Coffin and Set to Be Burned Alive in the Furnace. Lyonne Plays a level of panicked desperation we’ve never seen from charlie before, and the scnee is genuinely terrifying. Charlie Escapes Just in Time, But Fred is Poked to Attack. AS Director, lyonne tours this into a thrling horror sequenry-and thatn a slow-motion-movie set piece, once charlie remembers the rule about batteries in the furnace and tosses her vape in. The Ensuing Cotton Candy-Scened Explosion Knocks Both charlie and fred back, but be he tes Tries to drag Him out of the Burning House, he refuses to Budge. All of his love ons have had ther remains infused into the itetes surrounding Him. Now Consumed in Flakes, they’re ashes after all. Fred Sites Calmly upstairs while allusion to Hitchcock’s Around Him, and the Allusion to Hitchcock’s Rebecca Must be intended. (That Movie, Howver, Didn’t Culminate in Fireworks Made Out of Dead People.)
Charlie Is Mildly Singed But Still Kicking. She Heads Back to Her Car and Lights up a cigarette – Her vape is toast, and hey, she’s earned this. IT’S NOT BEATRIX’S GOONS WHO ATTAK THIS TIME, but beatrix Hasp Herself, Emerging from the backseat with a gun to head. This is the first we’ve seen of rhea perlman on the show, though her unmistakable voice has already made quite an impression. “You know better than that, Charlie Cale,” Beatrix Says of the Cigarette. “Those Things’ll Kill Ya.” SO Will Guns, of Course, but it doesn’t look like shee’s going to shoot charlie right. AFTER ALL, THEY HAVE UNFINED BUSINESS TO TAKE CARE OF.
• The following talking about why the film is set in 1973 is a fun acknowledgment of Charlie’s Old-School Sleuthing Style. As one explains to the Other, “Iphones and DNA and Stuff Make It Way Too Easy to Solve Murders.”
• Giancarlo esposito is always great as the Bad Guy, but I was Also impressed with Katie Holmes, Who Makes Greta Like A Real Person and Adds a Lot of the Line, “Life Among the Dead, What Kind of Life is That?” It Clearly Resonates with Charlie.
• My One Note About Holmes is that Her Teeth Areth Distractingly White, Which Frankly Doesn’t Seem Right for the Character. Bring Back Actors with normal person teeth! I realize the am Ling this battle.
• Appreciated Charlie Getting Subtly Political in Her Beach Monologue. “I see my hunter S. Thompson References are lost on you and that’s a shame,” she teles the Young Boy. “That’s why we were Need to Keep Books in Florida Libraries.”
• Charlie’s Esoteric References Are One of the Most Consisttent Joys of Poker face. I’ve Never Seen Out of the bluebut i know it a movie that lyonne is passionate about. She and Chloe Sevigny (Her Real-Life Friend and a Murderer Last Season) actually Organized A Crowdfund to Restore The Film.
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