Poker Face

Last Thursday, the final episode of Poker Face was released on Peacock. Poker Face is a new whodunit murder mystery show from Rian Johnson, the creator of the Knives Out movies. Poker Face follows Charlie Cale, a woman who can tell if someone is lying, as she lives on the run moving from city to city. In each new place, she encounters a new set of characters and an exciting mystery that is left for her to help solve.

This show is definitely different than the types of shows I usually watch but I had a good time with this show. I enjoyed the style and tone of the Knives Out films and felt that this show gave off the same sort of vibe. The format itself was really fun. Instead of having a connective story over the season, it felt more like a mystery of the week sort of show with each episode having a different cast of characters and story. I think this style really fits with what Rian Johnson is good at. While each episode was stand-alone, there was a slight story that overarched throughout the season which comes up a few times in the middle of the season but really ties things together in the final episode. I enjoyed the cast of characters included in each episode. They were all pretty memorable and a lot of fun to watch. The main character Charlie was a lot quite a bit of fun. She is very likable and easy to route for, which makes her a great person to follow throughout the season. Finally, I liked the style in that each episode was told. It steers away from the typical mystery formula and somewhat flips it on its head which really makes for some unexpected moments and very effective stories. Overall, each episode was a fun little mystery with no episode really being a weak point in the series.

Unfortunately, there are a few things about the show that I took issue with. While I can appreciate that the series changed the format for how the murders were revealed, I was not the biggest fan of what they chose to do. Instead of having Charlie encounter the murder and then having it show how the murder happened, the series shows what happened first and then has Charlie encounter it. So instead of being a whodunit, we see who does it and instead watch Charlie try and figure it out. This format kind of takes away the whole mystery and intrigue aspect. While there are still some reveals throughout, there aren't as many as there could have been.

Overall, I had a good amount of enjoyment in this show and thought it was very well written with a lot of fun characters. However, the format of when the murder reveal takes place hurts the show a bit for me. Regardless of that, I was still interested for the entire season and look forward to the potential of a second season.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+ Recommendation: Check it out of you like mystery/whodunit shows

Rating disclaimer: This show is rated TV-MA for language. If a lot of F-bombs bother you, then you may want to sit this out.