Peacock’s original series Poker Face was off to a strong start with its debut season in 2023. The momentum continued with fun and exciting new episodes in Season 2. The Season 2 finale, Episode 12, “The End of the Road,” suggests the story could have reached anything but that. However, the storyline also threatens to dilute the magic of the show should it continue.
The focus in Poker Face has always been centered around Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) and her uncanny ability to instantly determine if a person is lying or telling the truth. She has been flawless every time, saving lives and solving cases with her unique talent. But that could all come to an end.
What Happens in the Season 2 Finale?
The big twist in the season two finale continues the story that began in Episode 11, “Day of the Iguana.” Charlie is helping her new friend Alex (Patti Harrison), who has taken a job serving oysters at a swanky wedding. Everything is going well until it isn’t. Charlie eventually learns that the groom, played by Haley Joel Osment in the star-studded season, is Beatrix Hasp’s (Rhea Perlman) estranged son. He winds up dead in a boat, Alex beside him with a knife. It’s clear from the initial set-up involving a mysterious character played by Justin Theroux that Alex is innocent and being framed. Now, it’s up to Charlie to clear her name and save her life.
But as revealed in the finale, it was all a ruse. Luca (Simon Helberg) and his FBI team eventually discover that the culprit is a person who has long been wanted by the FBI. They are known as The Iguana, and they can take on the look and persona of just about anyone using elaborate make-up and prosthetics. The Iguana has the reputation of being the deadliest assassin in the world. And Charlie comes to learn that Alex is actually The Iguana.
Alex knew of Charlie’s abilities and concocted an elaborate plan to use Charlie as bait to get her to her biggest target yet: Beatrix. Charlie is the only living person left with ties to Beatrix, and she also presents Alex’s biggest challenge because of her unique skill.
Once Charlie realizes that Beatrix is dead and picks up on an earlier little white lie Alex told her, she puts two and two together. But it’s too late. Alex now has her at gunpoint and wants to kill her. Charlie uses her usual charm and plays to Alex’s ego with a final challenge in hopes that it will save her life. It does, thanks to some last-minute help from Luca. Alex, meanwhile, is stuck in a car as it plummets over a cliff.
Charlie is now wanted by the FBI for aiding and abetting a serial killer, getting a federal agent killed, and revealing the location of a witness protection safe house. The list goes on. Luca can save her from a lot, but not this. He does, however, let her go. But he promises sadly that the next time he sees her, he will have no choice but to arrest her.
Wait, How Did Alex Lie to Charlie?
Given that the core of the show is about how Charlie can detect when anyone is lying, how did Alex manage to lie to her so many times without Charlie noticing? This is explained far too easily. Alex tells the story. She had become so good at her job as an assassin, she was starting to get bored. She wanted a challenge or else she was ready to give up and end it all.
When she learned of the hit on Beatrix and the unique ability of the only woman who might be able to lead her to the mob boss, Alex perked up. This was just the type of challenge she needed. She trained herself to fend off the normal physiological responses to lying, like the shifting eyegaze, the beads of sweat, the tensed muscles, and changes in body language. In essence, Alex found a way to suppress all those typical signs that triggered Charlie’s human lie detector. She figured out how to control her body like no one else could.
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The series suggests heavily that there will be a Season 3, now with Charlie on the run from both Luca and Alex, who it appears might have miraculously survived the crash. But some of the magic is gone. It’s evident now that it’s possible for someone to cheat Charlie’s gift. Isn’t the whole point of the show that no one could ever fool her?
Alex’s Counter to Charlie’s Gift Could Actually Enhance the Story
With the understanding that Alex is the exception and not the rule, however, maybe this angle could work. Charlie can easily continue her journey, meeting eclectic people and solving crimes using her incredible gift. The existence of Alex and her ability to counteract Charlie’s senses could add an interesting element to a potential third season. Alex’s talent for elaborate and convincing camouflage means that literally anyone could be Alex, and Charlie wouldn’t know it.
In that sense, then, the fact that there’s one person on Earth who can bypass Charlie’s gift might not be so bad, creating a compelling hero-versus-villain story and driving the story forward before it becomes stale. But the idea that Charlie’s skill was flawless, her intuition never to be questioned, was what made the character so interesting. Knowing there’s someone out there who has figured out how to crack her code makes her gift less exciting, even if it’s still indisputably impressive.
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Nonetheless, Charlie has needed a new arch-nemesis since Cliff LeGrand (Benjamin Bratt) has been out of the picture and she and Beatrix buried the hatchet. So, Alex is a fitting new foil with a twist that no one saw coming. Every superhero has their kryptonite, after all. As it turns out, Charlie’s is an unassuming young woman she never saw coming.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
