WARNING: This post contains spoilers for Season 1 of Poker Face.
The first season of Poker Face has come to an end, and damn, was it a wild ride.
Of course, as with any season of TV, some episodes were more enjoyable than others.
Here’s my ranking of Season 1’s episodes, from least favorite to favorite:
10. Episode 3 — “The Stall”
Honestly, this one mostly loses points because I thought a dog had been beaten to death, but I also just didn’t find the killers in this one quite as compelling as the others (as much as I love Lil Rel Howery).
9. Episode 1 — “Dead Man’s Hand”
Even though the pilot is one of my least favorite episodes of the season, I still enjoyed it enough to watch the next episode. While the casino setting didn’t really do anything for me, the performances are engaging — Adrien Brody plays a great dirtbag.
8. Episode 2 — “The Night Shift”
This is another case of a setting I’m not overly interested in. There are exceptions — The Mummy and Nope, to name a couple — but media set in the desert just doesn’t grab me. Again, though, everyone gave great performances (including ’90s Jack Black lookalike, Colton Ryan).
7. Episode 7 — “The Future of the Sport”
It was a nice change-up that nobody actually died in this one, especially since the almost-victim was just caught up in the feud between her father and his wannabe replacement. While I did like the arcade scenes, unless it’s the opening of a Final Destination movie, a race car track isn’t a super interesting setting for me.
6. Episode 10 — “The Hook”
The opening to this one was both funny (I found myself simultaneously thinking “poor Cliff” and cackling) and informative (around the fourth episode of the season, I began wondering how much time was passing between each of these murders Charlie kept finding herself embroiled in).
I also really enjoyed seeing Natasha Lyonne reunited with her But I’m a Cheerleader costar Clea DuVall (even if they weren’t playing girlfriends) and was pleasantly surprised by the twist that Sterling Sr. was ultimately not the villain Charlie thought he was (outside of being a mob boss).
5. Episode 5 — “Time of the Monkey”
This one sort of scratched an itch I’d had throughout the previous three episodes. I kept waiting for Charlie to be attacked by one of the literal murderers she kept confronting*, so it was a weird relief when it finally happened. I also love that she got her ass beat by a couple of elderly women, one of whom couldn’t even be deterred by a wheelchair.
4. Episode 4 — “Rest in Metal”
Chloë Sevigny makes for a fantastic rock star, and the songs created for the episode are genuinely good listens. (Peacock, if you’re reading this, feel free to release the songs!)
Also, Natasha Lyonne crowd surfing, flipping the bird, and screaming, “FUCK YOU, RUBY!” is just a top-tier moment of television in general.
3. Episode 6 — “Exit Stage Death”
I love seeing actors playing actors, especially when the characters are cartoonish and terrible, and Ellen Barkin and Tim Meadows nailed it. This episode also just had a great twist, and the fact that Meadows and Barkin’s characters decided that the show must go on even after being caught? Amazing.
2. Episode 9 — “Escape from Shit Mountain”
This episode just ticked all the boxes for me. The title alone is phenomenal, and a snowy mountain cabin is one of my favorite settings for a murder mystery. I loved that they twisted up the format a bit with this episode, with the “death” we initially see actually being Charlie.
The comeuppance in this one was also particularly sweet, considering our villain is an overly wealthy white guy who has no problem killing women, people of color, and both.
Speaking of which, I’m gonna need Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play more douchebags ASAP.
1. Episode 8 — “The Orpheus Syndrome”
This felt like the closest we got to a Halloween episode this season, and I’m a sucker for all things spooky. I loved the stylistic and editing choices made in the last act, specifically the surreality of Cherry Jones’s meltdown as she’s outed as a murderer. As for the acting, I wouldn’t be surprised if both Jones and/or Nick Nolte received a nomination or two for their performances.
Also, of all of Charlie’s jobs, this was the one I was most jealous of. It just looked so fun!
What were your favorite episodes of Poker Face? Sound off in the comments!