Note to Charlie (Natasha Lyonne), stop explaining who you think the killer is to the killer. With that out of the way, POKER FACE is starting to overstay its formulaic welcome. It’s not that EXIT STAGE DEATH is a bad episode. The episode is perfectly serviceable, with a well-staged second half.
Interestingly enough, the first half of last week worked great, whereas the back half didn’t live up to its promise. This week, the opposite is true, with the first half being the weaker link and the second part being well “spirited.” If only the creators “she-traded” the two parts of the episodes. They would’ve had a 🤩 .
Also, I must give it up for the always wonderful Ellen Barkin as Kathleen Townsend. Even with the plot style becoming stale, the weekly guest star performances are more than enough reason to tune in. Barkin and Tim Meadows have so much fun in their respective roles that it makes you almost forget that we’ve seen POKER FACE’s formula in five previous episodes.
An excellent stage setting, wonderful Airpod product placement, and two phenomenal guest performances are enough to watch POKER FACE again this week. I hope the show evolves beyond its current “trap” to open up a new “door” next week.
It’s available on Peacock.
