Peacock
Poker Face is already reinventing itself, just five episodes in. In the most recent episode of Rian Johnson’s Columbo-inspired mystery romp, amateur sleuth Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) encounters likable murderers for the first time on her cross-country journey: two elderly women, former activists, living in a retirement community.
In each episode of Poker Face, which premiered last week on Peacock and will continue rolling out new episodes weekly, Charlie faces down a new murderer in an attempt to uncover the truth. Throughout the series, we see the crime happen, but we don’t always know the motive. That’s the case again in this episode, “The Time of the Monkey,” in which Charlie, a “human lie detector,” cracks the case of the two murderous retirement home residents. It’s the best episode of the season thus far.
The two women, Irene (Judith Light) and Joyce (S. Epatha Merkerson) are, in a word, badasses. They become fast friends with Charlie, who seeks them for guidance as she races away from being murdered, hiding out as a steward in the old folks’ home. The trio play croquet. They reminisce on the old times, in which Irene and Joyce were members of a cult-like activist group akin to the Weather Underground.