Poker Face (TV Series) The Hook (2023) User Reviews

Expect the Unexpected

[agrady1 · 9/10 · 11 March 2023]

We have followed the series from day one, and I appreciate the way each episode distracts the viewer, so we never see it coming. No spoilers here, just an appreciation for the little things, like the fact that Burl Ives is singing Bob Dylan in the background.

I have read comparisons of the show to earlier ones, like "Columbo," but, for me, it is a combination of "The Fugitive" and "Murder She Wrote," only much funnier. My wife and I are really looking forward to season 2 to see how many distractions the team can concoct to keep us from guessing what happens next.

The only thing I am sure of is that there will continue to be obscure references to Gene Hackman in "The Conversation."

Season One Review

[southdavid · 8/10 · 16 June 2023]

Been waiting a while for "Poker Face" to turn up on this side of the Atlantic, but eventually it has. Whilst it was, for me, not quite at the very top tier of TV it was certainly worth the wait.

Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) has an innate ability to know when someone is lying to her, having used this ability to win at casino poker but been caught, she ends up working as waitress there when the boss takes a shine to her. Following a death at the casino, she's forced to leave and heads across American, taking various jobs and keeping on the move. At each stop she ends up involved in a murder and uses her gift to unmask the killer. But she's not a police officer, and any undo publicity would see her pursuer Cliff LeGrand (Benjamin Bratt), a fixer for the Casino boss, close in on her, so justice is harder to come by.

In what feels like a nostalgic gimmick nowadays, the series borrows heavily from the style and tone of several shows made in the 70's and 80's. The most obvious, and repeatedly namechecked by the creative team is "Colombo". Like with that show we, the audience, see the central murder take place and know who the murderer is, then the show flashes back a few days to show Charlie's interaction with these characters and we'll see her discover who the killer is and why the murder took place. There are guest starts for each episode, which range from legends like Ron Perlman, Nick Nolte and Ellen Barkin to rising stars like, Stephanie Hsu, David Castaneda and Danielle McDonald. There is also a nice return to working with Rian Johnson for Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It's Lyonne's show though and as with "Russian Doll" she proves herself to be an absolute star.

Why not a slightly higher score then? Well, occasionally I thought that perhaps it drifted too far into slapstick comedy, particular I felt in some of the fight scenes that Charlie ends up in. She's not law enforcement, so the killers often work out that killing her is all that stands between them and getting away with it. Maybe that tonal problem is slightly bigger than I initially thought too, as, as I think back over the episodes for this review they do seem to end up getting both bigger and more implausible as they run on.

I did enjoy it though, don't get me wrong, and the positives far outweigh the negatives - I'm looking forward to the proposed second season too.

Season 1 ends with the 2 best episodes of its 10

[dfloro · 9/10 · 10 March 2023]

I've already reviewed the overall limited series. But after seeing the 9th installment, featuring creator/producer (and director of this chapter) Rian Johnson's go-to guy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as a ruthless murderer, and then the 1st season's final chapter, cleverly authored by Mr. Johnson and featuring guest acting from Ron Perlman and Clea DuVall (the latter portraying the long-estranged sister of Natasha Lyonne's lead character), I had to revisit this show a bit. But first, let's talk about what I love about the lead actor. I love her unusual gait, whether walking in high heels, bare feet or any shoes in between. I love her very specific accent and manner of speaking, even though I'm a Southerner and by no means a New Yorker. I love her sense of humor, which can be brittle but without being brutal. And of course, duh, I love that auburn hair! These are just some of the qualities that lend her the sort of magnetism needed to bring the "Poker Face" character of Charlie Cale to life. In the surprisingly violent and action-packed 9th episode, we root for her to survive a torturous night in the wilderness against fearsome odds. And in the 10th, just when we think she's safe from the immediate threats of Ron Perlman and Benjamin Bratt's characters, yet another pops up on the horizon. A fine setup for a second season!

Didn't see it coming

[okpilak · 8/10 · 9 March 2023]

This episode apparently closed season 1, and it does in fine fashion. In the prior season, we find her in the hospital, and her identity has been discovered, even though she thought she was free at last. When she leaves the hospital after two months, her bill is paid, and Cliff is there to take her back. She has to come face to face with Mr. Sterling, who ran the casino that started her running in the first place. And as Cliff asked Mr. Sterling, how deep to dig? Well, there are twists and turns that no one will probably see, and it becomes even more serious for her. And it sets up for a very interesting second season. More of the running, with more deadly peril.

"Deja vu!"

[classicsoncall · 9/10 · 16 March 2023]

Brilliant, just brilliant! How do you ensure a successful series will be renewed for a second season? You provide a twist that viewers wondered about throughout all nine prior episodes, even if Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) enjoyed brief respites from her pursuit by Cliff Legrand (Benjamin Bratt). Charlie was on the run for a full year, throwing in two additional months to recuperate from her injuries in the prior episode. Waiting for her was Cliff, but in a turnabout, instead of finding out how deep to dig the hole, his boss has him bring Charlie to Atlantic City to face an unusual proposition. By this time, Cliff's slow boil had him doing an about face with Sterling Frost, Sr. (Ron Perlman), resulting in a murder that could have been pinned on the ultimate patsy. Throughout the series, the writers kept coming up with a unique combination of characters, situations, sight gags and humor to keep us entertained. Celebrity actors making spot appearances added to the fun, and one can only hope the level of writing and acting combine for a follow up season as entertaining as the first.

P. S. If you're ever in the vicinity of New Paltz, New York, you can look up the Ireland Corners General Store where this episode's final scene took place. The film makers didn't even change its name - you can look it up!

The Hook

[lassegalsgaard · 9/10 · 16 June 2023]

I fell in love with "Poker Face" almost immediately, which is why it's so weird that I haven't gotten around to watch the finale before now. This sort of "howcatchem" is a great twist on the classic procedural murder mystery, and it seems like Rian Johnson has found a real love for this style of entertainment, because now only has made a lot of it, he's really good at it. So with this final episode, he wrote the script for Janicza Bravo to direct it. And the season ends on top, with an episode that utilizes the tropes of the genre in a clever way.

The gimmick of this show has always been Charlie's ability to spot when people are lying, so in an effort to make the finale more interesting, they largely do away with this. Not in a weird plot holy-kind of way, but in a tightly structured way that owes a lot to Johnson's writing. He knows his audience so well, and with the last few episodes, the show has fallen into its own tropes a lot - which is completely understandable. Most shows do that. This and the previous episode set up challenges for Charlie, though, and in this, she is faced with the consequences of the plot she uncovered in the first episode in a wildly entertaining final rump that finally brings Charlie face-to-face with a surprisingly subtle Ron Perlman and Benjamin Bratt's cool hitman who has been on his trail for the entire show. For most of the show, we all understood that she would eventually get caught, but like the rest of the show, it's not about any of that, it's about how she'll find the murder, or in this case, get out of a very bad situation. Some aspects about the episode's climax felt a little easy to accomplish for Johnson on a script level, but the episode's overall genius, plus Janicza Bravo's brilliant direction of the piece, is enough to make those small bumps feel like nothing. The show has been picked up for a second season, and with the stakes constantly rising for Charlie, I, for one, can't wait to see what happens next.

"The Hook" brings this show to a satisfying finish in an episode that subverts its own tropes and relies mostly on clever writing. The results are stunning and brings it all to an end that certainly leaves the door open for the second season, and I can't wait to see more of Natasha Lyonne's incredible lead character very soon.

The Hook

[Prismark10 · 8/10 · 25 September 2023]

I was not expecting to be taken in by Poker Face, although not hooked I did enjoy it a lot.

The first season finale had a few twists and the seeds for a second season.

With Charlie recovering in hospital and thinking Obamacare is very generous. Sterling Frost Sr (Ron Perlman) now has Charlie in his clutches. Only he does not have murder in his mind. He has bigger fish to fry and he needs Charlie's assistance.

As for Cliff. He has spent a year on the road, in crummy motels and eating bad food. Only for Charlie to go on living. So no surprise that when Frost Sr is killed, Cliff is behind it with the help of Beatrix Hasp and the five families.

A good conclusion of the first season, some varied stories and it was nice to see FBI agent Luca return.

Good ending to S1, weak setup for S2

[Muldino · 8/10 · 26 January 2024]

A great ending to the season, with a proper resolution to Charlie's story of being on the run for a year.

Lots of fun stuff here - Ron Perlman is a hell of a character and a believable villain, the title "The Hook" is referenced a few times during the episode (The Hook movie playing on TV, the lyrics of the song "Hook" by Blues Traveler being recited by Cliff) and the episode brings closure to all the loose ends from episode 1. I love it if a season wraps up their main storylines at the end of a season, it has become rare these days. So all should be well.

But, I am still a bit disappointed about the ending though - setting up Charlie for another stint on the run in the next season. This one makes little sense.

As opposed to Frost Sr., Beatrix Hasp has no real reason to hunt Charlie down. It wasn't really Charlie's fault that the assassination of Frost Sr. Didn't pan out the way she expected - that's on Cliff, and on the fact that Sterling left behind that tape recording.

Why should the ominous "Five Families" now put much effort in taking revenge on Charlie? That's a very weak connection at best.

The Hook

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 10 March 2023]

Peacock has finally found their standout show as for the most part, outside of a couple of episodes, Poker Face has been a hit and smashing success for the streaming service.

This finale gave us a couple twists and turns, but the most important thing was the ending where they basically hit the reset button. Charlie is going to be back on the run next season only with a more sophisticated group chasing her.

That is smart. They could have shook up the format a little bit, but it was not needed. Keep doing what works and keep doing one-off episodes with a few ongoing side plots.

A pretty strong finale here and hopefully people start binging it.

Another escape, another problem

[AvionPrince16 · 7/10 · 10 March 2023]

So the past come back to Charlie and need to face the owner of the casino with Cliff. Put Charlie will be set up of the murder of Sterling and we will soon understand that Cliff was not innocent in that. And that man will be arrested for the murder of Nathalie (great). I need to say that the mise en scene was really great and we slowly see the implications of Cliff and how he set up Charlie and Sterling by the same occasion. We see also the guy from the FBI that Charlie met in one of the other episode (i knew it). But it was pretty good and we heard also about a new owner of the casino Beatrix Hasp who will lead maybe a new friend? Or collaboration? For a season 2 maybe? The structure of the episode was way different and we still have a murder but Charlie will not solve it entirely. Because Cliff get arrested for the murder of Nathalie and not for Sterling. But it was pretty good anyway. I hope a season 2.

Aptly titled, unfortunately

[BLAlley · 5/10 · 10 March 2023]

This was by far the best episode of the season, mostly because it didn't rely on Charlie's magic gift. It also, mercifully, resolved the barely present pursuit by Sterling. To its credit the show takes a left turn and shows Sterling to be far more aware and reasonable, with a very different plan up his sleeve for Charlie.

What I found so disappointing is the lack of interesting follow-up to that shift and instead setting up season 2 by falling back on the exact same plot that kicked off season 1.

Would it kill Rian Johnson to put a little effort into his work? Even when he has a good idea he follows the path of least resistance and settles for hyper-mediocrity.