On the previous episode of Poker Face season 2 on Peacock, Beatrix Hasp held Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) at gunpoint just seconds after she’s dismantled the threat of Fred. Now enters her biggest threat of all and the reason why she is on the run. Will Charlie worm her way out of another sticky situation? Find out in the spoilers below.
Charlie has done well so far to be stealthy enough to get away from Beatrix Hasp’s (Rhea Perlman) men, but all good luck has run out for Charlie. Hasp however isn’t looking to kill her just yet. The feds are closing in on her organization and she’s not going down without a fight. She desperately needs Charlie’s uncanny ability as a human lie detector.
Beatrix has it on good authority there’s a mole within her system. That’s when Charlie meets Beatrix’s husband Jeffrey (Richard Kind). He gives off a red flag immediately. Jeffrey is in the vicinity of the mob but acts like he knows nothing about it. A very flamboyant and outgoing character that doesn’t seem to fit.
Charlie knew he lied about being a federal informant but she lied about his lie to keep him out of trouble. He seemed like such a nice guy to go down on her watch. And to be honest, Charlie didn’t care about what happened to any of these mob members. If the feds took them down then it was one less worry for her.
Moles are all around
Charlie reveals that nobody in her crew is lying, but the conundrum is she could be lying about telling the truth. Therefore she’s drug along to the airport to board a private jet out of the country. The watchman, Charlie, runs onto the plane when the feds surround them. Luca Clark (Simon Helberg) comes back on the canvas as one of the FBI agents in charge of taking down the family.
John Mulaney plays the character of Danny Otis, an FBI agent on Beatrix Hasp’s payroll. On the other end of the coin it’s Jeffrey who is a mole working with Luca Clark. Jeffrey knows who the FBI mole is, but he’s not willing to hand the information over to Luca so easily. Not until Hasp is in custody and he’s in witness protection.
This was a conversation Danny was listening to. Luca planned to shoot poor Jeffrey with blanks to give the impression he died. When Danny got wind of this he traded out the blanks for real bullets. As a pair, Hasp and Charlie figure out that the only person who would want Jeffrey dead is the FBI’s mole.
In conclusion, Danny goes down for his mole activity and accepting bribes from the mob. Hasp gets herself out of trouble by agreeing to testify against the families. With a little help from Luca, Beatrix calls off the hit on Charlie’s head. Jeffrey goes down in the raid, but Beatrix is getting a fresh start in witness protection. Charlie now has the freedom to go anywhere her heart desires.
Luca Clark did plead for Charlie to come work at the FBI but she’s not one to work for the man. Clark does reiterate how she’s better at his job than he is. It may be a nice compliment to Cale, but it’s a rather embarrassing thing to admit as an agent. A woman who has no authority or knowledge of the justice system. I am sure they will cross paths again, as he always seems to need her help with cases.
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John Mulaney is some all-star casting, but I can’t say he makes a convincing FBI agent in this plot. He comes across very unintelligent. I can see why Danny became an informant for the mob because he’s not near as successful as Luca Clark is. He stands on the outside looking in as Luca gets all the accolades and praise for his ambition. Danny takes the easy way out in the scenario and ends up behind bars, as Hasp carries enough intel that guarantees her freedom.
Simon Helberg as Luca Clark has been one of my favorite additions since Poker Face season 1. But even he comes off as ill-equipped. His work is diligent but Charlie Cale is constantly coming into his orbit to save the day. To the audience, it appears he needs Cale much more than she needs him. Although I do love the chemistry between between Lyonne and Helberg.
Rhea Perlman and Richard Kind were adorable in this sequence of events. Kind is no stranger to playing a sweet man. I wish Jeffrey would have had a sweeter ending. He was a pure soul who didn't want to live in the background of the mob. Despite that, his death did have a strong impact on Beatrix. And in his memory she decided to live the life that Jeffrey wanted for them, even if he's not alive to see it.
I’m not sure Beatrix Hasp will stay completely away from the mob, but I did like how she called off the hit on Charlie. However, the other members of the families worry me. I’m not sure if they’ll be as willing to let bygones be bygones where Charlie is concerned. That is of course before they go down for whatever testimony Hasp will give.
You can catch the first three episodes of Poker Face on Peacock. New episodes will stream weekly through July 10.