Whack-a-Mole – As this episode of Poker Face begins, it is one year earlier. Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) gets a call from Beatrix Hasp (Rhea Perlman). Hasp says she’s with the Five Families and they’re dealing with a war. In the present, Hasp holds Charlie at gunpoint. She needs Charlie’s help. If Charlie doesn’t help, Beatrix will kill her. The Southwest Syndicate is closing in and the FBI is up her pantyhose. Beatrix says she’s not going down. She’s arranged for a plane to get them out of the country, but she believes there’s a rat in her crew. Beatrix wants Charlie to use her lie detector trick to determine which guy is the snitch. They stop at a gas station a short time later and Charlie tries to free herself. Beatrix returns with something she stole and a note in it. She tells Charlie that she told her crew she’s a forger so they won’t ask too many questions. Beatrix is going to skin the rat alive. Jeffrey (Richard Kind) is happy to see Beatrix. It’s revealed that Jeffrey is Beatrix’s husband.
Charlie is introduced to the crew. She asks them if they’re working for the feds. They all say no. Charlie immediately tells Beatrix that she’s free of rats. Beatrix agrees to risk it in front of the men. She tells Charlie that she’s coming with them. Once they arrive, Beatrix makes Charlie go inside the hangar first. Charlie finds a doll in the pilot’s seat just before the Feds move in. Jeffrey flees. Agent Luca Clark (Simon Helberg) yells at him to stop. Beatrix tries to shoot but her gun doesn’t work. She yells for them not to fire. Luca shoots Jeffrey in the back multiple times. The agents are told not to shoot Beatrix because they need her alive. She takes Luca’s gun and shoots him in the head. Beatrix enters the plane and blames Charlie for Jeffrey’s death. There’s a gunshot. Next, Gary Prescott (RJ Brown) and the team talk about Beatrix running scared. Thanks to Luca, they have a source inside Beatrix’s crew. Luca tells Don Hooper (Chris Bauer) that the Hasp crew is on their way to a safe house.
Later, Daniel Clyde-Otis (John Mulaney) asks Luca how he managed to flip Tony Ice Cream (Nick Oddo). Luca refuses to tell him who his informant is. Daniel says he’s got his back if he needs anything. Daniel goes into the store where he hides the note for Beatrix. She picks it up later. The note warns her that the safe house is not safe. Daniel has lined up a nice alternative. They talk about Daniel being dirty. Daniel asks about Charlie. Beatrix says his incompetence requires a backup plan. She urges him to find the rat before leaving. Don gets upset when there is no sign of Beatrix’s team. Daniel tries to get Luca to tell him who the rat is. Luca gets a call from the source, but he still won’t tell Daniel who it is. Jeffrey joins Luca in his car moments later and says he can’t keep up with her. Jeffrey explains that Beatrix would never work with the Feds. He would like to go into witness protection on his own. Luca suspects Beatrix has a mole in the FBI. Jeffrey isn’t sure he can help with that. Luca wants to show him some photos of federal agents.
Daniel and another agent are watching them. Jeffrey sees Daniel’s picture and remembers him. He tells Luca he’ll get his mole once Beatrix is in custody and he’s safely in witness protection. Daniel learns that Beatrix has booked them a flight out of the country. Luca tells Jeffrey that they’ll take Beatrix down during a raid and he’ll help him fake his death. They’ll use blanks and fake blood in his shirt. Peter (Gregg Bello) continues reading lips for Jeffrey. Next, Charlie confronts the three men, including Vino (Francesco O’Onofrio), Tony Ice Cream, and Clunk (Chris Cardona). She comes out moments later and tells Beatrix that she’s rat free. Jeffrey also says he’s not a rat. Charlie has taken a phone which she uses in the bathroom. She calls Luca to tell him that Beatrix kidnapped her. Charlie says her rat seems like a nice guy and a talented iron chef. Luca tells her about the raid that will happen. He instructs her to hide in the cockpit and lock the door. Luca tells her not to trust anyone but him.
Luca tells Jeffrey and the others that Beatrix has a civilian hostage. He tells them not to engage until he gives the go-ahead. Luca checks the blanks. Moments later, Jeffrey runs away and is shot in the back by Luca. Don isn’t sure about Luca’s plan after all. Beatrix shoots Luca and goes after Charlie. The bullets seem to be blanks. Luca is fine as well. Beatrix tells Charlie she’s never getting out of the plane. They wonder why a Fed would be carrying a gun full of blanks. Luca checks on Jeffrey and discovers that he’s been fatally shot. A flashback shows that Daniel replaced the blanks with real bullets. Don scolds Luca for shooting Jeffrey and not getting his information. Don learns that Beatrix has a hostage and is refusing to come out of the plane. Daniel tries to get her to come out. He has to tell her that Jeffrey is dead, but she doesn’t want to believe it. Charlie admits it’s true. Beatrix demands a real pilot. She warns Daniel that she’s got a mole in the FBI. Don wants him to find out more. Beatrix suggests she could be pushed to disclose the mole’s identity.
Don Hooper takes over and agrees to give Beatrix what she wants. Charlie retrieves the phone. Daniel tells Don that they can’t let this ruthless criminal get away. Don wants the mole more though. Charlie uses the phone to call Luca so he can hear her conversation with Beatrix. That plan falls apart when Prescott screams and Beatrix hears the phone. Charlie tries to convince Beatrix that the mole isn’t going to put his neck on the line for her. Beatrix gets upset and says she doesn’t have anyone else. Charlie says something happened because only the mole would want to silence Jeffrey. Daniel tells Don they should burst in and get Beatrix. Luca sneaks onto the plane when they’re not paying attention. Beatrix suggests she’s going to kill as many Feds as possible. Luca tells her that he shot her husband. Luca believes the mole killed Jeffrey and he’ll silence Beatrix too unless they can stop him. Beatrix pretends to agree to disclose the name of the mole only to use a weird name. She says it’s a typical white guy. Charlie remembers he was drinking milk at the gas station.
Beatrix gives them enough information to identify Danny as the mole. Beatrix tells Don over the radio that she’ll give up the name of the mole she is promised WITSEC. Don agrees to it. She tells him who it is. Daniel jumps on the plane and holds everyone hostage. Daniel ends up shooting Luca. Charlie notices that his shoestrings are untied. Daniel falls and Luca jumps on him. Charlie eventually gets a gun and helps Luca. A bit later, Daniel offers to give Charlie $16,000 if she tells them Luca is the mole. He offers $22,000. Then, he offers $125,000. Charlie leaves him. Luca tells Beatrix that her WITSEC is good to go if she cancels the hit on Charlie. Beatrix suggests witness protection could be a fresh start. Charlie realizes she might have a fresh start as well. When she goes to her car, she pulls out a map and tries to decide where to go.
Poker Face Review
The third episode of Poker Face was the weakest in the second series because it was a bit of a mess. While it’s not difficult to follow, the timeline jumps definitely make the story messier than it needs to be. This was likely a necessary episode since Charlie had to deal with Beatrix at some point.
It just didn’t seem like the most effective way to deal with the problem. There’s not as much enjoyment in this episode because there’s a lack of a murder investigation for Charlie to solve. It’s also starting to feel like things are getting a bit repetitive. As mentioned previously, the series follows a bland formula.
Even though this episode was different, the formula did not change. With this necessary episode of the way, Charlie can hopefully move on to something bigger. This episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Poker Face can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link.
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Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.