Poker Face Season 2, Episode 9
"A New Lease on Death"
Writer: Tea Ho, Wyatt Cain
Director: Adamma Ebo
Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Awkwafina, Alia Shawkat, Lauren Tom, Patti Harrison, Steve Buscemi
I feel like there are three essential elements to a great Poker Face episode. First, it has to be funny, whether that's through Charlie's quips or the absurdity of the situation she finds herself in. Second, the mystery itself needs to be compelling, with just the right balance of clever misdirection and emotional weight. And third, it has to be anchored by strong performances, often from a guest star who brings something unique and memorable to the table.
Last week's "The Sleazy Georgian" was a true triple threat. It had sharp humor, an emotionally layered mystery, and standout performances from Melanie Lynskey and John Cho. This week's episode, "A New Lease on Death," doesn't quite hit the comedy quota, but two out of three ain't bad. What it lacks in laughs, it makes up for in story and performance. "A New Lease on Death" is a back-to-basics episode as Charlie steps into Michael Clayton mode.
The set-up is pretty basic. Maddie (Awkwafina) lives with her Nana, Anne (Lauren Tom). Her grandmother took her in when she was little and they live together in a beautiful New York City rent-controlled apartment. They decide to have Nana officially adopt Maddie as to be able to keep the cheap rent. Enter Kate (Alia Shawkat) who begins dating Nana. Ever since Grandpa died, Nana has been looking to explore her sexuality again. Kate, who is actually a con artist named Eleanor, is running a scam on Nana and trying to keep the apartment for herself. When Maddy finds out that Kate is a liar and a wanted felon, she threatens her to leave. Instead, Kate sets up an elaborate method of trapping and killing Maddy in the laundry room.
We then flashback to Charlie arriving in New York City, courtesy of using the apartment of her truck driving pal Good Buddy (Steve Buscemi). It's the abundance of people who mind their own business that appeals to Charlie. She's not going to get caught up in anybody's life here. That proves out to be quickly wrong when she makes friends with Maddy in the laundry room.
A meet-up at the bodega with Kate sends Charlie's bullshit detector flaring. Kate is buying and returning fruit, running her own scam on the face blind shopkeep. Charlie spends the evening with Anne and Maddy watching Michael Clayton.
A little while later and Charlie learns that Maddy has died. She gets a detailed account from a lady who sits outside the apartment complex. It's here that we get the episode's best bit. Turns out the lady can recite the information in such a manner because she used to be an investigative journalist. At one point, she worked for Vague. When Charlie asks what the magazine is about, the woman replies "this and that."
Charlie goes to console Anne, only to find Kate at the door. Having hung out with them all a little while ago, Kate being a live-in girlfriend of Anne seems odd. Charlie then begins investigating the murder scene and notices a few things. The descaler that was on the shelf was moved, so that's odd. Additionally, she knows that the landlord had changed the broken lock to the door. As much as the landlord (David Alan Grier) would have killed Maddy himself for her attempt at scamming him out of re-listing the apartment, he didn't do it. In fact, he had changed the lock and wouldn't have upgraded the new one on the door. Someone else messed with it.
Charlie tries to talk to a friend of Maddy's about what happened but the man won't talk, having just been threatened by Kate. So Charlie takes matters into her own hands, believing she has enough evidence, and tells Anne.
Anne herself is grieving the loss of Maddy and wants to leave the apartment, much to the chagrin of Kate. The grifter goes into panic mode and suggests they get married immediately, clearly planning to kill Anne as soon as it's official. She rushes out to get the paperwork. When she returns, Charlie confronts her. Kate wastes no time shoving her out the window.
Charlie crashes several stories down — onto a stunt pad. In classic Poker Face fashion, it turns out she had a plan all along. Anne has her lawyer film the whole thing and suggests that Kate should have paid more attention while they watched Michael Clayton. It's a satisfying reversal that ties everything together even if it's a bit down the line. The final moments offer a quiet coda as Anne prepares to leave the apartment, handing Charlie a poem and telling her, gently but firmly, that it's time to move on.
I don't know if there's a single laugh-out-loud moment in the episode but I do think it's a decent episode. That's about the standard that Poker Face has managed to keep for itself. Even episodes that don't hit on all cylinders are quite enjoyable to watch. With the show having found itself out from under the pressure of having Charlie be on the run, it will be interesting to see if the show tries to begin building towards an overarching story to round out the season.
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