Every ‘Poker Face’ episode, ranked from worst to best

Warning: Spoilers for Poker Face to follow.

When the news came out that Knives Out writer and director Rian Johnson was working with Russian Doll star and co-creator Natasha Lyonne on a mystery series, it was always bound to create some hype. And unsurprisingly, their creation — the Peacock series Poker Face — has delivered on that promise and more. Currently (April 5 2023) the show has a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and there are plenty of fans calling for the series (and Lyonne) to be showered with Emmy nominations. Considering the king of horror himself is a fan, it’s hard to disagree with the sentiment.

Poker Face is a murder mystery series, where each episode focuses on a different crime being solved by Charlie Cale — a former casino worker with an innate ability to detect when people are lying — who’s also on the run from her criminal former boss. With influences from Agatha Christie to Columbo, the show has plenty of modern twists but will be a hit with anybody who loves the classics of the genre. The series has a wide cast of memorable characters played by all sorts of famous names, from Chloë Sevigny to Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu.

While the episodes all follow the same format and have an overarching plot of Charlie running from her boss, each one is its own self-contained mystery, which means some fans will prefer certain ones while not vibing with others. And, while every episode of the show is engaging (helped massively by Lyonne’s excellent acting, and the performances of her various co-stars) there are certainly some that hit higher notes. Here are the best Poker Face episodes, ranked.

The best Poker Face episodes, ranked

10. Episode 7 – “The Future of the Sport”

Aging race car driver Keith (Tim Blake Nelson) competes with Davis (Charles Melton) for what should be his final championship, only to lose in the dying moments. After going back on his retirement, he later sneaks into Davis’ garage and sabotages the car, which leads to it smashing into a wall and bursting into flames. In a twist of fate, the driver in the car ends up being Keith’s daughter.

A few days before the murder, Charlie befriends Davis’ mother, making Davis aware of Charlie’s abilities. She soon uncovers his plan to kill Katy, and although he doesn’t end up being charged, his guilt leads to tremors in his hands, thus stunting his burgeoning racing career.

9. Episode 6 – “Exit Stage Death”

Kathleen (Ellen Barkin) and Michael (Tim Meadows) are former co-stars who despise each other, but Kathleen is desperate to have Michael involved in a one-night-only performance of a play. Michael is eventually convinced to help after his wealthy wife, Ava (Jameela Jamil) asks him to reconsider. However, during rehearsals a tragic accident occurs, and Ava ends up falling through a faulty trap door to her death.

A few weeks prior to that incident, Charlie had taken on a job at the dinner theater in which the performance was due to take place. Ava tips Charlie heavily, while Kathleen scolds her. Charlie realizes Michael and Kathleen planned Ava’s murder when her abilities signal to her that Kathleen is telling the truth during a scene in which she professes her love for Michael. She attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery and get justice for Ava.

8. Episode 4 – “Rest in Metal”

Episode 4 has a bit of a meta element to it as it includes a fictionalized true crime podcast with a host that helps Charlie to solve the week’s mystery. The show begins with Ruby Ruin (Chloë Sevigny) — the former lead singer of a metal band named Doxxxology — organizing a reunion tour. The band, plus a new drummer named Gavin (Nicholas Cirillo) clash, until Gavin writes a hit song. The rest of the band conspire to kill Gavin and claim the song, doing so by modifying an amp to electricute him on stage.

A few days before, we see Charlie being hired by Ruby to sell merch at the show. Charlie befriends Gavin, and after his death is suspicious about the circumstances surrounding it. She meets the host of a true crime podcast, who she later gives all the evidence of Doxxxology’s crimes to.

7. Episode 3 – “The Stall”

After George (Larry Brown) watches Okja, he tells his brother Taffy (Lil Rel Howery) he can no longer be the chef at their BBQ business. Later that evening, Taffy kills his brother by suffocating him with the gas from a meat smoker.

A few days earlier, Charlie befriends an unruly dog that then goes on to damage Taffy and George’s BBQ joint. She offers to work for George to pay back the damages. They bond, and when his death is ruled a suicide Charlie is left feeling suspicious. After Taffy threatens her, she breaks into George’s house where she finds his widow (Danielle Macdonald), and over conversation begins to suspect she might have been involved in her husband’s death.

6. Episode 2 – “The Night Shift”

The first episode where Charlie is on the run, “The Night Shift” sets the scene for the rest of the show. It begins with Subway worker Damian (Brandon Michael Hall) flirting with cashier Sara (Megan Suri), who in turn spurns the advances of creepy mechanic Jed (Colton Ryan). After Damian confronts Jed about his behavior, Jed kills him and steals what turns out to be a winning lottery ticket. He stashes the body in a truck, which ends up belonging to Marge (Hong Chau), who he then frames for the murder.

A week prior, Charlie is forced to leave her Plymouth at an autoshop as she doesn’t have the money to pay for it, where it’s left in the care of Jed. She runs into Marge — from episode 1 — who treats her wound and gives her some advice. She later stumbles across the crime scene, and, sensing something is off, begins to investigate.

5. Episode 10 – “The Hook”

A topsy turvy final episode that’s well worthy of this incredible show, “The Hook” keeps viewers guessing right until the very end. Beginning with Charlie’s former boss Sterling Sr. ordering his security guard Cliff to kill Charlie, we see the hitman eventually arrive at the hospital Charlie is in after the events of episode 9, where he collects her. They drive across the country and end up in a meeting with Sterling Sr., who reveals he no longer wants to kill Charlie, and instead offers her half a million dollars and her freedom if she sits in on a meeting between him and crime boss Beatrix Hasp — played by Rhea Perlman — and use her powers to determine if Beatrix is lying.

Just as things appear to be looking up for Charlie, the lights go off and Sterling Sr. is shot. Charlie flees, which leads to a chase that culminates in Cliff confronting her and Beatrix threatening her. The episode ends with Charlie once again deciding to go on the road to try to escape the unsavoury characters who seem to be a perennial part of her life.

4. Episode 8 – “The Orpheus Syndrome”

Although Poker Face is full of flashbacks and time jumps, none of the episodes take us as far back as “The Orpheus Syndrome,” which was directed by Lyonne. The episode starts with an argument between two film industry veterans — Max (Tim Russ) and Laura (Cherry Jones) — which culminates in Max jumping off a building head first. Laura, claiming to be grieving, visits a mutual friend of hers and Max’s named Arthur (Nick Nolte) and asks for a realistic bust of Max’s head for supposedly therapeutic reasons. When she receives it, she uses it to unlock Max’s laptop and delete evidence of a decades-old crime she was involved in – which it turns out was the source of their argument at the beginning of the episode.

A few weeks earlier, we see Charlie working for a barber, where she’s tasked with delivering a bag of hair to a man who ends up being Arthur. They drink together and bond, and Arthur reveals he was involved in the accidental drowning of a young actress in what was to be his directorial debut, an incident at which both Max and Laura were present. Charlie then contacts a film archivist named Raoul (Luis Guzmán), and using old footage discovers Laura was actually responsible for the death of the young actress. The pair then try to bring her to justice, with some hairy results.

3. Episode 5 – “Time of the Monkey”

Cults, tasers, and a pair of unlikely serial killers, episode 5 of Poker Face has it all. The story begins in a retirement home, with Irene (Judith Light) and Joyce (S. Epatha Merkerson) noticing new resident Ben (Reed Birney) checking in. The pair realize they know him, and conclude that he has to die. They inject him with sodium nitrate, then steal his medical wearable and take a trip to the zoo, where Joyce tasers Irene while she’s wearing Ben’s monitoring bracelet to make it look like he’s had a heart attack.

We then flash back to a few weeks earlier and see Charlie working at the retirement home. She bonds with Irene and Joyce, who reveal that they were once in a cult but were betrayed by the leader – a man called Gabriel. This is soon revealed to be Ben, who asks Joyce and Irene for forgiveness, a request that isn’t granted. After Ben’s funeral, Charlie realizes things aren’t what they seem. Once she begins to investigate, she quickly becomes the target of Irene and Joyce’s murderous urges.

2. Episode 1 – “Dead Man’s Hand”

The best shows don’t always have strong pilot episodes (we’re looking at you, Parks and Recreation), but the first episode of Poker Face is on par with iconic shows like Cheers when it comes to setting the scene for the rest of the series. The episode begins with the murder of a housekeeper in a casino after she finds troubling evidence of a crime on a high-flying patron’s laptop. The housekeeper’s death is made to look like a murder-suicide by the casino’s head of security Cliff (Benjamin Bratt), on the orders of casino owner Sterling Jr. (Adrien Brody).

Charlie suspects something isn’t right, and sneaks into the waitress’ home to find evidence. She reports her findings to Sterling, who fobs her off, telling her to focus on a plan they have to fleece a high flying patron in an illegal poker game using Charlie’s lie-detecting abilities. Charlie then reveals she recorded this conversation and sent it to the patron, causing him and several other wealthy casino goers to blackball Sterling’s casino, which leads to his suicide. Cliff shoots Charlie but she escapes, only to receive a phone call from Sterling’s father (Sterling Sr, played by Ron Perlman), in which he tells her he will track her down and kill her. She throws away her phone and drives off in her blue Plymouth Barracuda.

1. Episode 9 – “Escape from Shit Mountain”

Considering this episode guest stars Stephanie Hsu and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, it was always bound to be a memorable one, but their performances elevate an already intriguing plot into something truly incredible. The story starts with Trey Nelson (Gordon-Levitt), a criminal charged with insider trading who currently lives a monotonous life under house arrest. Thanks to an upcoming snow storm, Trey’s ankle monitor stops working, and he takes the opportunity to go on a mad drive with his needlessly flashy Lambo, which he then hits a woman with.

Panicking, he places the body in his trunk and drives to a nearby hotel owned by his friend Jimmy (David Castañeda), and they decide to throw it into a place they’ve named “the spot” – a hole under a tree in the nearby forest. The two men return and have a drink, only to hear a knock at the door: the still-alive woman, desperate for help. Trey grabs his gun to finish the job, but before he can, another woman drives up to the motel to ask for help.

We flash back to Charlie a few months back and follow her in a failed romance. While trying to earn enough money to get away, she runs into Morty (Hsu) – a kleptomaniac who tries to steal Charlie’s wallet. The two form an uneasy truce, leading to Morty offering to pay for Charlie’s gas if she can catch a ride out of the area. It soon is revealed that Charlie was the woman Trey hit with his car, and Morty is the lady who turns up and accidentally saves Charlie’s life. What follows is a tense standoff and plenty of murder – as well as a twist ending that would surprise even the best amateur sleuths.