Peacock pulled the plug on Rian Johnson 's Poker Face after two seasons, which sounds bleak, but honestly, that was basically the design for Charlie Cale. Natasha Lyonne's human lie detector was always headed for a two-season arc. There has been chatter about the show returning with Peter Dinklage fronting a new version, but with every week that passes, that feels less and less real.
Either way, we got 22 cases with Charlie on the road, sniffing out lies, and partnering up with strangers who may or may not deserve her help. The show works like Johnson's Knives Out movies: stylish, wry, and at its best when Charlie bounces off one strong foil. And because not all cases are created equal, here is how those 22 episodes stack up from worst to best.
All 22 episodes ranked, worst to best
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22) The Taste of Human Blood (S2 Ep4)
Poker Face is funny, sure, but a meth-addicted alligator is a step too far. The plot is overstuffed, the two key players (Gaby Hoffmann's Fran Lamont and Kumail Nanjiani's 'Gator Joe' Pilson) are tough to root for, and the setup strains logic. Charlie showing up at a police awards banquet to help rescue Gator Joe's gator, then just hanging around in a room full of cops, makes no sense for a fugitive who knows better.
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21) Rest in Metal (S1 Ep4)
A washed-up band electrocutes their new drummer to steal his song... only to learn he accidentally lifted it from a sitcom theme. The murderers feel thinly drawn, and their plan is baffling. Just add him to the band and relaunch. Not exactly a brain-bender.
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20) The End of the Road (S2 Ep12)
The series-ender (for Charlie, anyway) whiffs the landing. Patti Harrison's Alex being the big bad after a four-episode build could have worked, but the logic of her simply 'training herself to lie' well enough to beat Charlie's read breaks the show's core rule in a way that asks way too much of us.
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19) Day of the Iguana (S2 Ep11)
The first half of the two-part finale is only a hair stronger. Even Justin Theroux can't make this one sing. A clever blood-draining gadget aside, this is where the season's end starts to wobble.
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18) Last Looks (S2 Ep2)
This one actually makes Charlie feel cornered, and Katie Holmes turns in one of her strongest performances... but she is underused. Giancarlo Esposito is a great heavy who is written like a stock villain, and the potential Charlie/Tommy Sullivan (Kevin Corrigan) team-up gets cut off just when it starts to click. It feels less Poker Face-weird than it should.
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17) The Big Pump (S2 Ep10)
An accidental death spins out of a health inspector busting a gym owner for selling stolen breast milk to swole-obsessed clients. Wild premise, even for this show. Still, Charlie's frenemy vibe with Alex peaks here, and Jason Ritter is reliably likable as the inspector.
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16) Exit Stage Death (S1 Ep6)
We're asked to buy that Tim Meadows' Michael Graves and Ellen Barkin's Kathleen Townsend spent years publicly hating each other while secretly in love. To what end? Marry rich, stage a comeback play, then what? Also, Kathleen is so cruel to literally everyone that it's hard to read it as an act. Why is he obsessed with her? The episode never sells it.
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15) The Future of the Sport (S1 Ep7)
Solid mid-tier entry that flips expectations: the presumed victim is worse than the guy we thought was the problem. Charles Melton makes a convincing antagonist, and Charlie's rapport with his character's mom is fun. It just runs out of steam by the finish line.
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14) Hometown Hero (S2 Ep5)
Simon Rex is a natural on camera and makes a deliciously smarmy villain, but the episode is basic by this show's standards. The case boils down to Charlie bluntly asking the guy if he did it. Also, the drug-trip gag with glowing, chatty socks and a random B.J. Novak cutout? Not exactly how substances work.
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13) The Hook (S1 Ep10)
Season 1's closer is a tidy wrap-up that easily clears Season 2's finale. Extra credit for the season's big bad getting Charlie in his sights... then forgiving her, only to get immediately taken out. A neat swerve.
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12) Dead Man's Hand (S1 Ep1)
Smart pilot move: start with a murder that hits Charlie close to home so we learn who she is when the stakes are personal. It also sets up the season-long threat tied to Sterling Frost Jr.'s father right out of the gate.
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11) The Sleazy Georgian (S2 Ep8)
Some fans love this one. I get it, but it's predictable and wastes Melanie Lynskey. John Cho's con man treats a teammate so badly that you just sit there waiting for the inevitable betrayal. And then... yeah. Exactly that.
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10) Sloppy Joseph (S2 Ep6)
Bold swing: make the killer a kid. It works because Eva Jade Halford is chilling as young sociopath Stephanie Pearce, and David Krumholtz breaks your heart as the widower dad of a decent kid who crosses Stephanie. The guy can play a dad, which bodes well for Supergirl .
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9) The Night Shift (S1 Ep2)
A perfect small-town hangout vibe: one Subway, an auto shop, a convenience store, and characters who feel like actual neighbors. Highlights: Charlie whipping a restaurant into a gleeful clue-hunt, and John Ratzenberger's Abe quietly turning off his hearing aid rather than listen to Jed lie after getting caught messing with Charlie's brake line.
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8) The Stall (S1 Ep3)
Two first-rate scumbags, a grounded, lived-in setting, and a standout turn from Larry Brown as poor George Boyle. The 'small business under siege' setup keeps it intimate and tasty. Great casting all around: Brown, Lil Rel Howery, and Shane Paul McGhie.
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7) Whack-A-Mole (S2 Ep3)
After a darker hour, the show bounces into something breezier that still hits hard. It breaks the usual structure and finally throws Charlie into the same room as Beatrix Hasp (Rhea Perlman), where the whole scheme unravels in front of her. John Mulaney as the heavy is a treat, and the pacing jolt is exactly what Season 2 needed.
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6) A New Lease on Death (S2 Ep9)
Criminally underrated. Alia Shawkat's Amelia Peek is one of the show's scariest antagonists: the kind of hollow human who would fake a relationship with her victim's aunt to score a rent-controlled apartment. Setting the murder in Charlie's own building adds a cozy-claustrophobic charge (yes, you will think of Only Murders in the Building). David Alan Grier's deadpan landlord slays.
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5) Time of the Monkey (S1 Ep5)
An all-timer twist: those charming, salty retirement home besties Irene and Joyce? Domestic terrorists who once planned to bomb a high school. Their kill scene is nerve-shredding, and the reveal is a gut-punch.
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4) The Game Is a Foot (S2 Ep1)
Cynthia Erivo gives what might be the show's best performance(s), playing five distinct personas (a set of quadruplet sisters plus one more face) like it's nothing. It's a clean, propulsive Season 2 kickoff. Some fans underrate it; I don't. The prosthetic-leg twist ramps the stakes before Charlie even shows up, and Charlie's connection with Delia (one of the sisters) is peak partner chemistry.
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3) One Last Job (S2 Ep7)
The show's most meta hour doubles as a genuinely great heist story. Sam Richardson nails the role of an aspiring screenwriter and freshly fired department store worker who teams with a real criminal to rip off his old job. But the heart of the episode is Charlie's spark with Corey Hawkins ' Bill Jackson; their romance feels honest, which makes his death brutal. It's rough on Richardson's Kendall Hines, too — revenge blinded him to the fact that his friend fired him out of love, and the cost is catastrophic. The late James Ransone is terrific as the true villain. Rest in peace.
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2) Escape from S**t Mountain (S1 Ep9)
Rian Johnson behind the camera, Joseph Gordon-Levitt in full cold-blooded mode as ultra-rich sociopath Trey Mendez, and David Castaneda bringing tenderness as the guy Trey drags into hell. It's the episode where Charlie feels most in mortal danger. Also the best-looking hour of the series — icy woods, neon motel glow — even if one more episode cuts deeper.
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1) The Orpheus Syndrome (S1 Ep8)
Natasha Lyonne's first time directing the show, and it's the crown jewel. The mystery is strong, but the soul of it is Nick Nolte's heartbreakingly gentle makeup effects artist Arthur Liptin. Charlie's bond with him feels organic and moving, the kind of encounter that changes both people. Cherry Jones is a killer antagonist. This is Poker Face doing everything it does best, all at once.
So... is that it for Charlie?
Probably. The show seems to have ended roughly where the creators meant Charlie's arc to end. If a Dinklage-led reboot happens down the line, great. If not, we still have 22 wildly distinct cases, a handful of instant-classic guest performances, and a lead character who made 'I know you're lying' into a superpower worth following from town to town.
Your turn: what's your favorite Poker Face episode, and where did I absolutely bungle the ranking? Drop it in the comments.