‘Poker Face’: What Happened at the End of Season 1?
Poker Face‘s second season is nearly here, but it’s also been more than two years since fans last checked in with Natasha Lyonne‘s Charlie Cale, the human lie-detector. Season 1’s finale aired on March 9, 2023.
While the dramedy is described as a mystery-of-the-week series, Season 1 did introduce a throughline plot that kicked off the show and continued into its final moments, teeing up the next chapter. But fret not if you can’t remember the fine details because we’re breaking down everything you need to remember before tuning into the Peacock original for Season 2 on Thursday, May 8.
As viewers may recall, Season 1 opened with Charlie’s life in Nevada, where she worked as a casino waitress under manager Sterling Frost Jr. (Adrien Brody). When she became embroiled in the man’s blackmailing schemes that also connected to the killing of her close friend Natalie (Dascha Polanco), Charlie turned the tide on her manager, exposing his scheme to the would-be victim. In doing so, Charlie damaged the casino’s reputation, leading Sterling Frost Jr. to kill himself, fearful of the retaliation he might face.
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Not long after the man’s jump from the casino’s window, Charlie received a call from Sterling Frost Sr. (Ron Perlman), vowing to kill her for her involvement. Ultimately, she hit the road and lived on the run for more than a year as Frost’s security lead Cliff LeGrand (Benjamin Bratt) chased after her.
What Frost didn’t know is that Cliff became fed up with the cat-and-mouse game to the extent of cutting a deal with mob boss Beatrix Hasp (Rhea Perlman). In the end, Cliff devised a plot, after delivering Charlie to Frost, to frame her for his murder, leaving her to the police and allowing him to escape retaliation to work for Hasp.
The plan backfired, though, and Charlie exchanged incriminating evidence against Cliff to distract authorities away from her, allowing for her escape. Once she got away, she reconnected with FBI agent Luca Clark (Simon Helberg), who revealed that Cliff turned on Beatrix and admitted he killed Frost in exchange for leniency with his sentencing.
As a result, Beatrix went into hiding, fearful of being held responsible for her role in the setup. In Season 1’s finale moments, though, Charlie received a call from Beatrix who tried to cut her a deal, to employ the human lie-detector for her own use, but Charlie opted to hit the open road, meaning she’s likely still on the run from Beatrix as we gear up for Season 2.
Stay tuned to see how it will all unfold as Season 2 arrives on Peacock, and let us know what you hope to see from the mystery-of-the-week series as it returns.
Poker Face, Season 2 Premiere, Thursday, May 8, Peacock
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