Poker Face: How Does the Finale Set Up Season 2?

After an exciting line-up of episodes that featured iconic guest stars ranging from beloved 1980s television stars to current Academy Award nominees, the first season of Poker Face has come to an end. The Rian Jounson-created Peacock series followed Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a woman who has the gift of being able to tell when people are lying. After her best friend, Natalie (Dascha Polanco), is murdered in the first episode, Charlie runs from her former employer and finds herself traveling America and solving a surprising number of murders. After a year of running, the past finally catches up with Charlie in the season finale, “The Hook.” Warning: Spoilers Ahead!  

After spending two months recovering from her wounds from the previous episode, Charlie learns her hospital stay was paid for by her ex-boss, Mr. Sterling (Ron Perlman). She quickly discovers his right-hand man, Cliff Legrand (Benjamin Bratt), is waiting for her after he spent a year trying to track her down. Cliff takes Charlie to her hometown, Atlantic City, which puts her face to face with Mr. Sterling. Charlie fully expects her former employer to kill her, but instead, he offers her a job. He wants her to use her lie detector skills in a meeting with the “five families,” the crime syndicate run by Beatrix Hasp (Rhea Perlman). Charlie accepts the offer, but Mr. Sterling is murdered during their meeting and she becomes the number one suspect. 

Turns out, Cliff was sick and tired of the way Mr. Sterling was treating him, so he made a deal with Beatrix to kill his boss and frame Charlie in exchange for a yacht. Charlie finds herself on the run again, this time in her hometown, which leads her to her estranged sister (Clea DuVall). While it’s not the most joyous family reunion, Charlie acquires the keys to her late father’s old boat, which she plans to use to escape. Meanwhile, Charlie has been in contact with FBI agent Luca Clark (Simon Helberg) who she helped in a previous episode. While he believes Charlie is innocent, he encourages her to run since the evidence is stacked against her.

As Charlie goes to the docks to catch her ride, she learns her boat is nowhere near water-ready, so she reaches out to Cliff, unaware that he’s the guilty party. They meet again on his new boat, but it doesn’t take her long to learn the truth about his latest crime. Cliff calls the police on Charlie, but Luca arrives and arrests him for Natalie’s murder. Charlie seems to be in the clear and is no longer wanted for Mr. Sterling’s murder. Luca offers her a job, but she declines. Things are looking up until Charlie receives a call from Beatrix who is now facing a mafia-fueled war for killing Sterling. She blames Charlie for her troubles and gives her the option to come work for her or be killed. Charlie opts to return to her life on the run, ultimately setting up her next set of adventures for Season 2. 

Did you enjoy the first season of Poker Face? Tell us in the comments!