Poker Face Showrunners Explain Shocking Decision To Make SPOILER the Victim in Episode Nine

Poker Face's penultimate episode was released on Peacock this week, and it featured Natasha Lyonne's Charlie Cale going up against a new villain, this time played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The episode also featured The Umbrella Acaemdy's David Castañeda and Everything Everywhere All at Once star Stephanie Hsu. However, "Escape From Shit Mountain" took a shocking turn this week when it came to the victim. Warning: Spoilers Ahead! Gordon-Levitt's Trey Mendez is a white-collar criminal on house arrest who goes for a joy ride after a storm knocks out the power to his ankle monitor. He ends up hit hitting a pedestrian and dumping the body in a hole where he's disposed of people in the past. When the hit-and-run victim crawls out of the hiding spot and returns to the nearby hotel where Trey is laying low, the episode reveals a big twist: it was actually Lyonne's Charlie that he ran over. During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, co-showrunners and the episode's writers, Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman, talked about making Charlie the show's latest victim. 

"This is actually one of the episodes that we pitched early on in the writers' room; we didn't come up with it near the end of the season. As soon as we started breaking it, we realized that it belonged as the penultimate episode. And what I love about it is that it really is an exploration of Charlie's character, and she's very much in the center of this episode, as opposed to on the fringes, and you're not even sure why," Lilla explained. "Also, I'm so proud of the switcheroo that we pull in this episode. We have always endeavored to stay true to our structure and to our formula, but find new ways to tell a story in there. And having Charlie as the victim was this really kind of jaw-dropping realization that we could do something like that within the structures of this show."

"I don't think we were ever like, 'OK, we're going to kill Charlie.' But through the season, you've seen her in various states of danger," Nora added. "Sometimes it's confronting a killer or being nearly run off the road. But this is a danger that you don't quite see coming. And then to have her in this terrible physical state while still solving a murder and knowing how vulnerable she is became such a cool, fun challenge for Charlie to have. You go from this big, spectacular accident to this almost small play with these four characters in this little motel. And we thought it was just such a cool way to put Charlie through the paces in a way that she hadn't been previous, and it really sets her up for the finale in such a great way. It's sort of like when you're in that state, looking at the year you've just had and going, 'Well, what's next?' And then, you'll see... I guess!" 

Was Poker Face Renewed For a Second Season?

Poker Face has the biggest streaming ratings in Peacock's history, so it's no surprise the streaming site has already renewed the series, which means there was no way Charlie was actually going to die in the show's latest episode. 

"Poker Face is one of those rare, undeniable shows that we all fell in love with from the start, but the critical acclaim and viewer response has been beyond our wildest dreams," Susan Rovner, Chairman, Entertainment Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said in a statement. "Working alongside the creative genius of Rian Johnson, Natasha Lyonne, and Ram Bergman, along with our partners at MRC and T-Street, has been a spectacular ride, and we can't wait to hit the road for another season as we continue to build momentum across Peacock's originals slate."

The finale of Poker Face drops on Peacock on March 9th.