Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Poker Face season 2, episode 4!Poker Faceseason 2, episode 4, featuring Kumail Nanjiani and Steve Buscemi, finally broke the show’s detective formula, and I couldn’t be happier.Poker Faceseason 2has featured a multitude of interesting cases so far, includingone that helped smooth things over between Charlie and Beatrix Hasp. Without the Five Families hunting her down, futureepisodes ofPoker Faceare poised to start wholly focusing on new mysteries. Season 2, episode 4 featured disgruntled cop Fran LaMont growing jealous of social media superstar Gator Joe winning Cop of the Year at FlopaCopa seven years in a row.
In the episode, Fran puts reptile laxative in Joe’s energy drinks, hoping to embarrass him onstage when he wins his award. Instead, she accidentally kills him, deciding to stage a crime to make it seem like his alligator Daisy was the real culprit. While othercharacters inPoker Faceseason 2, episode 4 believe the animal is to blame,Charlie ends up discovering the truth. Typically, this results in the culprit either going to jail or dying themselves. This time, though,Poker Faceturned these expectations on their head.
Fran Gets Away With Killing Gator Joe In Season 2, Episode 4
She’s Not Punished Despite Confessing To His Murder
Unlike previous culprits in the series,Fran actually manages to get away with killing Gator Joedespite being fully guilty of accidentally murdering him. In the episode’s climax, she’s about to kill Charlie and Daisy in a swamp when she realizes the error of her ways, allowing the alligator to go free. She returns to her precinct and confesses to Chief Pendleton, who decides not to tell anyone. Out of guilt, she resigns, eventually ending up as an employee at the gator sanctuary Charlie had been working at when her part of the episode began.
Despite being the culprit of the episode’s murder,Fran managed to become the firstPoker Facesuspect to get away with their crime. While plenty of otherdetective TV showshave broken their formulas in the past, this is a first for the howcatchem series. It’s a difference that makes her lack of punishment stand out, emphasized by the fact that she didn’t mean to kill Gator Joe in the first place. While it doesn’t excuse her crime, since she actually did try to turn herself in, it does mark a shift in the show that could impact future episodes.
The Series Could Continue To Shake Up Its Established Ideas
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Fran getting away with killing Gator Joe indicatesjust how much the formula forPoker Facecould changeas season 2 progresses. With eight episodes left, each one expected to deal with a new murder mystery, the series could see vastly different fates for each of its new culprits. This could include more characters who get away with their crimes, something that could see more reformations like Fran’s. Others may not show remorse, either, potentially escaping with the episodes having less happy endings because they got away with it.
If Charlie’s investigations do change, then perhaps it could also be tied with her new “good buddy” she’s met over the radio. While the series doesn’t seem to have much of an overarching plot at the moment, Buscemi’s character could be another factor to consider in the future.Poker Face’s inspiration fromColumbomakes it very similar to the original inverted detective series. But, with Fran’s latest twist of fate,the series now has a chance to forge its own paththat pays tribute to similar series that have come before.
While not everyone is going to get away like she did, the possibility is now a very tangible one for any who have a major presence in the upcoming episodes.
With Fran shaking things up for the wayPoker Faceconcludes its episodes,the series has laid the groundwork for even more variety in how its criminals' stories end. While not everyone is going to get away like she did, the possibility is now a very tangible one for any who have a major presence in the upcoming episodes. What this means for future cases is unclear, but it indicates there will probably be some more coming soon with unconventional bookends.
