Poker Face takes viewers to a ball game and into a murder mystery involving minor league failure and spiked gum in the fifth episode of its second season.
Written by Tony Tost and directed by John Dahl, Hometown Hero sees Simon Rex star as Russ, a washed-up pitcher for the Cheesemongers – a team close to holding the longest losing streak in minor league history. After Russ is informed that he’s set to make his final start, he is abruptly sidelined in favour of Felix Dominguez (Brandon Perea), freshly promoted from rookie ball.
The central tension revolves around a scheme involving Russ and his ageing teammates, who’ve calculated a life-changing $3.1 million payday to be split five ways if they achieve the losing streak record. If the young hotshot starts, there’s no way they’ll lose. To sabotage him, the group spikes his gum with acid (not to kill him, mind you, just to rattle him). But when Dominguez discovers what they’ve done, he demands the full amount, or he’ll go to the authorities. Unfortunately for him, Russ’s fastball still has enough fire to turn fatal. One pitch to the head sees Dominguez down.
To cover up his crime, Russ uses the ball machine (nicknamed Rambo) to stage the death as a freak accident. With gloves on and evidence cleared, he’s thought it through. However, as we all know, nobody can evade Charlie Cale. Nobody should evade CCTV either, but, naturally, this doesn’t come up.
When getting hit by a baseball guides Cale to the Cheesemongers, it’s Carol Kane who settles her into life at the ballpark. Things soon turn psychedelic. Thanks to a trippy turn, Charlie finds herself hallucinating B.J. Novak, who pops up first in animated form and then in person as the team’s mascot and Charlie’s spiritual guide. It’s down to her to “save this ballpark to save this team” because “baseball is not just a game.” Somehow, it works. It’s chaotic, but ridiculous. Lyonne’s AI studio couldn’t recreate this.
Despite the bizarre detours, Charlie remains as sharp as ever. She’s the first to suggest the gum be tested, and even when it passes (Russ swapped the spiked packet out for his clean packet), she knows something is amiss. It’s hard not to when the group are not hiding their newfound wealth. When one of them debuts, his new gold-plated teeth, Charlie questions how he could afford this. “I won it playing trivia down at the pub,” he shares. “Obvious bullshit, I don’t even need my special thing for that one” Charlie replies in the episode’s sharpest laugh-out-loud moment. It might even be the season’s best so far.
By the 38-minute mark, she’s adamant that bank accounts need checking, questioning alibis, and gathering threads. But even as Russ delivers a half-hearted confession about his waning talent – “My fastball’s gone and it’s not coming back” — Charlie’s not buying it. Her retort? A cutting “bullshit,” delivered in a way only Lyonne can make you cheer.
Hometown Hero is Poker Face at its most bizarre, which will divide audiences. It’s not as strong as the first three episodes, but it is a reminder that beneath the absurdity, Charlie Cale remains one of television’s most watchable detectives. She’s foul-mouthed, emotionally invested, and always ready to call out BS when she hears it. Long may she continue.
