REVIEW: ‘Poker Face’ Season 2 Hits And Misses With Episode 10

This article contains spoilers for 'Poker Face' season 2, episode 10.

It’s safe to say that Poker Face has never shied away from the absurd and this week, the series goes to extreme lengths to weird out its audience.

In the tenth episode of Season 2, "The Big Pump", writer Raphie Cantor sends Charlie into a murder mystery with breast milk at its centre. Directed by Clea DuVall, the episode brings together a stacked guest cast: Cliff “Method Man” Smith as the gym owner Brick, Jason Ritter as the health inspector Rodney, Natasha Leggero as a milk thief named Lil, and the return of Patti Harrison from episode nine as Charlie’s neighbour, Alex.

The premise is uncomfortably bonkers. Rodney is a frequent gym goer, looking to make some gains before he rekindles with a bully at a reunion. Jealous of other men at the gym who improve session by session, he goes to Brick asking for the enhancements the latter sells. However, what he doesn’t know is that the enhancements are not protein supplements. Instead, it’s breast milk that Brick’s wife, Lil, steals from her workplace for her husband to redistribute as a muscle-building supplement. It’s grotesque, unethical, and, apparently, also quite effective.

Due to money troubles and bearing too much pride, Brick initially considers letting Rodney in on the operation. Adamant that he won’t receive help from Lil’s father to save his business, he agrees to give Rodney the ‘good’ stuff. Unfortunately for Rodney, he soon changes his mind upon learning that he’s a health inspector for the city. To still make a dime, he gives Rodney other questionable powder instead. The cover is soon revealed when the inspector picks up another man’s bottle, smells it, and realises what it is.

In true Poker Face fashion, this all leads to a confrontation. Rodney accuses Brick of stealing from babies and threatens to expose him. Both men respond violently, with Rodney dead, seemingly in an act of self-defence, though Brick certainly knew what he was doing towards the end. He quickly covers it up, claiming Rodney died alone during a late-night bench press gone wrong.

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Charlie, meanwhile, is still holed up in her New York flat, nursing a neck crick and trying her best not to get involved. When Alex, lonely and in need of a friend, drags her to the gym for her neck pain, things inevitably unravel when the pair agree to sign on for a 7-day free trial.

We return to the hours before Rodney’s death, when the pair three meet after he rescues Alex from trouble with a bench press. Naturally, when they receive the news that the health inspector died from a solo late-night bench press mishap, Alex is piqued. This is, after all, the same Rodney who insisted you should never bench without a spotter.

As Alex pesters Brick with questions and Charlie reluctantly sleuths on the side, the tension escalates. Brick, increasingly desperate, traps Charlie in a sauna turned up to deadly levels, covers up the window, and clears out the gym under the guise of a gas leak. It’s a tense, if slightly ridiculous, sequence, especially since I couldn’t stop questioning why no one ever considers CCTV in this show’s universe. Still, seeing Charlie try to burn calories in the sauna just so Alex can track her smartwatch activity is entertaining.

The climax goes full action-comedy as kettlebells are hurled, and truths are revealed. Lil turns up just in time for Brick to confess his crime and for our new duo to escape death. The episode ends on a bittersweet note as Charlie praises Alex for her honesty, a moment of rare vulnerability for our otherwise guarded protagonist. The two share real chemistry, and you can’t help but root for their unlikely friendship, even if something may be amiss there. Watch your back, Cale.

"The Big Pump" is Poker Face at its most silly, but unfortunately, marks another dip in quality. Still, two episodes remain to impress.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

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About Poker Face

Premiere Date: May 8, 2025

Episode Count: 12

Executive Producer/Showrunner: Rian Johnson, Natasha Lyonne, Tony Tost, Ram Bergman, Nena Rodrigue, Adam Arkin, Nora Zuckerman, Lilla Zuckerman

Writer: Laura Deeley, Alice Ju, Natasha Lyonne, Wyatt Cain, Tony Tost, Kate Thulin, Taofik Kolade, Megan Amram, Tea Ho, Raphie Cantor, Andrew Sodroski

Director: Rian Johnson, Natasha Lyonne, Miguel Arteta, Lucky McKee, John Dahl, Adam Arkin, Mimi Cave, Adamma Ebo, Clea Duvall, Ti West

Production: Animal Pictures, T-Street

Distribution: Peacock

Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Adrienne C. Moore, Alia Shawkat, Awkwafina, Ben Marshall, B.J. Novak, Carol Kane, Cliff "Method Man" Smith, Corey Hawkins, Cynthia Erivo, David Alan Grier, David Krumholtz, Favionte "GaTa" Ganter, Ego Nwodim, Gaby Hoffmann, Geraldine Viswanathan, Giancarlo Espositio, Haley Joel Osment, Jason Ritter, John Cho, John Mulaney, Justin Theroux, Katherine Narducci, Katie Holmes, Kevin Corrigan, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Tom, Lili Taylor, Margo Martindale, Melanie Lynskey, Natasha Leggero, Patti Harrison, Rhea Perlman, Richard Kind, Sam Richardson, Sherry Cola, Simon Helberg, Simon Rex, Taylor Schilling

Synopsis: Poker Face is a mystery-of-the-week series following Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie, who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. She hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but solve.