Detectives come in all shapes and sizes. Ditch the conventional idea of men walking around the streets donning two-piece suits, a big hat or sometimes a wooden cane, and smoking pipes, as now is the era of a woman detective, walking around in ragged clothes and baseball caps. The latest Paramount series, “Poker Face,” follows the tale of a brilliant woman who loves to call out people’s lies right on their faces. Charlie Cale harbors a weird talent for reading people’s lies and has often used her talent for financial gains. Charlie used to take a ride across the country to enlist in low-key games rather than big events to avoid attracting any notoriety. Fortunately for Cale, her talent didn’t go unnoticed, as she was offered a job by a major casino mogul and a very dangerous man, Sterling Frost Sr.
Spoilers Ahead
An Unfortunate Sight
The series kicks off with Natalie (played by Dasha Polanco) coming across something she wasn’t supposed to see in the first place in Caine’s hotel suite. Frightened and agitated, Natalie brings the issue to her boss, Sterling Frost Jr. (played by Adrien Brody), who advises her to take the rest of the day off, drive back home to her husband, and not to convey the details of what she saw today. Sterling doesn’t want anybody to find out the details; that’s why he asks his right-hand man, Cliff (played by Benjamin Bratt), to murder her and her husband. Cliff also planted fake evidence to make it look like Jerry (Natalie’s husband) killed his wife. Unfortunately for Sterling Jr., Natalie was a good friend of Charlie, the woman he hired to rob Mr. Caine, the high roller who has been running his very own private casino. Mr. Caine was among the biggest high-rollers in the casino, but for the past two years, he has been spending less and less on the tables, thanks to his own private game. Sterling decides to fleece Caine and offers a million dollars for Cale’s help. Cale was wary at first since she knew Sterling Sr. wouldn’t tolerate any fooling about with his casino, and if he found out, he’d break her pretty little fingers. In the meantime, Cale was also probing into the death of her friend and was advised by his current boss not to lose focus on the game. Sterling Sr. and Cliff install miniature cameras in Caine’s suit and ask Cale to sit behind a screen and call out whether Caine is bluffing or not. After noticing that Natalie had called her before she went home, she realized that whatever happened or whoever spooked Natalie happened right here in the casino. She even went to the station asking for Natlie’s phone, which had been kept in the evidence locker but was denied, forcing her to break into the crime scene with the help of his friend and uncover her iPad, which contained the recording of what Natalie saw in Caine’s room. On the other hand, Sterling Sr. was getting skeptical of Cale’s constant probing into Natalie’s death. At first, Natalie thought that Caine had something to do with the murder. Natalie saw something she wasn’t supposed to see, and Caine had his bodyguards take Natalie home and shoot both her and Jerry. But thanks to her peculiar talents, she realized that the truth couldn’t be any more different. Cale had everything figured out; all she needed was a final piece of the puzzle. She presses Sterling Sr. with everything she has pieced out about what transpired in that hellish hour. She told him that Jerry wasn’t the one pulling the trigger because his gun was right here in Cliff’s locker after it was confiscated when Jerry barged into the casino looking for Natalie. Cale knows that Sterling Sr enjoyed a tremendous influence and has held cops of the city in his pockets. Thus, she decides to hit him where it hurts. Thus she tipped Caine about his plan prompting him to take a first flight out of LA with his high roller friends, robbing Sterling Sr. of his chance to fleece the whale who has been running his own game right under his nose. Fearing his father will skin him alive for ruining his and the casino’s reputation, Sterling Jr. takes a swan dive from the suite’s balcony painting the asphalt from his insides. Cliff opens fire on Cale, and she somehow manages to crawl under the flying barrage of bullets and shares the evidence with the FBI. On the other hand, Sterling Sr. blames Cale for his son’s death and threatens to find and kill her. Sterling Sr. openly threatens her, saying that there isn’t a corner of the world where he cannot find her. Fearing for her well-being, Cale has no choice but to flee in her 1969 Plymouth Barracuda.
Will Sterling Sr. find her, or will Cale be able to get the better of him just like his son? Let’s find it out in the next episode.
