Poker Face, Season 2, Episode 7: One Last Job

I probably don't need to tell you what Poker Face is, but in the unlikely case someone finds this review in a couple decades, here goes: this series, created by Rian Johnson and starring Natasha Lyonne, is a throwback to episodic mystery-of-the-week detective shows in the vein of Columbo or Murder She Wrote, combined with a healthy mix of related genre tropes drawn from movies. The gimmick here is that Lyonne's character, Charlie, isn't a detective, nor does she have any professional expertise or background connected to the subject matter. Instead, she has a virtually superhuman ability to detect lies. The show is, in no particular order, bizarre, funny, and absolutely fantastic. 

Consider that a recommendation for the series as a whole. This is good stuff, and if you're not already watching... actually, scratch that: you're probably already watching this. So... keep doing that, I guess.

With that covered, let's talk about "One Last Job," a rare entry in the "Black Friday TV episode" canon. The episode follows the usual formula, showing the murder play out as a sort of mini story in the first part, before rewinding time to reveal how Charlie fits into the story. The first season was typically built around unsympathetic murders; season two seems to be mixing things up with several episodes built around well-meaning (and occasionally accidental) killers, not all of which wind up behind bars. 

This time things are even more complicated: the POV criminal in the first act isn't actually the murderer (though he winds up inadvertently killing someone before the end), but he's not innocent either. Kendall (played by Sam Richardson) actually feels like he might be based on a writer working on the show - he's an aspiring screenwriter with a wealth of movie knowledge working at a department store managed by an old friend. That friend is Bill (Corey Hawkins), who believes in Kendall's talent so much that he lets him go from the retail job in the hopes it'll inspire him to overcome his fear and try to make it in Hollywood. 

Kendall doesn't see it that way. After he's fired, he befriends a shoplifter called Juice (James Ransone), who convinces Kendall to work with him to pull off a Black Friday heist Kendall planned in a script. Things go predictably wrong, and Bill winds up getting shot by Juice.

Cut back to the beginning (before the beginning, in fact), and we're shown a very different perspective. Charlie is working as a delivery driver for a nearby Indian restaurant. She meets Bill, and the two hit it off until, of course, things take the turn we already know is coming. 

Charlie discovers Bill's body disguised as a dummy in a Santa suit and sets out to prove Kendall is responsible (she's tipped off by a lie, as usual). At the same time, Kendall and Juice have a falling out over some cash Kendall concealed prior to dividing the take. Juice goes to attack Kendall and winds up impaled on a katana, which isn't as instantly fatal as it first seems, leading to a dramatic finale where he chases Charlie and Kendall through the store after hours with a machine gun. 

Eventually Juice succumbs to his wound and the police show up (Charlie called them earlier since she's not stupid) and arrest Kendall.

If that sounds like enough plot to fill a movie, it's because it probably is. To the credit of the episode's director, Adam Arkin, it doesn't feel rushed. One Last Job is largely concerned with exploring the way we've come to see the world through the prism of movie genre, along with the ways that is and isn't accurate. To that end, this needs to play out like a movie. Actually, it needs to play out like different movies, depending on the point in the story we're in. To that end, the story needs a lot of... well... story.

I should note that while several Christmas movies of both the romcom and action variety are referenced, the single most significant film is Heat, which (unless I missed something when I saw it a few months ago) isn't set around the holidays at all. Likewise, this references the Mission: Impossible films, which also don't quality as holiday entertainment. 

However there is some discussion about Die Hard's classification within the episode itself foreshadowing Bill's body dressed as Santa. The dialogue is a bit awkward (no self-respecting movie nerd would claim a movie requires the "real" Santa to count as a Christmas movie), but I'll let that slide. 

As a side note, I find it interesting seeing something else pit Die Hard against holiday romantic comedies a few years after Love Hard played with similar ideas, albeit in a very different story. I wasn't a fan of that movie, so it's nice seeing these concepts used in a context more to my liking.

Aside from the Die Hard connection and slightly more tenuous romcom ones (since this isn't set at Christmas or New Year's), the main holiday tie-in is centered around Black Friday sales. In some ways this is slightly anachronistic, since the effects of those promotions have been dropping for a while, but then this series is intentionally anachronistic, as well (and besides, it's still a big sales weekend).

All that's academic, anyway. The real appeal here is the comedy, coupled with some compelling drama. Charlie really liked Bill, so his death hits hard. On top of that, for all his faults, Kendall wasn't evil: he never wanted anyone to get hurt.

The tragic ending, of course, ties into Heat, a fact the closing montage and credits drive home effectively. This is a particularly neat episode in a particularly neat series. But then I already covered that, and you already watched this, so I'm not entirely sure why I'm bothering to type any of this.

As a sidenote, I should mention One Last Job may not entirely end the season's holiday connections. In fact, depending on how generous you're feeling, you might argue the entire second half - everything from here through the season finale - is set in the leadup and during the holidays. Maybe. Kind of. Okay, it's complicated.

A subsequent episode provides a December date, maintaining continuity with One Last Job. Then there's a Christmas wreath visible in the background of the last scene in the finale. Between those, however, the foliage doesn't align with the season when Charlie's in New York, and there's no actual mention of any holidays. So... take this with a grain of salt.

One Last Job, however, is about as clear on its Black Friday setting as you can be.