The End of the Road

We've officially left the realm of reality with this episode. It felt like a real slap in the face to treat your audience like a bunch of cocomelon babies who need some crazy, out-of-left-field twist in order to maintain our interest. The entire assassin plotline was just cartoonishly stupid.

The entire first season had so much heart and the characters felt like actual people. Season two honestly just felt like a bad ripoff of season one, even though it's the same show. Thanks to Natasha, Charlie never stopped being loveable and fun to watch. But this awful script didn't do her or her character any favors.

What a disappointment.

Currently, "The End of the Road" is one of the higher rated episodes of "Poker Face", as a more than respectable score of 8.2--with the most common score being a 10. Oddly, the two featured reviews give it a 1! What is going on here?! Clearly some folks seem really invested in both directions to make the episode either look great or godawful. I think the truth lies somewhere in between.

The episode is the culmination of MANY small clues about the identity of the killer who may be targeting Beatrix Hasp. As such, you really needed to be watching all of season two and paying careful attention. My oldest daughter guessed early on who the killer was based on these clues.

So why did I dislike the episode enough to give it a 5? Well, in the final episode you literally have a lengthy sequence where there is a recap of EVERY freakin' clue and it essentially spoon feeds the reader...to the point of making it an episode more for someone who skipped many of the episodes. But to devoted series fans like my family, it seemed like too much exposition and dumbing down the story too much. As a result, we all felt a bit let down by the end of the story. Not terrible but quite disappointing...but to give it a 1 or a 10...well that seems unreasonable.

I was about not to write a review for the second season finale of *Poker Face*, because the existing reviews that also gave it a 2 or 3 share my sentiments.

After a few good previous episodes, this final one is a serious letdown on many levels.

Despite the main twist-which was hinted at in a previous episode mentioning "the world's greatest sociopath"-you get no satisfaction from the reveal.

Numerous plot holes, weak dialogue, and sloppy attempts to set up a back-to-basics third season make this almost unbearable.

Natasha Lyonne's direction felt like a failed experiment. Weird wide-angle shots, several TV gimmicks supposedly meant as tributes to older shows, and hasty editing destroy any enjoyment, even for the most loyal fan of the series.

A series with such a high-concept premise rarely sustains its momentum without lapsing into repetition or losing narrative focus. Yet "Poker Face" consistently subverts expectations, experimenting with form and tone in ways that keep the audience uncertain of what lies ahead, and thus fully engaged in the journey. By the time the season reached its finale, "The End of the Road," anticipation had built to a breaking point. The episode delivers on that promise, offering a culmination that is both thrilling and deeply satisfying.

The season finale delivers on nearly every expectation, offering both narrative payoff and emotional intensity. Rising tensions are resolved with precision, culminating in a gripping car chase and a near-death sequence that feels both earned and thematically resonant. Much of the episode's impact stems from Natasha Lyonne's assured direction: she strikes a deft balance between suspense, emotional depth, and dark humor, while shading the ending with a darker, more foreboding tone than anticipated-an artistic choice that enhances the finale's power and points toward compelling future possibilities. Lyonne's performance in front of the camera also deserves recognition. She imbues the episode with a heightened emotional edge, particularly in relation to Alex, portrayed with nuance by Patti Harrison. Their evolving relationship, one of the season's most intriguing through-lines, is given renewed depth here, suggesting fertile ground for further exploration. As expected, the finale concludes with a twist, but one that does more than simply surprise: it recontextualizes the entire season while challenging Charlie in unprecedented ways. Sharp and satisfying, this revelation heightens the episode's dramatic complexity and secures its place as a powerful conclusion that simultaneously opens the door to rich new directions.

"The End of the Road" serves as a satisfying conclusion, drawing together disparate narrative threads in a manner that feels both coherent and earned. Its carefully executed twists, sustained suspense, assured direction, and compelling performances combine to create a finale of lasting impact. At the same time, it gestures toward future seasons with considerable promise, hinting at darker thematic ambitions yet to be explored.

It's been so bad - like, devoid of quality or believability - this second season, I'd actually forgotten the first was actually any good and that Natasha Lyonne was actually decent in it.

I hate to sound cynical but there's definitely some truth in someone involved with this show upvoting positive reviews and downvoting bad ones and rate-spamming to gear episode ratings higher, because there's no way 300+ people who saw this gave it an overall 8.2/10, when every written review for this particular episode averages a 2.5/10. I smell a rat.

Such a shame. The first season really was pretty great. Now it's like diagnosis murder. Should be a daytime trash show. I won't be returning for season 3.