Poker Face
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Our girl is on the run now, and it dramatically changesPoker Faces feel.
As such, the inaugural crime she was solving was intimate.
Her devotion to justice in the case was primarily emotional.
But thats not Charlies MO any longer.
Sterling Gates Sr. and his henchman get a little closer with every tap of the brakes.
This risk-taking behavior may be the series most complicated investigation so far.
Charlie isnt Columbo, a homicide cop with open cases to clear.
So why does she feel compelled to use her very particular set of skills for the greater good?
In episode two, the answer is specific.
Charlie helps, I guess, because she knows Marge to be a good person.
TheColumbostructure remains intact here.
Nats death was in service of a bad mans craven attempt to maintain control of his tiny fiefdom.
This week, we find ourselves roaming a dead-end town with three 20-somethings working dead-end jobs for company.
Jed likes Sara, too.
Hes a creepy incel-jot down who drinks beer on the auto shops roof and watches Sara with binoculars.
Sara likes Damian but thinks Jed is harmless.
Alas, this dusty way station aint big enough for the three of them.
But Damian has legitimate combat training, so maybe its Jed who will die in that skirmish.
Instead and this is compelling writing here they find common ground.
Damian understands that monotony is as dangerous a force as any.
He felt it himself in the service.
And I think he really gets through to Jed.
They have an honest-to-God, reach across the aisle and hug your fellow man bonding moment.
Damian tells him that kind of dreaming can only lead to disappointment.
Except it comes up a $25,000 winner.
Jed pockets the scratch-off with plans to purchase another and pull a switcheroo.
Damians lotto ticket is Jeds ticket out of Dodge; no trunk space is required.
The last order of business is what to do with the body.
Jed dumps Damians in the back of a Mack truck that he notices parked out of the way.
So when she finds a body back there, she cant exactly head to the cops.
Its so neat in its own bumbling way that it should absolutely possibly work.
Except, just like last week, Charlie is already involved before the crime even happens.
Shes stuck in this town because her car broke down and cant be fixed until morning.
She bought a Damian special from Subway, and it was delicious.
From now on, Charlie is the name she used to answer to.
After sharing a few drinks with Marge at the diner, Charlie sleeps it off on a picnic table.
Im honestly impressed with the audacity of this show.
Sara is telling the truth, but Jed is bullshitting.
Its an intriguing distinction that points to the limits of Charlies superpowers.
Whether a person is lying about a fact doesnt necessarily impart its truth value.
But heavily suspecting or even knowing the truth isnt enough in Charlies case.
She has no jurisdiction here (or anywhere).
But Jed calls her bluff.
Shes just a vagrant with a blue car and now, compliments of Jed, cut brakes.
Its not just that Charlie isnt a cop.
Shes on the actual run from people rich enough to own the local cops.
But its like Charlie said then: Its not that useful to know when someone lies.
Everyone lies all the time for the dumbest of reasons.
It doesnt have to be Charlies suspicions versus Jeds word, which is to say hobo versus incel.
But revisiting Sara in the episodes final moments contributes to the overall dreariness.
Charlie is a bright and flashy thing, taking this wee town by storm and restoring it to integrity.
I didnt want Damian to die, and Jed getting nailed for the crime doesnt fix it.
Thinking about Sara handing out lotto tickets for the rest of her life is depressing.
