Poker Face Eps. 1-4 Review (Patreon)

Rian Johnson is starting to run the risk of repetition. His post-Last Jedi career has consisted of vaguely retro detective properties. This isn't new for him exactly: Brick and The Brothers Bloom were crime films with classical sensibilities, while Looper and The Last Jedi both had elements of con/heist films. Johnson is doing what he's always done, just with the Star Wars prestige to secure big budgets for his quirky little mystery projects.

The question is whether Johnson's new projects challenge him. Structural gameplay is as much a staple of Johnson's oeuvre, and lately it's yielded mixed results. Knives Out's intricacy rewards multiple viewings, while Glass Onion is a more one-trick pony whose major structural trick is pretty clear after one viewing. Both Benoit Blanc films are fun, but they clearly demonstrate that Johnson needs to cover new ground.

Poker Face puts Johnson in strange territory. He hasn't produced his own television show before: his acclaimed stints on Breaking Bad were firmly a spin on someone else's work. Poker Face, on the other hand, is Johnson finding freedom in a medium where he's only worked under the yoke of other creators.

Johnson's affection for classic detective stories meets his need for change in Poker Face. The show's debts to Columbo have been pointed out ad nauseam. Yet borrowing from the greatest detective show of all time actually benefits Johnson in forcing him to innovate. The "how-catch-em" format makes him hew to suspense, always a greater strength of Johnson's than mystery. Charlie Cale's "life on the road" plot recalls an Alfred Hitchcock-style vagrant protagonist more than the typical sleuth.

And of course Natasha Lyonne is perfect in the role. She's the right balance of personable intelligence and notable personality. Most vitally, she's important to the success of this kind of show, which creates a new universe every week to an extent Doctor Who could learn from.

So yeah, this is Johnson's best work in a while, and some of the only strong television I've seen lately. I can't wait to see more of this, even if Johnson's inclinations are slightly trad.