Poker Face dodges a potential storytelling crisis by adopting a clever release schedule. In episode 1, Poker Face uses a contrived narrative to set the stage for Natasha Lyonne's character, Charlie. After establishing that she is a human lie detector with a strong sense of justice, the Peacock show makes an amateur sleuth out of her, who solves many a murder mystery in her pursuit to escape the ramifications of her actions from episode 1.
With what follows, every episode begins at a new pit stop in Charlie's Poker Face journey. As her fate would have it, each pit stop introduces her to a whole new murder mystery that only she can solve, and no matter how much she tries to mind her own business, her curiosity and knack for justice get the best of her. Charlie's murder mystery-of-the-episode narrative in Poker Face perfectly allows her detective skills to shine through in many different scenarios while adding depth to her overarching storyline. However, this episodic approach could have easily backfired with one change in Poker Face's release timing.
Poker Face Needed To Avoid Releasing At Once
Everything from the conflict to the resolution is different and oddly gimmicky in all Poker Face episodes, especially in episode 3. However, despite all the variations, Poker Face can seem redundant because of its recurring format. The Peacock TV show overcomes this pitfall by releasing its episodes weekly and not treading the same path as most other television shows of the streaming era. If it wasn't for its weekly release, many viewers would have likely watched its entire season 1 in one sitting, which would have made its repetitive episode structure all the more evident and monotonous.
Poker Face's creator, Rian Johnson (also known for writing Knives Out and Glass Onion's screenplays), often creates an immersive atmosphere in his who-dun-its, which makes the audience an active participant. Continuing Johnson's hot streak with Poker Face, the show does something by reminding viewers to see eye to eye with Charlie's unreasonable desire for justice in every episode and letting them put together the pieces of the puzzle that lead to an episode's climactic reveal. Watching Poker Face in one go would only diminish this effect because the similarities that drive its plot would gradually chip away the novelty that every new setting and character brings to the table.
How Releasing Poker Face Weekly Helps Its Mystery Murder Ties
Many murder mystery television shows outstay their welcome by stretching one murder mystery throughout bloated runtimes. Poker Face ingeniously subverts this by brewing up a self-contained murder in each episode, along with sub-plots that gradually advance Charlie's overarching storyline. Not to mention, by pitting the lie-detecting Charlie against new murderers every week, Poker Face not only avoids growing stale with its arcs and characters but also seemingly foreshadows how Natasha Lyonne's character will eventually deal with the "final boss" who has been trailing her since episode 1.
Considering how Poker Face's episodic format is reminiscent of pre-streaming-era mystery thriller classics like Columbo and X-Files, it allows viewers to randomly watch an episode and enjoy the beginning, middle, and end of a well-fleshed-out murder mystery. While this makes it relatively less binge-worthy since it gives viewers the freedom to floss over entries they are less interested in, Rian Johnson's solid writing and well-thought-out twists are gripping enough to make most viewers stick around for more. His ability to consistently create intriguing murder mystery narratives around Charlie's lie-detecting gimmick in Poker Face is absolutely commendable.