Poker Face Season 2 Episode 6 Review: Sloppy Joseph

Poker Face Season 2 Episode 6, “Sloppy Joseph,” sees the series take a creative swing for the fences with its silliest, campiest outing yet. It’s a much-needed shot in the arm for the show, indicating a solid return to form after a few so-so installments. 

How to Murder a Boy’s Self-Esteem

If you have one takeaway from “Sloppy Joseph,” it should be the name Eva Jade Halford. What a talent she is. She proves to be a worthy adversary for Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie.

Halford also gels well with the show’s tonal shift, and you can tell she’s having a blast playing a delightfully wicked, diabolical foe here. Admittedly, she’s the highlight of the episode. In addition, it’s fun watching Charlie adapt to this new kind of episodic nemesis. She’s used to dealing with adults. It’s a breath of fresh air, dynamic-wise. 

Ever the chronic overachiever, Stephanie doesn’t wave the white flag of surrender; instead, she doubles down, keeping Charlie on her toes. Charlie actually struggles to end Stephanie’s “reign of terror.” And Charlie isn’t dismissive of the class gerbil’s death, but approaches it as she would any other murder case, making the episode all the funnier. 

Poker Face Gets Creatively Reinvigorated

“Sloppy Joseph” subverts the show’s standard format by having Charlie figure out the perpetrator early on in the episode. As mentioned above, she also struggles to one-up Stephanie, which is, of course, where most of the humor comes from. How hard can it be to pin the murder of a gerbil on a little girl? Thankfully, the outing never takes itself too seriously. It’s quite “in” on the joke. 

Beyond that, the creative team incorporates intriguing choices into the storytelling. For example, when viewing the episode from Stephanie’s or Elijah’s perspective, we never see the adults’ faces. It feels very Charlie Brown-esque. This choice immerses us in the surprisingly cutthroat world of Good Hope Academy. 

Additionally, the superlatives are a fun mode of introducing us to the superstar student Stephanie is, and serve as a great full-circle moment to bring this story to a close in the episode’s last act. However, this time, the superlatives involve the outing’s main cast, not just Stephanie, as everyone finds a way to move forward. 

We’re All in the Same Boat

Poker Face isn’t the type of series to get allegorical. However, if “Sloppy Joseph” can teach us something — or Charlie, for that matter — it’s that kindness and compassion never go out of style. When tragedy strikes, like someone inadvertently smashing a gerbil with a mallet during a magic trick, we should band together to take care of each other. We’re all in the same boat, right? 

At the end of the day, “Sloppy Joseph” is a welcome change of pace for this season that leans into its inherently silly premise and isn’t afraid to go big. Here’s hoping Season 2 can maintain this momentum, remember to keep it fun, and that Charlie’s reunion with a grown Stephanie isn’t inevitable. Maybe puberty will magically give her memory loss. 

Stray Observations:

• I can’t tell if naming a class gerbil “Joseph Gerbils” is a stroke of genius or a bit concerning. 
• Stephanie screaming, “That’s socialism!” while running out of the classroom killed me. Too funny.
• The musical cues, punctuated by Stephanie’s sinister facial expressions, are pitch-perfect here.
• If anything, this episode should serve as a reminder that we were all little sh*ts at one point or another. Although perhaps not quite on the level of Stephanie. 
• Esteemed character actress Margo Martindale is always a welcome sight on any series. 
• Will we ever meet Good Buddy? I’ll continue asking this question every week until we get an answer. 

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Poker Face drops new episodes every Thursday on Peacock. 

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