Poker Face

[therewillbeblus]

The fourth episode has one of the best casts on paper (I'm hoping the voice-only actor will become a recurring character), and it's fine, but with newfound freedom comes the least-'intense' outing yet. Here we have an extremely goofy ACAB / Florida-bashing parade of gags that gets a bit too zany for its own good at times, though the most absurd moments worked for me

Spoiler

like.. peaking into the gator's soul

[therewillbeblus]

This season's choice to shorten the eps by even a few minutes makes you really feel the gap. Charlie barely has to try to solve the mysteries - narratives are less intricate, the stakes are lower, I care less, and information seems to just fall in her lap. I'm still enjoying the season overall - especially the bullpen of guest stars - but I hope this is just a midseason lull. Last night's episode's self-reflexive gags were so shallow they often bordered on obnoxious, but I did like the way Heat's cumulative choice was woven into the plot, and Ransone may be the best guest yet

[Brian C]

I've been reluctant to dive into S2, because I thought the show had mostly run out of gas already by the last few episodes of Season 1. And if I'm being completely honest, I sorta thought the basic premise was already played out by the end of the 1st episode, and the rest of the season had to rely on the vibes that whatever guest stars brought to it. That could be enjoyable, as in the S. Epatha Merkerson/Judith Ivey or Tim Meadows/Ellen Barkin episodes, or it could be kinda tedious (the JGL episode), but since the format of most every episode was so similar, and Lyonne's character so monotonous, the guest stars were all that really set each episode apart.

In other words, your review is not encouraging, since it hits on things that I already felt about season 1! Sounds like what you're describing is simply diminishing returns.

[therewillbeblus]

Yeah, it’s like junk food for me. I get my weekly dose of lowkey fun, and in distancing it from high art I feel I can appreciate it more. I’m also seemingly the only one who liked Glass Onion too, despite acknowledging its dependency on low hanging fruit, so I fully recognize I’m giving rope to Johnson and co.

[starmanof51]

In other words, your review is not encouraging, since it hits on things that I already felt about season 1! Sounds like what you're describing is simply diminishing returns.

Watched all of S1, kind of felt the same as you. Two episodes into S2, and I seem to have tapped out. The guest stars aren't enough.

[therewillbeblus]

Tonight's ep felt like an homage to House of Games, and was a return to form of 'episodes that don't play out as expected'. It's not just eliding information but cleverly pushing the narrative in a forward direction, mirroring the 'always one step ahead' ethos of the con crew

[brundlefly]

Megan Amram! Who wrote my favorite Good Place episode.

Still find the show to be a consistent joy. I agree that the shorter run times tend to leave something missing -- be it an extra layer of intricacy, depth (Charlie's bonds to the crime/victims are a little less earned), or sense of place. But its low-to-the-ground good-natured hang vibes are refreshing, especially compared to all the episodic crime/mystery shows about idle evil rich people or conspiracies or haunted dicks or pervasive sadism or elaborate forensics. The gimmick is integral but is built to engage with humanity, and it doesn't play up every reveal as a world-shaking battle of wits. It doesn't always underline the fun it's having, dropping a B. J. Novak cameo into an animated sequence because Charlie's been binging The Office, or underlines it to the extent it wants you to play along, critiquing its obsessives by nesting rom-com tropes inside heist tropes (and signalling the shift by changing the channel).

The only real dud for me this season was the episode where the show wrapped its running story, and even that had Richard Kind.

[brundlefly]

Cancelled at Peacock. Johnson is shopping the show at other networks with Peter Dinklage as the lead.

[therewillbeblus]

Strange, could've sworn they were setting up Buscemi to appear in a more substantial role with Lyonne in the next season

[Matt]

I don’t see why Apple couldn’t pick this up. It’s got a built-in audience, and I’m sure they”d love to be in the Rian Johnson business. Netflix could also step in as they are already in the Rian Johnson business, but it doesn’t seem like it would have a safe home there unless they guarantee Johnson two full seasons up front. Netflix is more cancel-happy than most streamers.