Jesus fucking bob howdy, I don't think I have had as much pure childish joy in a while as I did watching "Poker Face" in real time these past weeks. Just raw filmmaking craft mixed with tight as fuck screenplays that perfectly balance their wit, their drama, and their sincerity. Nearly every episode just has you on the edge, waiting to see how they deceived you this time. The buzz after leaving each episode is like a drug and it leaves you cheering each time, I swear. "Poker Face" finds this wonderful middle-ground between being a "case of the week" type series and one with an overarching story. It leads to a lot of classic Johnson subversions of genre that are as exciting and delightful as they always are. But at the core is something really bitter-sweet that especially comes to a head in the finale; there's a genuine heart that feels real and flawed and broken and human, but is still able to bring so much joy and truth and love in spite of it. "Poker Face" is a beautiful homage to a simpler time in TV while still being completely Rian in all of its being. And it isn't just genre homage for genre homage's sake, with characters that feel like sly parodies of ones we already know. Charlie and this world are so deeply sincere. And that balance between being a surface-level love-letter to Johnson's influences and an honest-to-god emotionally-charged piece with thoughtful care put into the world and especially the characters is what makes "Poker Face", "Poker Face". I could not have possibly loved it more. Charlie Cale and Benoit Blanc teamup when? Episodes Ranked: 1: Escape from Shit Mountain 2: The Hook 3: Exit Stage Death 4: The Future of the Sport 5: The Stall 6: Dead Man's Hand 7: Rest in Metal 8: The Night Shift 9: The Orpheus Syndrome 10: Time of the Monkey