Poker Face Season 2 Episode 3, “Whack-a-Mole,” sees the Charlie versus the mob narrative arc come to a natural conclusion. “Whack-a-Mole” has rats and, well, moles — FBI confrontations, fake bullets and real ones. It’s an action-packed outing chock-full of fun plot twists and solid performances.
RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Poker Face episode, “Last Looks”
Poker Face, “Whack-a-Mole”
We open one year ago, when Beatrix Hasp (Rhea Perlman) called Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) in the Season 1 finale. You know, when she claims that Charlie is on the sh*t list of the five families. In the present, Charlie drives while Beatrix sits in the backseat, her gun trained on our girl. Beatrix reveals that she needs Charlie’s help. Naturally, if Charlie doesn’t oblige, Beatrix will kill her.
Beatrix is on the lam after her organization crumbled. The Southwest Syndicate is closing in and the FBI is on her ass. What little of her crew remains is at a safe house. That evening, Beatrix plans to fly them all out of the country. The issue? Beatrix has it on good authority that there’s a rat in her crew. She wants Charlie to question said crew to determine the identity of the rat. She refuses to make her getaway unless she knows with certainty she’s not getting set up.
Safe House Not Safe
After this, they stop at a gas station. Beatrix handcuffs Charlie’s wrist to the steering wheel while she heads inside. Charlie tries to free herself. At the same time, Beatrix chats with John Mulaney’s character. She returns to the car with a can of shrimp-flavored Vienna sausages. Ick. Inside it is a note: “Safe house not safe. Gem of the Ocean.”
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So, our duo forgoes the safe house for Gem of the Ocean, a motel. Beatrix tells Charlie that her crew believes she’s a cobbler — someone who forges things. It’s her cover, and it gives her an excuse to ask a lot of questions while shining a spotlight on the rat. Inside the motel, Charlie meets Jeffrey (Richard Kind), Beatrix’s husband, who’s not in the mob. He’s a foodie, which feels very Richard Kind-esque in the best way.
Charlie meets Beatrix’s three-man crew. She asks them point-blank if they’re rats. They tell her “No,” and she buys their answers. They’re not lying. Jeffrey also denies being a rat. Beatrix trusts Charlie’s gift. But she won’t let Charlie go so easily. In fact, our girl will accompany Beatrix on a trip out of the country.
A Confrontation
Next, the gang winds up on the tarmac for their private plane escape. Beatrix orders Charlie to board it first in case someone’s waiting to shoot her. Let Charlie take the first bullet. Charlie finds that the pilot in the cockpit is actually a blow-up doll. Nice.
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Meanwhile, the FBI arrives, surrounding Beatrix, Jeffrey and their crew. Luca (Simon Helberg) is there, too, along with Danny (Mulaney) and Don Hopper (Chris Bauer), the agent in charge. Jeffrey makes a beeline for the plane, refusing to cower in fear. Luca orders him to stop, brandishing his weapon. When Jeffrey doesn’t comply, Luca fires a few rounds into the man’s back. He dies. Beatrix screams.
Then, Beatrix chucks her gun at Luca’s head, knocking him down. She grabs a weapon from the ground and shoots him. Damn. After this, she boards the plane and confronts Charlie in the cockpit. A gunshot rents the air. Uh-oh.
Half-and-Half
Let’s rewind time a bit. Now, the FBI is investigating how to take down Beatrix. The Hasp crime family is all but crushed. They need leads, a way into the family. Danny begs Luca to let him assist with the Hasp thing. They bond over their mutual love for musical theater. However, Luca would rather go it alone. Danny chugs a cup of half-and-half cream. Ew.
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As it turns out, Danny is the mole in the FBI. He’s giving her juice. Sure enough, they meet in the gas station where Danny tips her off about the safe house. Apparently, he shotguns dairy products because of the ulcer Beatrix gave him.
After this, the FBI, Danny included, sits outside what’s supposed to be Beatrix’s safe house. Once again, Danny asks Luca to let him help. Luca shrugs him off, though. Of course, the guys inevitably discover that Beatrix and her posse aren’t in the safe house.
A Rat and a Mole
Later, we see that Beatrix’s rat is none other than her husband, Jeffrey. He meets with Luca. Jeffrey wants to go into witness protection, but Luca reminds him that the FBI can’t grant that wish unless Beatrix is part of the deal. Now, Jeffrey can go into witness protection solo if he discloses the name of the FBI mole. Jeffrey claims he doesn’t know anything about Beatrix’s mob dealings.
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At the same time, Danny sits with a lip reader in another vehicle parked a considerable distance away from Luca and Jeffrey. Danny learns that Luca has been asking Jeffrey about the FBI mole. Luca whips out a book with photos of the team. He urges Jeffrey to identify the mole if the men in these pics look familiar to him. He glosses over Danny’s image, flashing back to a time when Danny met Beatrix at their house.
However, he remains tight-lipped. Jeffrey refuses to divulge the mole. Then, Luca and Jeffrey hatch a plan to capture Beatrix and help the latter escape. After the FBI surrounds Beatrix, Jeffrey will make a break for the plane. Luca will shoot him with blanks from a safe distance. Jeffrey will surreptitiously press a button on a squib device to activate blood packs fixed to the inside of his shirt, making it look like he was hit by real bullets. Jeffrey agrees to this plan. Before they part ways, Luca and Jeffrey chat about musical theater. I know Danny is Green with envy.
The Play
After this, we see Charlie ask Beatrix’s most loyal employees if they’re rats. In the bedroom of the motel, Beatrix reassures Jeffrey that Charlie will get to the bottom of the rat problem. She compliments Jeffrey’s shirt, which we now know contains the blood packs and squib. Charlie sneaks into the bathroom to call Luca, who’s filling his gun with blanks. The FBI is on the tarmac, waiting to ambush the group. He advises Charlie to hide in the cockpit during the confrontation.
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Then, the scene plays out as we saw it earlier: Luca shoots Jeffrey; Beatrix shoots Luca. She barrels into the plane, gun raised, and tries to shoot Charlie in the cockpit. However, she grabbed Luca’s blank-filled gun. Beatrix pivots, taking Charlie hostage.
Meanwhile, Don checks on Luca, who’s alive. Beatrix fired on him with his gun, leaving hers on the ground. Unfortunately, Jeffrey is actually dead. Somehow, a real bullet made its way into Luca’s gun. We see how this transpired: While Luca is on the phone with Charlie, Danny replaces one of the blanks with the real McCoy.
Charlie Cale Calls Bull…
Don boots Luca off the case. Inadvertently murdering your rat isn’t a good look. However, Beatrix now has a hostage on the plane. Danny volunteers to talk to Beatrix. Charlie overhears their conversation, clocking Danny’s responses as absolute bullsh*t. Beatrix believes her. Don reassures Beatrix that if she cooperates, she can go into witness protection. Charlie reveals he’s telling the truth.
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Next, Charlie presses Beatrix for the identity of the FBI mole. It’s abundantly clear that Jeffrey was the rat. During this scene, Beatrix learns Jeffrey is dead. This naturally hardens her, making her more challenging to negotiate with.
Then, Charlie shoves her phone in her boot and calls Luca so he can eavesdrop on their chat. Unfortunately, Luca’s coworker loudly — and excitedly — talks to him about the local flora, giving Charlie away to Beatrix. She smashes Charlie’s phone.
The Reveal
Luca barrels onto the plane to save Charlie. He, too, asks Beatrix for the identity of the mole. Eventually, she discloses a name, but Danny gave her a fake one. Luca puts two and two together, though, realizing the mole is Danny. He can’t believe his bestie would betray the organization like that.
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Suddenly, Danny bursts onto the plane, guns blazing. He points his gun at Beatrix and Charlie. He and Luca get into a scuffle. Danny tries to kill Luca. Thankfully, Luca gets the upper hand with Charlie’s aid. She grabs one of the guns and fires on the compartment concealing the ironing board (RIP, Jeffrey). The bullet shot opens said compartment, thwacking Danny on the head. Luca trains his weapon on Danny.
Freedom
Later, Danny, now in handcuffs, tries to bribe Charlie to vouch for him not being the mole. Of course, Charlie doesn’t fall for it, even when faced with hundreds of thousands of dollars. Beatrix has agreed to testify against the Southwest Syndicate in exchange for going into witness protection. She also calls off the hit on Charlie at Luca’s behest.
Charlie wonders what’s next for her. She no longer has to be on the run. After this, we see Charlie whip out a map from her vehicle. She spreads it out on the hood and points at a new location.
Destination: Anywhere.
RELATED: Read our Poker Face recaps
Poker Face drops new episodes every Thursday on Peacock.
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