Spoilers for “Poker Face” season 2 comply with.
“The Sport is a Foot,” the season 2 premiere of “Poker Face,” affords Cynthia Erivo the position of a lifetime. Or moderately, it affords her 5 roles of a lifetime, which she embraces whole-heartedly.
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Erivo is launched right here enjoying Amber Kazinsky, a trodden-upon girl who finds out she’s about to be denied her inheritance from her imply, dying mom. Seems the cash will as an alternative be given to Amber’s long-lost sibling Felicity, additionally performed by Erivo. After Amber begins a scheme to kill Felicity and take over her life, the episode introduces us to Amber’s different sister Didi, as soon as once more performed by Erivo. We’re quickly launched to Cece and Phoebe Kazinsky, and also you’re by no means gonna consider who performs these two. Lengthy-time Erivo followers have identified that the actress can do much more than play Elphaba from “Depraved,” however now informal viewers realize it too.
Most viewers are used to actors enjoying their very own twins, like Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners” or Lisa Kudrow in “Buddies,” nevertheless it’s rarer to see an actor play quintuplets. The closest feat I can consider is that episode of “The Good Place” the place all the primary characters have the physique of Janet (D’Arcy Carden). That episode scratched the identical itch “The Sport is a Foot” scratches: it is enjoyable to see an actor play a number of roles without delay.
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Along with watching an actor flexing their abilities, it’s also possible to go searching for all of the little digital camera methods the present’s utilizing to take care of the phantasm. This “Poker Face” episode appears like a 50-minute magic trick. We’ve an honest thought of how the present’s pulling the trick off, however that does not make it any much less spectacular to witness.
Amber is Erivo’s most compelling efficiency right here
Though Erivo imbues all of the Kazinsky sisters with their very own distinctive aptitude, the depraved sister Amber exists in a tier above the remainder. Her motivation for committing homicide is sympathetic; she’s been emotionally (and financially) abused by her mom for many years earlier than she snaps. Amber’s largest sin (properly, apart from the homicide) is her failure to understand that her sisters are victims of her mom’s abuse, too. If she’d not less than provided to separate the fortune with them as an alternative of taking all of it for herself, she might’ve gotten away with all the pieces.
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Even that mistake is comprehensible although, because it’s implied that Amber’s sisters weren’t that good to her. They nicknamed her “Hamber” all through their childhood as a result of they thought of her the worst actress amongst them. (They have been proper, certain, however they might’ve been nicer about it.) As campy as Erivo’s efficiency will get with Amber at instances, there is a clear disappointment underlying her actions; if she’d been rather less uncared for all through her life, perhaps she by no means would’ve descended to such depths of evil.
However the perfect half about Amber is the gradual reveal of her competence. Throughout the first act, particularly with the reveal that the just-murdered Felicity had a prosthetic leg, it appeared like this thriller could be manner too straightforward for important character Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) to determine. Amber’s scheme appeared messy even in regular circumstances, so how might she presumably get away with this after we know a human lie detector’s about to get entangled?
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However Amber is sweet at considering on her ft, evading Charlie a number of instances all through the episode. In her boldest trick, Amber takes a break from disguising herself as Felicity and disguises herself as Didi so she will be able to forge her signature. Or to place it one other manner: Erivo’s character retains pretending to be completely different Erivo characters. As Charlie remarks early into the episode, this will get complicated.
Why I for one am rooting for Amber, though I do know that is mistaken
Though Erivo’s efficiency as Didi and Felicity (the 2 good Kazinsky sisters) are sympathetic, Erivo’s efficiency as Amber stands out as a result of it achieves that conflicting impact “Poker Face” typically has on me: I used to be sort of rooting for the villain to get away with it. Amber’s backstory was so miserable, and the quantity of effort/danger she put into this scheme was so spectacular, that I wished her to get that pot of gold she’d been scheming for.
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I do know, I do know: homicide is unhealthy. However each episode of “Poker Face” performs out like a cat-and-mouse chase between Charlie, the unwitting cat, and the assassin, a mouse who usually begins off with no thought there is a lie-detecting cat of their midst. Morals apart, I will virtually all the time be pulled a bit of in direction of the mouse on this dynamic. It helps that Amber’s misdeeds are offered as humorous evil, not the intense evil that characterised previous villains like Davis within the racecar episode or Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Trey.
My need to see the villain get away with it’s difficult by my love for Charlie, a pure character whose optimistic way of living is unattainable to not admire. Among the finest “Poker Face” episodes work as a relentless push and pull between rooting for the baddie and rooting for Charlie to determine them out. Amber might not have change into the primary “Poker Face” villain to completely outsmart Charlie, however she got here a lot nearer to this than most viewers would’ve predicted. Maybe that’ll provide her some small consolation in jail.
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