WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Poker Face season 2, episode 7.
The ending ofPoker Faceseason 2, episode 7, “One Last Job,” finds Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie Cale exposing Sam Richardson’s Kendall Hines for robbing his former place of work, SuperSave. In an episode directly inspired by bothclassic action heist movieslikeHeatand cheesy rom-coms, “One Last Job” also features the first ever love interest for Charlie in series history, Bill Jackson (played by Corey Hawkins). Kendall began the episode as Bill’s best friend and ended up staging a robbery that led to his death at the hands of James Ransone’s off-the-rails character named Juice.
The idea for Kendall and Juice’s robbery scheme was inspired by a screenplay that Kendall had written and actually showed to Bill before his death. Bill encouraged Kendall, an aspiring screenwriter, to finally head out to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood, noting that his last script, “One Last Job,” was his best yet. After Juice kills Bill, who was crashing at the superstore following a romantic night with Charlie, Kendall tries to lay low and take off with the $400,000 in cash. He nearly gets away with the money after seemingly stabbing Juice with a katana, only for Juice to return and Charlie to figure out how Bill was murdered.
Poker Face Season 2 Episode 7 Cast & Cameo Guide
Who Stars In “One Last Job”
Natasha Lyonne returns as series lead Charlie Cale. Emmy winner Sam Richardson, best known for his roles inVeep,The Afterparty, andTed Lasso, stars as the main antagonist ofPoker Faceseason 2, episode 7, Kendall Hines.Corey Hawkins ofStraight Outta ComptonandKong: Skull Islandacclaimplays the murder victim and Charlie’s love interest, while James Ransone, known forIt: Chapter TwoandGeneration Kill, plays Kendall’s accomplice, Juice. Geraldine Viswanathan rounds out the main cast ofPoker Faceseason 2, episode 7 as the rom-com-inspired Jenny Singh.
Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale: Lyonne returns as the free-spirited and inquisitive protagonist Charlie Cale, who has appeared in allPoker Faceepisodes.Lyonne is a 5-time Emmy nominee, best known for her rolesin the TV seriesRussian DollandOrange is the New Black.She has also starred in feature films likeHis Three DaughtersandAmerican Pie.
Sam Richardson as Kendall Hines: Richardson makes hisPoker Facedebut as the aspiring screenwriter turned villain Kendall Hines. He won an Emmy for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Edwin Akufo inTed Lasso. He is also known for his roles inVeep,We’re the Millers,Detroiters, andPromising Young Woman.
Corey Hawkins as Bill Jackson: Jackson makes hisPoker Facedebut as the murder victim and Charlie’s love interest, Bill Jackson. Hawkins earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the 2020 miniseriesSurvive. His other notable roles includeStraight Outta Compton,BlacKkKlansman, andKong: Skull Island.
James Ransone as Juice: Ransone plays an unhinged antagonist named Juice inPoker Faceseason 2, episode 7. He’s best known for his roles inIt: Chapter Two,SEAL Team, andSinister.
Geraldine Viswanathan as Jenny Singh: Viswanathan is best known for her roles inBlockers,Thunderbolts*, andDrive-Away Dolls.
A Mission: Impossible Easter Egg Led Charlie To Uncovering Kendall’s Plan
Image via Peacock
After discovering Bill’s body propped up as a Santa mannequin in the SuperSave store, Charlie is questioned by the police about her night with Bill, since she was the last known person to have seen him alive. She discovers from the police, who suspect that Bill is behind the robbery with an unknown accomplice, that a Polaroid picture was placed in front of the security cameras, a twist taken fromMission: Impossible 3.Charlie deduces that Bill would never have done thatsince his previous manager taught him how to loop the security footage, which raises her suspicions against Kendall.
Later, Charlie tries opening the staff locker with theMission: Impossibletag, using her interpretation of the top 4 rankedMission: Impossiblemovies as the locker code combination. This certainly plays into the tongue-in-cheek themes of the episode and series at large, where, in a more typical setting, it would have been nearly impossible for Charlie to figure out the locker combo. Once she discovers the missing cash that Kendall returned to SuperSave to retrieve, Kendall holds her at gunpoint and reveals he was partially behind the robbery. However,Charlie believes him when he says he did not kill Bill.
How Juice Survived Getting Stabbed With A Katana & Returned For A Final Showdown
His Return Plays Into The Over-The-Top Action Movie Vibe Of The Episode
Juice hilariously returned after getting stabbed by Kendall with a katana in self-defense. Juice realizes that Kendall had lied about how much money he stole from the SuperSave vault, creating a classic action heist movie trope in which the robbers turn on one another. Juice waited for Kendall in his apartment and tried to kill him, only to realize that his cheap gun he had purchased from SuperSave was broken. After a fight, Kendall clearly impales Juice with a katana, which should have certainly killed him. He returns gun ablaze in the final act, playing into the over-the-top tropes of some “stupid action movies.”
Why Poker Face Season 2, Episode 7 Ended Just Like Michael Mann’s Classic Movie Heat
The Episode Was Highly Influenced By Both Action Heist & Romantic Comedy Genres
As the rest ofPoker Faceseason 2, episode 7 played out, Michael Mann’s classic action movieHeat, often considered one of the greatest and most iconic heist movies of all time, literally plays on the various televisions for sale at the SuperSave store. This is a callback to the beginning of the episode when Kendall was introduced as an eager film nerd who loved to talk about movies and television.Kendall ends up living out his own heist movie, “One Last Job”, which continues the self-reflexive meta-movie themes of Poker Face season 2.
While thesimilarities between the end ofPoker Faceseason 2, episode 7, andHeatare unmissable, down to the musical score and the closing title credits, Kendall avoids the same fate as Robert De Niro’s classic character, Neil McCauley, who gets shot and killed at the end of the film. Kendall is, however, apprehended by police and meets his fate, which will likely be decades in prison.
Poker Faceseason 2, episode 7, is unique in that it heavily relies on not just one classic movie genre, action heist, but also romantic comedy.
Poker Faceseason 2, episode 7, is unique in that it heavily relies on not just one classic movie genre, action heist, but also romantic comedy through the first half of the episode. In addition to Heat, a scene fromPride and Prejudicealso plays during Charlie and Bill’s budding romance before his death inPoker Faceseason 2, episode 7.
