Poker Face: Kumail Nanjiani, Gaby Hoffmann & Ben Marshall's Guest Roles Explained
Natasha Lyonne's Charlie Cale is back on the case while working as a cater waiter down in Florida.
If you thought Cocaine Bear was gonzo, then you ain't seen nothin' yet, folks!
Season 2, Episode 4 of Poker Face — macabrely titled "The Taste of Human Blood" — takes the concept of an apex predator high on illegal narcotics to another level of utter insanity. And you know what? It's glorious! Written by Wyatt Cain and directed by Lucky McKee, the episode features guest appearances from Gabby Hoffman (Zero Day), Kumail Nanjiani (Welcome to Chippendales), and Ben Marshall (Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain).
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Who do they play? Let's take a closer look...
Kumail Nanjiani, Gaby Hoffmann, & Ben Marshall's Poker Face guest roles, explained
Season 2, Episode 4 takes place in the Florida Panhandle, where good-hearted cop Fran Lamont (Hoffman) slowly begins to lose her sanity after losing out on Officer of the Year — the highest honor given out at the Florida Panhandle Cop Awards or "Flopacopas" — for the sixth year in a row. The man who's won the category for over half a decade is Joseph Pilson (Nanjiani), aka viral influencer "Gator Joe," who fights crime with the help of his Oreo-loving pet alligator, Daisy. We are in Florida after all!
Pilson, who bears many similarities to Joe "Tiger King" Exotic, has two famous catchphrases: "Gator done!" and "You have the right to s--t your pants!"
After learning that Joe will win Officer of the Year for the seventh time, a distraught Fran hatches a plan to humiliate him by lacing one of his brand deal energy shots with a powerful reptile laxative. To that end, she seeks the guidance of Rusty (Marshall), a slightly naive animal control worker, who unknowingly advises Fran on a dose safe for human consumption. Unfortunately, Fran misreads Rusty's note and gives Pilson a lethal measurement, which causes Gator Joe to pretty much defecate to death.
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A panicking Fran disposes of the body by leading Daisy to the restroom with Oreos and coaxing her into a reptilian rage with some confiscated crystal meth (yes, really). The drug-addled Daisy eats her owner, prompting a panic from the cavalcade of cops attending the Flopacopas. Now that the gator has tasted human blood, it must be put down...
That is until Charlie Cale, posing as a waiter to free Daisy on behalf of hippie animal activists, realizes the animal was framed. And indeed, the dogged Charlie gets the remorseful Fran to confess, though Ms. Lamont is neither arrested nor charged with murder, given the fact that the entire affair is too ludicrous to take before a judge. Nevertheless, Fran decides to resign her post and take up a volunteer role at a gator sanctuary run by the aforementioned hippies.
With another mystery solved, Charlie hits the road, with some company from her CB radio buddy voiced by Steve Buscemi.
New episodes of Poker Face hit Peacock every Thursday.
