John Cho, Melanie Lynskey Loved Getting to "Lie, Lie, Lie" in Latest Poker Face Episode
Plus, musician and actor GaTa chimes in on guest starring as an unexpected accountant.
**SPOILER WARNING! Spoilers below for Poker Face, Season 2, Episode 8, "The Sleazy Georgian"**
Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) goes toe-to-toe with a grifter mastermind, Alec (John Cho), in Poker Face Season 2, Episode 8, “The Sleazy Georgian.”
Directed by Mimi Cave (Fresh) and written by Megan Amram (The Good Place), “The Sleazy Georgian” reunites Lyonne with her former Detroit Rock City and But I’m a Cheerleader co-star, Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets).
In the mystery-of-the-week, Lynskey plays Reggie, a charity worker who gets sweet-talked into stealing money by grifter Alec. Audiences see her being seduced by Alec and joining him in his hotel room, where he tells her the details of his con. Just as Lynskey agrees to join in, someone knocks on the door and shoots Alec in the chest. Lynskey grabs Alec's gun and shoots the perpetrator before fleeing with the money — only to later realize she was duped.
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The episode then goes back in time to when Charlie meets Alec, who is so impressed by Charlie's "bulls--t-meter" that he invites her to join his posse of grifters, played by GaTa, Joel Marsh Garland, and Brendan Sexton III. Now in on the con, Charlie realizes that Alec and his group's actions are more harmful than she realized, especially after Reggie realizes she was scammed and takes her own life.
NBC Insider spoke with Lynskey and GaTa about their episode at the PaleyFest event event for Poker Face Season 2.
Melanie Lynskey was more than ready to be "light and funny" on Poker Face
A two-time Emmy nominee for her role as Shauna on Yellowjackets, Lynskey spends a lot of her year up in Canada shooting the series, which doesn't leave a lot of time for her to take on other roles. But the actress told us the call of Lyonne was too loud to ignore.
"I heard from Natasha that she wanted me to do an episode early in the season but I couldn't because of Yellowjackets," Lynskey explained. "So then it was just checking in and checking in, and seeing if there was another thing that made sense for me to do. Then this episode came along, and I really wanted to do it so I was happy I got to."
In the episode, Reggie encounters Alec, who seduces her and lures her into his hotel room where they nearly have sex but stop for Eric to explain his con. Lynskey said she didn't even know who was hired to play her romantic foil in the episode but was thrilled to find out it was Cho, a new collaborator for Lynskey.
"It was almost like doing a little romantic comedy with John Cho and that was very appealing," she said. "I think he's a great actor. Also, it's been a long time since I've done anything kind of light and funny. I was ready to sit in a hotel bar and be flirty with somebody. Also, I love the show so I really wanted to be part of it."
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During the Poker Face panel, Lynskey added that it was a very chatty episode with a lot of lines to memorize. "It was a lot of dialogue. I think we had just two days of talking," she sighed.
Cho added, "It was unbelievable to watch you and such a treat to watch you unpack it and dissect it."
He also loved playing against type as a "villainous swindler." "It was a real pleasure working with Melanie and Natasha," he said. "And yes, it was against my character to lie, lie, lie, lie."
GaTa gets to flex his acting muscles as Gene the nice accountant
Playing Gene, the accountant in Alec's crew of very nice grifters, GaTa explained that he auditioned for the role because he saw it as a chance to play against type. "I was excited because a lot of people see me as an underdog, or that's how at least I see myself because I started off in music," he said of his dip into acting. "When I got the opportunity to do the self tape, I was ecstatic. I'm happy I landed it and I'm here."
He continued, "My character is dope! I start off part of a team. We're a con artist team. I'm an accountant, so I'm good with numbers and stuff like that. I got an exciting role because you don't really expect to see somebody like me in this type of setting so it's pretty cool."
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He even got to sit across the table from Lyonne. "I look up to people who've been acting and have longevity and stuff," he said. "I was just soaking up knowledge from her on set and just vibing off her and seeing how she's free in her character. She just really encouraged me and gave me inspiration just by knowing that I belong, just by sitting across [from her] and just doing the scene. It was an inspiring moment."
So, what is the Georgian despot scam?
The Georgian despot scam is not real, but it's very similar to the "Pigeon Drop" scam in which two individuals scam a victim out of their funds.
The way a pigeon drop works is that a professional and seemingly trustworthy individual will meet their target, typically a vulnerable, elderly person — or, in this case, a bored woman like Reggie — and will make them think that there's an opportunity to increase their money. However, in order to get in on the deal, they have to prove that they have the funds or are discrete enough to be trusted. Any initial concerns the target may have about the deal are assuaged when a third person shows up, eliminating concerns of a con or lending credibility to the conman. Once the victim forks over their cash, the con-men leave them high and dry.
New episodes of Poker Face debut Thursdays on Peacock; head there now to catch “Sloppy Joseph" and the rest of the show's already aired Season 1 and 2 episodes!
