Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Poker FaceCharlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne), the central character of Rian Johnson's Poker Face, has the mysterious ability to detect when people are lying to her, but questions have been risen by the television show's viewers about whether her gift is truly reliable. At the beginning of Poker Face, Charlie Cale is working as a cocktail waitress at a casino in Las Vegas but quickly has to go on the run when she is implicated in the death of the owner's son. Chased across America by Cliff LeGrand (Benjamin Bratt), Charlie encounters a different murder mystery in every episode and has to use her ability to detect lies to solve the crime.
Poker Face is surprisingly connected to Glass Onion and the Knives Out series as a whole. Creator Rian Johnson stated that Natasha Lyonne was in her trailer on the set of Poker Face during her cameo in Glass Onion, meaning that the show is canon in his murder-mystery film franchise. As such, her uncanny, almost supernatural ability could arguably seem to be at odds with the tone of that universe. And yet, all the evidence suggests that Charlie's lie-detecting in Poker Face really is as accurate as it seems.
Charlie's Lie-Detecting In Poker Face Is Always Accurate
As part of her backstory in Poker Face, Charlie Cale used her lie-detecting ability to win poker tournaments at a litany of casinos across the US. She was eventually caught by Sterling Frost (Ron Perlman), but he decided to give her a job instead of banning her from his casino. This shows that Charlie's lie-detecting ability is incredibly accurate, hinting that it truly is as reliable as the show suggests.
Further evidence has been provided by Johnson himself. In an interview with Poker Face's creator Rian Johnson revealed that Charlie Cale's lie-detecting ability is indeed always accurate. Whenever she hears someone directly lie to her in Poker Face, Charlie will instinctively know, almost like "a reflex." This has been repeatedly proven in every episode of Poker Face, no matter the lie someone directly tells to Charlie's face, she will always notice that they are being dishonest with her. In Poker Face's pilot, it is revealed that Charlie's ability even works over video as Sterling Frost Jr. (Adrien Brody) employs her to fleece Kazimir Caine at an illegal poker game. This demonstrates the full extent of her abilities.
Why There's Still Limits To Lies In Poker Face
Just because Charlie's lie-detecting ability in Poker Face is accurate does not mean that there aren't limits to her gift. Johnson also revealed to Variety that future seasons of Poker Face may explore Charlie interacting with a character that can evade her ability "like kryptonite". The show has also already played with a character that can evade Charlie Cale's power in Poker Face, by not directly lying to her face.
In Poker Face season 1, episode 3, The Stall, Charlie listens to a variety of radio hosts in her car. When it is revealed at the end of the episode that they were in fact just one man, Austin (Shane Paul McGhie), playing a variety of characters with political beliefs that do not align with his own, Charlie is visibly shocked. It seems that in Poker Face, the liar must be directly dishonest with Charlie in order for her to realize that they are trying to deceive her. This shows that, for all her skill, Charlie is not above being deceived.
New episodes of Poker Face air Thursdays on Peacock.