Is This The End Of The Road For Charlie?

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for the Poker Face season 2 finale.

Poker Face season 2, episode 12, “The End of the Road,” finds Charlie in a web of lies and deception from her so-called new friend, Alex (played by Patti Harrison). Alex became one of the show’s only recurring characters throughout season 2, first appearing in Poker Face season 2, episode 9, offering Charlie a coffee.

Little did Charlie know that Alex turned out to be an elite sociopathic assassin hired by Cedric, a member of the Five Families, to take out Beatrix Hasp (played by Rhea Perlman), who was in FBI witness protection. Beatrix was set to expose the Five Families in court, which is why Alex was called upon to get to her through Charlie.

Although Charlie has a gift for lie detection, she meets her match with Alex, who pretends to be her friend after their “chance” encounter at a New York City café. Alex earns Charlie’s trust after they expose Method Man’s gym rat killer, Brick, in Poker Face season 2, episode 10, leading to Charlie accepting an oyster-shucking gig with Alex in Poker Face season 2, episode 11.

At the end of Poker Face season 2, Charlie still lives to tell the tale, although Beatrix Hasp was successfully assassinated by Alex. Agent Luca Clarke saves Charlie’s life and gives her a head start on her new life as an FBI fugitive.

Alex’s Masterplan To Use Charlie & Kill Beatrix Hasp Explained

Alex Is A Sociopathic Assassin Hired To Take Beatrix Out

The most shocking reveal at the end of Poker Face season 2 is Alex’s true identity as the “world’s greatest assassin.” She explains to Charlie in Beatrix Hasp’s WITSEC safe house in rural Indiana that the only time she hadn’t lied to Charlie was when she said before they had met, she really was at an all-time low point in her life.

Strangely enough, that rock-bottom feeling came from Alex finding her profession as a killer for hire boring and too easy. She had been looking for a challenge and Charlie was it, enticed by Charlie being a human lie-detector and the thrill of getting away with an endless stream of lies.

Alex Had Been Manipulating Charlie Since Offering Her A Coffee

Looking back, there were several clues that Alex could lie to Charlie, starting with her very first scene. Alex lies and says that she unintentionally received an extra coffee and gives it to her. Charlie assumes that Alex didn’t lie because the barista must have screwed the drink up, removing any blame on Alex.

Alex knew she would be able to go forward with her plan to use Charlie to get to Beatrix, going to great lengths to forge a disingenuous friendship.

This was secretly Alex’s test to see whether she would be able to lie to Charlie, which proved to be successful. From that point on, Alex knew she would be able to go forward with her plan to use Charlie to get to Beatrix, going to great lengths to forge a disingenuous friendship.

Alex Conditioned Her Body To Be Able To Lie To Charlie

Alex revealed to Charlie that she was able to “choke off the roots of her humanity” in order to continuously lie to Charlie without fault. She basically controlled all of her bodily tells that would have triggered Charlie’s internal alarm system.

Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale in Poker face season 2

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Alex explains that she manually regulated things like her heart rate, adrenaline, and body temperature to pull it off. Alex doesn’t go into detail about how she was able to train herself to do that, but admits it took everything she had, which was an exhilarating process.

Alex Killed “The Iguana” After Hiring Him To Take Out Beatrix’s Son

After Alex’s fabricated act of kindness, which led to her and Charlie becoming gym buddies, Alex asked Charlie to do her a favor by assisting her as an oyster shucker at a fancy wedding. Alex was well aware that Beatrix’s son, Kirby (played by Hayley Joel Osment), was getting married, and hired the second-best assassin in the world to kill him.

Alex also set up the Iguana to frame her for Kirby’s death before murdering him and tossing his body into a lake. “The Iguana” had no clue that he was talking to Alex on the phone since she used a voice distorter. She walked “the Iguana” into a trap and made herself look guilty, knowing that Charlie would believe her and help her escape. In the end, Alex was the true Iguana.

Once Charlie pulled up to the FBI safe house, Alex murdered two U.S. Marshals and Beatrix in less than a minute.

Alex must have expected Charlie to then lead her straight to Beatrix so that Charlie could clear the air and explain that the Iguana killed Kirby, not Alex. This turned out to be yet another lie in Alex’s plan. Once Charlie pulled up to the FBI safe house, Alex murdered two U.S. Marshals and Beatrix in less than a minute.

Alex Apparently Survived The Car Crash Into The Grand Canyon Canyon

Alex plays two truths and a lie with Charlie as she speeds toward the edge of the Grand Canyon Canyon (yes, you read that correctly). Charlie proves that Alex can no longer lie to her because she has never tried to catch her in one before. Although Charlie wins, the brakes of her car give out, which sends it flying into the Grand Canyon Canyon.

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After a hilarious “To Be Continued” cliffhanger moment that is continued moments later, Charlie rolls out of the car and literally hangs onto the edge of a cliff, only to be saved by FBI Agent Luca Clarke. Luca is mysteriously alone for some reason despite riding with a fleet of FBI and SWAT personnel, and tells Charlie to make a break for it.

At the crash site below, Agent Annie Milligan (played by Orange is the New Black star Taylor Schilling) finds Charlie’s destroyed car up in flames, but not Alex’s body. This suggests that Alex must have also rolled out of the car before it flew off the cliff, meaning she’s still at large and dangerous.

Charlie Will Be An FBI Fugitive In Poker Face Season 3

Season 3 Has Yet To Be Confirmed By Peacock

Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) adjusting her beret in Poker Face Season 2 Ep 11 — Image via Peacock

The end of Poker Face season 2 makes Charlie a fugitive because she “aided and abetted a serial killer, got a federal witness killed, and revealed the location of a WITSEC safe house.” Even though Luca knows Charlie was misled, he won’t be able to protect Charlie from the federal law.

All this means Charlie will be on the run from the FBI in Poker Face season 3, if there is one, and Luca will have to arrest her if he sees her again. This could be the end of the road for Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie Cale, but a third Poker Face season would interestingly portray her solving murders while being on the FBI’s most wanted list.