Review: Poker Face, "The Orpheus Syndrome" | Season 1, Episode 8
Review: Poker Face, "The Orpheus Syndrome" | Season 1, Episode 8
In which Charlie befriends an old-school FX wizard
“I feel as if I’ve stepped into a time machine.”
Do you ever have that feeling where you realize you’re embodying a recognizable meme? Maybe the “This is fine” dog in the burning room, or the kid who’s rocking out to some mysterious tune to the point where he’s near tears. It’s a modern sensation, naturally, but one that hit me like a ton of bricks halfway through “The Orpheus Syndrome.” This episode, set in the periphery of the world of cinematic special effects as Charlie Cale befriends an elderly FX wizard with a haunted past, aligns broadly with the formula set in stone by the Poker Face pilot. There is a murder, there is a killer, there is a twisted motive, and there is a shaggy and determined detective who unearths the truth before the end of the show. All of the pieces that are present in “The Orpheus Syndrome” are not unique to this installment.
And yet, somewhere around the extended sequence where Natasha Lyonne and Nick Nolte are just shooting the shit, talking a…