Poker Face (TV Series) The Orpheus Syndrome (2023) User Reviews

Love this show

[AllenSch · 9/10 · 23 February 2023]

The Orpheus Syndrome is one of the better episodes to date. Overall, the show has been great, but some episodes are definitely better than others. The acting and writing was perfect. It was great seeing Nick Nolte again. One of the aspects that I've really enjoyed about the show is the photography. Every shot is perfect.

It took a couple of episodes to catch on to the "timing" of the episodes where you see scenes repeated, but I have come to appreciate and admire the technique and how the writers integrate Charlie into the story.

After finishing The Orpheus Syndrome the first thought I had was that it seemed very Hitchcockian. For those of you who enjoy his movies, I think you will appreciate this episode.

THIS ISN'T A RATING

[kryssylyricd · 9/10 · 26 February 2023]

Regardless of what critics say and people who have a negative opinion, this was my favorite episode of the Season besides the first one. I've been sitting on this tidbit but did anybody else notice that every time Charlie's character comes up the theme song to monk plays, you know monk the detective. I waited a couple of weeks to share my insight because I thought that someone else would pick up on it too but it seems like in all of the reviews and all of the comparisons nobody compared it to monk and that is definitely the theme song when Charlie appears Midway through the episodes. I just noticed on IMDb that there is a two under Seasons so I'm guessing that means we've been renewed and I can't be more happy.

The Orpheus Syndrome

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 27 August 2023]

It starts off with Max (Tim Russ) jumping to his death and his wife Laura (Cherry Jones) being shocked.

She then travels to see recluse Arthur Liptin (Nick Nolte) who lives in a remote cabin. Laura wants Arthur to create Max's maquette. So she can look at his eyes and apologise for causing a row before his death.

Max, Laura and Arthur were once partners in a film company. However there was an accidental death of an actress in Arthur's directorial debut about 30 years earlier.

It seems Max found out while watching some outtakes that Laura might have deliberately caused the death of the actress.

Charlie enters the scene has she became sick and tired of working in a barber's shop. The customers lied too much. She ended up working for Arthur who does model effects.

When Arthur is killed, Charlie is certain that Laura is lying. She only had the maquette of Max made, so she could get into his computer to delete an important file.

Natasha Lyonne directed this episode and you can sense that both Lyonne and Nolte have a good rapport.

As ever this is not a whodunnit. More of how will Charlie expose Laura. This time there is some poetic justice in her exposure.

One of my favourite episodes of TV, ever.

[Shiny-NZ · 10/10 · 24 February 2023]

This episode, (and of course, this show), won't be for everyone. But I loved the ride from start to end in this episode and it's one of the few episodes I've given 10/10 for any series. AMAZING cast who carried the emotional weight of the story, even as it became more and more outlandish - but what a treat - what a frantic, dream-like, surreal homage to old school horror and practical effects, what dark humour, what a brilliant addition to anybody's halloween playlist or just an episode that remembers how entertaining and wonderful the medium can be when you take risks and have fun with it. This is my kind of television.

This is what I've been waiting for with this show !!

[lockekillua · 10/10 · 23 February 2023]

Without giving anything away, I can confidently say that "The Orpheus Syndrome" is a gripping and intense episode of Poker Face that will leave viewers on the edge of their seats. The writing is sharp, and the pacing is perfect, with each scene building tension and intrigue until the final, satisfying conclusion.

The characters are well-developed and nuanced, and the acting is top-notch, particularly from the guest stars who bring a fresh energy and depth to the show. The special effects and production design are also impressive, adding to the overall immersive experience.

What sets this episode apart is its exploration of guilt, regret, and the consequences of our actions. It's a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant story that will stay with viewers long after the credits roll.

Overall, "The Orpheus Syndrome" is an excellent addition to the Poker Face series, showcasing the show's strengths and leaving me eager for more.

Overall: 9.5/10.

Every episode is good. But this one is the best.

[kevinkraczkowski · 10/10 · 24 February 2023]

Good god. This was just unprecedented. Every single moment of this episode was perfect. The cinematography was next level, the guest stars were off the charts awesome. The soundtrack was spot on. One of the other reviewers called it Hitchcockian, but I was reminded pretty strongly of Edgar Allen Poe crossed with a spaghetti western.

I'm constantly surprised by the calibre of guest stars, and this week was not an exception. Nick Nolte hit it out of the park, Luis Guzman is my favorite character actor, bar none, and Cherry Jones was perfect. Midway through the episode, I was literally getting out of breath, and it didn't tail off either. I can't wait for the next episode. If you need to convince a non-fan to invest in this series, this is the episode for you to share.

Great episode of a great show

[tobeacting-49759 · 10/10 · 24 February 2023]

I've really been enjoying Poker Face, but this episode might be my favorite so far. The story is interesting sure but it's the performances this episode that really take it over the edge. Natasha Lyonne is good like she always is, but Nick Nolte knocks it out of the park. His soft, consistent pain is ever present with his character and he delivers it so well. It honestly impressed me so much I deactivated my IMDb account to write this review. Cherry Jones also plays her role with so many levels and is so serenely malevolent. Luis Guzman is ALWAYS a delight and this is a unique character he hasn't really played much. If there is a negative, it's that they hired Tim Russ and he was the murder victim and so was rather underutilized. Such a strong episode.

Art!

[mlryeckley · 10/10 · 24 February 2023]

One of the few episodes of television that I would classify as transcending "television" and becoming art. The music added a whole other layer and almost acted as a character itself. And Nick Nolte! His acting was profound. We marveled at whether his performance was acting or if that actually *is* him, now that he is older. The line where Nick Nolte ended and Arthur began was invisible... Supreme performance. Award-winning.

Spoilers ahead... Didn't see that ending coming.. We had hoped that she didn't poison Arthur's drink or that he knew it was coming and faked drinking it but we also knew the storyline owed nothing to his character, except to advance Laura's character plot. Absolutely brilliant.

Of dostojewskijan format

[FlexSupSimplex8 · 24 February 2023]

After a slightly underdone episode in a similar setting (theatre) and last week's racing-themed and twist-heavy open-ender, Poker Face is back in shape with a beautifully crafted and meticulously paced crime mystery of dostojewskijan dimensions.

This time, nothing to guess about the identity of the victim(s) and/or culprit, but all the more fun - and educational! - to watch how the latter struggles with legitimizing its acts, how themes like necessity, pressure to succeed, legacy are used to tell a tale of hubris, immorality, guilt and eventually fatal, irrepressible regret (yes, murder is against nature, it's the right time to remember...). The guest actors again are well chosen, production value is on point - it had to be in this particular episode, it's literally a monster cabinet at times, thanks for the retro horror flair, Rian! -, and the ending, while not surprising, still does add another layer of variation to the series.

Add to that a quite particular, even quirky touch of comedy - Charlie being basically on -truth detox- in the beginning, to the point of developing tics; the thing with the horsey (I won't spoil, you'll see) -, and you'll get a pretty consummate hour of television entertainment. Enjoy it like I did!

Next LEVEL

[idospasjody · 10/10 · 17 March 2023]

Yes Nick Nolte hits it out of the park again. So wonderful to see him. This one was proably one of my favorites, They brought in seasoned actors and next level story telling. Some of the best TV next to 1932 this year. I'm old school loved the old monster movies made from stop motion so this episode was a BIG treat. If you are a smart tv watcher that needs to be ingaged than this episode is for you. Today there is to much garbage out there so when you come across somthing like this, it's a treasure. I had a hard time when first sitting to watch this show but gave it a second chance yesterday and binged the hole thing. Don't give up on it, by episode 3 buckel up for the ride and have fun.

The house of horror

[AvionPrince16 · 7/10 · 7 March 2023]

Yes i enjoyed the episode and the story follow the same structure and let us know first see what happened, let us see why it happened and go deep. And we see Charlie again who get involved after she got hired for another job again. It was interesting also to see all the special vintage effects and how they made. The story got some surprises ( the maquette to use face ID, the real reason why the actress died, the reason why Max died.). It was interesting visually and trough the story too. Charlie is still pretty funny when she talked about the sensitivity of her lie detector. Nice episode anyway with nice special effects.

Episode 8

[bobcobb301 · 8/10 · 24 February 2023]

I feel like The Orpheus Syndrome was the best episode of Poker Face since the series premiere. It did run a little bit long and Laura's breakdown at the end felt a little awkward, but this was a highly entertaining story and like the pilot it felt more like a movie than an episode of a TV show.

Nick Nolte has not had many great acting roles the last decade or so, but this was a good part for him. Very well-played and a believable role.

This is a bonafide hit for Peacock and that is good to see because the crime and procedural genre deserves to have life, no matter how or on what network it is.

So many continuity errors...

[kirstenlf · 7/10 · 19 December 2023]

So many continuity errors, the most glaring of which show up almost back-to-back at the end of the episode:

1. The film doesn't burn in the fire pit. Anyone who knows film, knows it melts immediately, especially without the protective metal case.

2. When Charlie shows up to Laura's house to question her before the tribute, Laura is shown with only one-half of her face made up. During the confrontation outside of her home, the right-hand side of her face is made up and the left-hand side is makeup-free. Minutes later, on the inside of her home, only the left-hand side is made up, but the right is makeup-free. It's a clever, character-driven visual literary device in that it paints Laura as two-faced. Done well, it would have been a perfect artistic choice to highlight both Laura's lack of honesty as well as her unethical moral standing so, it's a shame that the continuity of her makeup doesn't match the intention behind it. It sadly results in driving the opposite effect, distractingly so. Even before I rolled back-and-forth to ensure that my eyes weren't deceiving me, I initially noticed the makeup application because it created such a perfectly straight line down the center of her face. It was glaring enough to yank me out of the suspension of disbelief required for the plot. Other than within a makeup tutorial, who has ever made up only one-half of the face at a time, everything from primer to setting spray on exactly one-half of the face only to be repeated on the other? Makeup is applied product by product.

3. When security arrives to escort him out of the building, Raoul hangs up the phone after asking the person he was speaking with to hold, but before he actually pressed the "hold" button.

4. The Medusa moves from the tribute audience to the hallway between the tribute audience and the exit outside effectively racing on its own ahead of Laura's jump.

Clever, then monumentally stupid.

[BLAlley · 5/10 · 24 February 2023]

The show's premise is already indicative of incredibly lazy writing by giving Charlie a magic superpower instead of intelligence and problem solving skills. Sadly, this episode can't even rely on that corked bat without serving up a perfect underhand lob right over the plate.

Instead of having doubts about the victim's demize raized through subtle clues, the murderer's entire personality suddenly shifts from cold, self-preserving sociopath to paranoid schizophrenic who blurts out statements out of nowhere that, given the premise of the show, equate to a confession. They then proceed to hallucinate, but even that was handled poorly.

There are two possible ways that could have been combined to elicit a confession that we're both set up, and yet neither was utilized. Had we already known about the planned event, they could have had the second victim intending to use his filmmaking skills to create a short film to be presented at the event. When he discovers the truth he uses horror imagery related to the inciting incident from their past to accuse the murderer publicly, causing the murderer to unravel. The murderer happens to have a perfect bust of the first victim, which played a critical and clever role earlier, but for some reason Ms Lyonne never thought to have it come to life (using the old trick of the actor embedded in the base). Instead the shot simply cuts to the actor standing there representing the murderer's hallucination of the character and they freak out and end it in another strange shift in character instead of confessing.

Lazy.

Poker Face or "Black Mirror"?

[Jimmy_V15 · 9/10 · 27 February 2023]

This episode treads very close into "Black Mirror" territory, which is not a bad thing, but it is a fairly wide detour from what had become a fairly formulaic series. I still have an issue with the fact that while the series is based on Charlie having an extraordinary ability to detect lies, her real talent seems to be one of supernatural observation skills. Here, she figures out what is going on not so much by catching someone in a lie but instead by picking up on clues that are more in line with what Sherlock Holmes or the FBI would notice and piece together. All that said, the story is clever, well-acted and features an absolutely top-notch, star studded cast. Too soon to tell if this is the direction the rest of the season (or future seasons) will take. If so, the series will likely attract more of a "Black Mirror" crowd and less of a "Columbo re-boot" crowd. I, for one, am on board.

"Welcome to the House of Horrors, Charlie Cale."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 14 March 2023]

Well, as Charlie Cale, Natasha Lyonne hit it out of the park once again, with a terrific cast for support and an exceptional script going for her with this outstanding episode. Whenever I see Nick Nolte in anything these days, I'm always reminded of that infamous 2002 mug shot when he was arrested for DUI. Even with two more decades under his belt, he still looks about the same here as a failed movie director blaming himself for the death of an actress in his first and last major film. The story of course, is more nuanced than that, and as it progresses, we witness the unraveling of a murder mystery that took thirty years to solve with the sudden discovery of a neglected outtake in an unfinished horror film titled 'Dragonfish'. It caused film company exec Laura (Cherry Jones) to murder her husband Max (Tim Russ) when he threatened to call the authorities, while also claiming Arthur Liptin (Nolte) as her third victim when he realized that he'd been duped into thinking he was responsible for the drowning death of actress Lily Albern (Rowan Blanchard). With humor ever present as Charlie Cale's stock in trade, her recurring eye twitch here works overtime with the volume of lies she encounters, but the best has to be the horse costume she wears just prior to the final denouement. If the final scene seems somewhat ambiguous, one need only consider Laura's guilt finally catching up with her as she relives her husband's final moments and follows his example to atone for a murderous legacy.

worst of the series

[rams_lakers · 1/10 · 25 February 2023]

I love this show and have watched them all. The best one is ep 1. The worst is ep 8. This episode started off pretty interesting, as I am a monster fan and I love the stop motion Harryhausen throwback elements. I thought it was really made for me.

But as the story began to unravel I noticed many flaws. Lots of guessing, presumptions and overacting, and the episode did not flow. I'm not talking about the flashbacks and repeats, but more like the parts that were rushed and not very well thought out.

Charlie is eating the fake blood thinking it's jelly. But fake blood doesn't smell or taste like jelly so this is way off. It's also unusual that fake blood needs to be in a fridge.

Charlie rolls a wheeled box on a bunch of loose rock concrete. Why is the circular driveway path there made to be so impractical and difficult to use?

Charlie opens the film cannister to see it empty, but wouldn't it feel lighter and empty while she's holding it?

Laura overacts to the point of incriminating herself to Charlie. She needlessly calls out that she's not responsible for the 2 deaths when it wasn't assumed or questioned. Her dialogue was dumbed down to spit out her guilt.

Charlie is walking around in a silly horse costume to sneak in, which is pretty obvious and then discovered by Laura anyway.

The film tribute at the end was all over the place. Doesn't an editor only use certain highlights of film for a tribute? Why include the part of Laura turning the light off and why was a camera filming Laura and that light anyway? It just looked too obvious.

At the end Laura goes mad and loses it, drowning in her own guilt. Stuff just didn't make sense in this one. I hope the next ones are better.