Spoilers for “Poker Face” season 2 follow.
“The Game is a Foot,” the season 2 premiere of “Poker Face,” offers Cynthia Erivo the role of a lifetime. Or rather, it offers her five roles of a lifetime, which she embraces whole-heartedly.
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Erivo is introduced here playing Amber Kazinsky, a trodden-upon woman who finds out she’s about to be denied her inheritance from her mean, dying mother. Turns out the money will instead be given to Amber’s long-lost sibling Felicity, also played by Erivo. After Amber begins a scheme to kill Felicity and take over her life, the episode introduces us to Amber’s other sister Didi, once again played by Erivo. We’re soon introduced to Cece and Phoebe Kazinsky, and you’re never gonna believe who plays those two. Long-time Erivo fans have known that the actress can do a lot more than play Elphaba from “Wicked,” but now casual viewers know it too.
Most viewers are used to actors playing their own twins, like Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners” or Lisa Kudrow in “Friends,” but it’s rarer to see an actor play quintuplets. The closest feat I can think of is that episode of “The Good Place” where all the main characters have the body of Janet (D’Arcy Carden). That episode scratched the same itch “The Game is a Foot” scratches: it’s fun to see an actor play multiple roles at once.
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In addition to watching an actor flexing their skills, you can also look around for all the little camera tricks the show’s using to maintain the illusion. This “Poker Face” episode feels like a 50-minute magic trick. We have a decent idea of how the show’s pulling the trick off, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive to witness.
Amber is Erivo’s most compelling performance here
Although Erivo imbues all the Kazinsky sisters with their own unique flair, the wicked sister Amber exists in a tier above the rest. Her motivation for committing murder is sympathetic; she’s been emotionally (and financially) abused by her mother for decades before she snaps. Amber’s biggest sin (well, besides the murder) is her failure to appreciate that her sisters are victims of her mother’s abuse, too. If she’d at least offered to split the fortune with them instead of taking it all for herself, she could’ve gotten away with everything.
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Even that mistake is understandable though, as it’s implied that Amber’s sisters weren’t that nice to her. They nicknamed her “Hamber” throughout their childhood because they considered her the worst actress among them. (They were right, sure, but they could’ve been nicer about it.) As campy as Erivo’s performance gets with Amber at times, there’s a clear sadness underlying her actions; if she’d been a little less neglected throughout her life, maybe she never would’ve descended to such depths of evil.
But the best part about Amber is the gradual reveal of her competence. During the first act, especially with the reveal that the just-murdered Felicity had a prosthetic leg, it seemed like this mystery would be way too easy for main character Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) to figure out. Amber’s scheme seemed messy even in normal circumstances, so how could she possibly get away with this when we know a human lie detector’s about to get involved?
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But Amber is good at thinking on her feet, evading Charlie multiple times throughout the episode. In her boldest trick, Amber takes a break from disguising herself as Felicity and disguises herself as Didi so she can forge her signature. Or to put it another way: Erivo’s character keeps pretending to be different Erivo characters. As Charlie remarks early into the episode, this can get confusing.
Why I for one am rooting for Amber, even though I know that’s wrong
Although Erivo’s performance as Didi and Felicity (the two nice Kazinsky sisters) are sympathetic, Erivo’s performance as Amber stands out because it achieves that conflicting effect “Poker Face” often has on me: I was kind of rooting for the villain to get away with it. Amber’s backstory was so depressing, and the amount of effort/risk she put into this scheme was so impressive, that I wanted her to get that pot of gold she’d been scheming for.
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I know, I know: murder is bad. But every episode of “Poker Face” plays out like a cat-and-mouse chase between Charlie, the unwitting cat, and the murderer, a mouse who typically starts off with no idea there’s a lie-detecting cat in their midst. Morals aside, I’ll almost always be pulled a little towards the mouse in this dynamic. It helps that Amber’s misdeeds are presented as funny evil, not the serious evil that characterized past villains like Davis in the racecar episode or Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Trey.
My desire to see the villain get away with it is complicated by my love for Charlie, a pure character whose optimistic approach to life is impossible not to admire. Some of the best “Poker Face” episodes work as a constant push and pull between rooting for the baddie and rooting for Charlie to figure them out. Amber may not have become the first “Poker Face” villain to fully outsmart Charlie, but she came much closer to this than most viewers would’ve predicted. Perhaps that’ll offer her some small comfort in jail.
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