POKER FACE Recap: (S02E04) The Taste of Human Blood
RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Poker Face episode, 'Whack-a-Mole' Poker Face, 'The Taste of Human Blood'
We open with Officer Fran Lamont (Gaby Hoffmann) responding to a burglary call. Fran finds an older woman with rollers in her hair, training her weapon on a man as he attempts to rob her. He's stuck in the doggy door, though. Later, Fran chats with the would-be burglar at the station. We learn he's a first-time offender and a family man looking to score extra cash for his kids' dental work. Fran releases him, giving him a second chance.
After this, Chief Hal (John Sayles) informs Fran that she's been nominated for the Officer of the Year Award at the FlopaCopas, a ceremony held to celebrate the police in the Florida Panhandle. Fran doesn't care for awards, though. Hal reminds her that recognition on this level is a win for the precinct. Gator Done
Later, Fran and Hal attend the FlopaCopas (we learn the year is 2019). Unfortunately, Fran loses to Joseph 'Gator Joe' Pilson (Kumail Nanjiani), an officer who rescued a baby alligator named Daisy. He strides toward the stage with Daisy strapped to his chest. Fran brushes off the loss.
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Fast forward six years later. Fran obsessively watches Gator Joe's TikToks. He's now achieved worldwide fame, amassing 12.8 million followers on TikTok. As it turns out, Joe has won the Officer of the Year Award consecutively since 2019. Daisy is also a grown gator. Fran's commitment to doing good work and helping people has taken a backseat in favor of her envy. POKER FACE Season 2 Episode 4, 'The Taste of Human Blood' — Pictured: Kumail Nanjiani — (Photo by: Sarah Shatz/PEACOCK)
Hal tells Fran about her nomination for this year's OOTY Award. However, this time, he discourages her from attending the FlopaCopas. This hyperfixation on Gator Joe has affected her performance on the job. FlopaCopas 2025
Next, Fran ignores Hal's advice. She ventures backstage at the FlopaCopas to discover a statue engraved with Joe's name. He's won — again. Fran starts sobbing. Joe appears and pokes fun at her for being a 'crybaby' until he sees he's the winner for the seventh year in a row. A few seconds pass, and it looks like Fran might bludgeon him to death with the award. However, she casts it aside and storms off in a huff.
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Then, Fran barges into a room for privacy, only to find Daisy in her cage. She rummages through a tackle box that Joe keeps for Daisy. It's full of an assortment of pills. Fran finds a laxative for alligators, and a lightbulb flicks on in her head. She asks Rusty (Ben Marshall), who works in animal control, how much a human could consume gator laxative if they're backed up. Rusty writes down a number on a napkin, handing it to Fran.
After this, Fran mixes a serving of gator laxative with one of Joe's energy drinks, hoping this will keep him in the bathroom and off the stage for when his name is announced as the winner. Joe barrels into the room with Fran and Daisy. Fran remarks that Joe looks a bit fatigued, so he reaches for an energy drink, not realizing Fran had laced it with the laxative. You Have the Right to Sh*t Yourself
Suddenly, during the lunch break, Joe races toward the bathroom. Fran stands outside the door, giggling as Joe has diarrhea. However, she hears him gasp before a resounding thud . She heads inside to find Joe dead on the bathroom floor. She tries to wake him up. Then, Fran looks at the dosage amount Rusty wrote on the napkin as it dawns on her that she got said amount mixed up. She gave him too much, and his heart gave out. Fran apologizes profusely to Joe's body before fleeing.
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Fran attempts to cover her tracks. She disposes of the energy drink bottle and the laxative. Of course, an investigation could easily link the paraphernalia she used to inadvertently kill Joe back to her. So, she acts on another idea: she releases Daisy. Fran removes a twist tie on the cage and lures Daisy out with a pack of Oreos she finds in the room. Then, she leads the alligator to the bathroom to, you know, eat Joe.
Once in the bathroom, Daisy doesn't descend upon the corpse. So, Fran offers her something to give her a jolt — meth. Fran steals a bag of meth from a table in the main room for the awards ceremony and dumps it onto Daisy's nostrils. Now superpowered by meth, Daisy consumes her formerly alive owner. 10-4, Good Buddy
Then, we rewind time a bit. Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) selects her next destination on the map. She's a free woman, after all — no Beatrix Hasp or the five families pursuing her. Charlie meets a new pal, Good Buddy (Steve Buscemi), while chatting on the radio. Good Buddy supports her newfound freedom.
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After this, Charlie winds up on what appears to be a commune. She observes Hutch (Shiloh Fernandez) feeding two chickens to an alligator. He explains that they respect the natural order of things. Hutch also insists that gators are gentle creatures. They match your energy. He encourages Charlie to connect with the alligator. She'd rather keep her limbs, though. POKER FACE Season 2 Episode 4, 'The Taste of Human Blood' — Pictured: (l-r) Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, Shiloh Fernandez — (Photo by: Sarah Shatz/PEACOCK)
Next, Charlie learns that Hutch and his buddies — Amira (Asha Etchison), Julia (Emmy Wheeler) and Lonny (Liana Wright-Mark) — specialize in rescuing animals from abusive and exploitative humans. He introduces Charlie to Daisy by showing her Gator Joe's TikToks. In one TikTok, Joe administers an amalgam of drugs, including Lexapro. Hutch hatches a plan to have Charlie infiltrate the FlopaCopas as a caterer. Then, she can release Daisy from her human-imposed prison. An Infiltration and Rescue
Once inside the ceremony, Charlie discovers that the FlopaCopas is for, well, cops. Side note: I love that the nominees placard lists Fran's impressive qualifications for the Officer of the Year Award while Joe's simply states he has 12.8 million followers on TikTok. Sexism, folks!
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Charlie finds Daisy, but, as she relays to Hutch via earpiece, her cage doesn't have wheels. Uh-oh. Fran bursts into the room after her embarrassing encounter with Joe backstage. Charlie comforts her. Fran vents her frustrations about the FlopaCopas and how Joe always wins, year after year. Then, she asks Charlie what she's doing with Daisy. Charlie excuses herself with a throaty laugh and leaves.
Later, Charlie returns with bolt cutters, removing the lock on Daisy's cage. When Daisy doesn't move, though, Hutch suggests Charlie buy a pack of Oreos. That's Daisy's favorite snack. A gator after my own heart. Charlie uses a twist tie to secure the cage. While at the vending machine, Charlie sees Joe fly past her, making a beeline for the bathroom. He loudly tells her he has to sh*t. Then, Charlie returns to the room with the Oreos, only to discover Daisy is gone. She throws the Oreos aside and follows the noise — everyone exclaiming that an alligator ate Joe. Meth Gator
Fran and the other officers gather outside the bathroom door. As it turns out, Daisy is still within and now has a taste for human blood. Charlie observes from afar. The cops open the door, which Daisy doesn't like that much. Cowboy Sheriff (Jacinto Taras Riddick) claims this is his jurisdiction, so he should be in charge. Fran counters that animal control should get involved, with leadership falling on Rusty's shoulders. One thing they can all agree on: Daisy has to go.
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Charlie objects to this. Shouldn't Daisy get a chance to live? Perhaps somewhere in the wild? Earlier, Charlie had a spiritual experience with Daisy, and Hutch's words finally resonated with her. Gators are peaceful creatures. Charlie goes into detective mode. She notes a trail of Oreo crumbs — this is from Fran leading Daisy to the bathroom to eat Joe. She finds the twist tie she used to keep Daisy in her cage on the floor.
Then, she reunites with Hutch, who checks on her progress with Daisy. He learns about Joe's death and Daisy eating him. Hutch decides to abort the mission. After all, Daisy has had a taste for human blood. She can't be rehabilitated. Charlie won't take 'no' for an answer. She won't give up on the gator. POKER FACE Season 2 Episode 4, 'The Taste of Human Blood' — Pictured: (l-r) Ben Marshall, Gaby Hoffman, Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale — (Photo by: Sarah Shatz/PEACOCK) Sunglasses and Oreos
Meanwhile, Fran chats with Hal. Hal informs her about Joe's last TikTok, which consists of her crying backstage. Fran realizes he had a camera embedded in his sunglasses, recording everything around him. Hey, it's all fodder for content, right? She tells Cowboy Sheriff that she would like to return Joe's sunglasses to his mother, claiming she bought them for him. Cowboy Sheriff insists they should be marked as evidence first, but then he'll give them to Fran to pass them on. Uh-oh. Those glasses recorded Fran's confession after she found Joe.
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Elsewhere, Charlie asks Rusty if she can look at the photos taken of the officers on the ceremony floor. They would pose with police paraphernalia and, yes, the bricks of meth. Charlie notes that someone stole from the meth pile on the table. After this, Cowboy Sheriff and the other cops decide to barge into the bathroom. Daisy is nowhere to be found; however, she is now inside the walls (and hopped up on meth).
Charlie returns to the bathroom to find a bevy of officers racing down the hallway in pursuit of Daisy. She discovers the gator in the supply closet, though, crashing significantly after her meth munch session. Well, she also went to town on several packs of Oreos. Can't a girl have hobbies? Fran appears behind Charlie, her gun raised. Charlie persuades Fran not to shoot Daisy and to help her smuggle out the gator. Fran agrees to lend a hand. Freeing Daisy
Later, Charlie and Fran drive to a remote location with Daisy in the backseat of a cruiser. They talk about Gator Joe. Charlie notes that she met Joe once, and all he told her was that he had to sh*t. She hears Daisy's stomach rumbling, too, as if she has to go. Fran remarks that Joe liked to consume gator laxatives. Charlie wonders how Fran would know that. She also calls bullsh*t on Fran's claim that she likes Joe's energy drinks.
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Once they arrive at their destination, Fran urges Charlie to wait in the car while she releases Daisy. Charlie makes Fran promise not to shoot the gator. However, Fran trains her weapon on Daisy when she thinks Charlie has left. Charlie prevents Fran from committing another murder that day. She rattles off the facts surrounding Joe's strange death. Daisy is a pretty docile creature, so she obviously had some assistance in the form of meth.
Fran can't keep it in any longer — she admits to accidentally killing Joe. She only wanted to embarrass him. Fran still believes Daisy has to go. That is, until she has the same spiritual experience as Charlie. She sees the light. Fran offers to turn herself in. She and Charlie release Daisy together before discovering a pile of gator crap on the ground, complete with Joe's sunglasses. A Confession
Fran presents these as evidence to Hal when she confesses to killing Joe. Hal refuses to report her, claiming she's one of the good ones. Daisy ate Joe, and that's that. Fran immediately resigns, deciding she must find another way to help people. Sure enough, we later see Fran scooping up gator poop on Hutch's commune. She loves her new life. Elsewhere, Charlie chats with Good Buddy on the radio before spotting Daisy in the water … who looks a bit peckish. Taste of human blood and all that, right?
Poker Face drops new episodes every Thursday on Peacock.
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[email protected] What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events. Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet. Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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