Poker Face season 2 episode 9 ending explained: Is Charlie Cale dead? Someone pushed her from a penthouse balcony

Charlie Cale takes a detour in New York in Poker Face season 2 episode 9, thinking that with plenty of people in the big city, there will be plenty of bullsh*t, and it will all just be some white noise to her. She winds up subletting Good Buddy's Manhattan apartment, where she meets Awkwafina's Maddy St. Marie and her grandmother, Nana Anne, who lives in the rest-controlled penthouse apartment.

However, when Maddy suddenly dies while trapped in the laundry room, Charlie is pulled into the chaos of solving the mysterious death. Her investigation leads to a tangled web of deceit and danger brought by Anne's new girlfriend and live-in partner, Kate. When confronted about killing Maddy, Kate pushes Charlie off the penthouse's balcony, but Charlie is still alive.

Charlie does what Maddy wasn't able to do, which is to expose Kate's true colors and make sure she's punished for the evil things she has done. This episode of Poker Face season 2 is a packed cast, with Awkwafina, Alia Shawkat (Kate), and Lauren Tom (Anne) joining Natasha Lyonne.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Poker Face season 2 episode 9. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Someone tries to kill Charlie Cale in broad daylight in Poker Face season 2 episode 9

Charlie Cale's life is put on the line in Poker Face season 2 episode 9. Unlike in the previous Poker Face season 2 episode 8, where Charlie is put in the crosshairs of a group of con artists, episode 9 is different. Someone is out to get her after she discovers Maddy's killer.

Charlie on the balcony in Poker Face season 2 episode 9 (Image via Peacock)

As Charlie finds out, Kate is full of "bullsh*t." While investigating the crime scene with Otto, the landlord, she discovers that Maddy's death is not an accident. Someone killed her, and it's the same person who changed the doorknob, something she realizes after Otto mentions that the doorknob is not the same kind he used to fix the previously faulty one.

If Charlie Cale can look for who bought the doorknob, she can find the killer. Unfortunately, it's easier said than done because the store owner is face blind. However, he does remember that the person who bought the doorknob likes to buy lots of fruit and often returns it in exchange for another set of fruit.

Ironically, Charlie had previously met Kate when she exchanged a halved cantaloupe for four mangos. Now she knows that Kate is the killer, but she doesn't have a plan. Maddy's librarian friend, Ricardo, is not spilling the beans either after Kate has threatened him at knifepoint. So, Charlie's next move is to tell Anne all her suspicions.

However, when Anne confronts Kate about Charlie's theories, she charms the older woman into believing her before sending Anne away so she can deal with Charlie. Kate then confronts Charlie on the penthouse balcony, pushing her off the ledge in broad daylight. However, instead of the thud of a broken body on the ground, Kate hears applause.

Read more: Charlie's love interest meets a tragic end in Poker Face season 2 episode 7

Kate in Poker Face season 2 episode 9 (Image via Peacock)

It turns out that it's all a ploy, and Poker Face season 2 episode 9 delivers its climax. Charlie falls from the balcony and into the inflatable cushion with the help of her tap-dancing firefighter neighbor. Meanwhile, Anne reenters to confront Kate for her duality, and with her is her lawyer, who has been filming Kate trying to kill Charlie. Now, they have the witness and hard evidence of Kate's crime.

Read more: Poker Face season 2 complete release schedule

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How did Awkwafina's character die in Poker Face season 2 episode 9?

As seen in Poker Face season 2 episode 9, Kate has set up a perfect scene to kill Maddy. After Maddy confronts her with a docket of her past and threatens to call the police on her if she doesn't go away, Kate decides that there's nothing else she can do but get rid of her girlfriend's granddaughter.

She gets the idea of how to prepare the murder scene from a faulty spin cycle that tipped over a can of soft drinks. She takes the gallon of descaler and pours it all over the floor. Kate also takes the bottle of bleach and puts it on top of the spin cycle, making sure that it will easily tip over from the machine's vibration. She also changes the door handle.

Fast forward to Kate supposedly saying goodbye to Anne, she sends Maddy into the laundry room, saying that she wants to break up with Anne in private. Meanwhile, in the laundry room, the murder scene is laid out for Maddy. The timer clicks to start the spin cycle, tipping over the bleach. Descaler and bleach mixed together create a toxic fume.

Read more: Where was Poker Face season 2 filmed?

Maggie is surrounded by toxic fumes (Image via Peacock)

As Noreen (Myra Lucretia Taylor), who used to be an investigative journalist for The Observer and managing editor at Vague magazine, explains to Charlie:

"The sodium hypochlorite [bleach] reacted with the phosphoric acid [descaler] and created chlorine gas."

With the changed door handle, Kate has ensured that Maddy will be trapped inside with the toxic gas, causing her death.

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Why did Kate kill Maddy in Poker Face season 2 episode 9?

Kate kills Maddy in Poker Face season 2 episode 9 because her real identity is revealed, and Maddy is a thorn in her grand plan. She wants Anne's rent-controlled Manhattan penthouse apartment. It's a spacious apartment with good features. As Kate recites in the episode, it has three bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two fireplaces.

With its rent of only $640 a month, the penthouse apartment is a rare gem in downtown New York. Her main goal is to get Anne to marry her, which would mean that she would co-own the apartment. After that, she would probably get rid of Anne and Maddy, but when Maddy starts threatening her, she gets the perfect chance to get rid of the granddaughter first.

It turns out, as Maddy discovers in Poker Face season 2 episode 9 with Ricardo's help, Kate is, in fact, not Kate. She's Amelia Peek, a jailbird who has three warrants with her name on them. She's a wanted woman and incredibly dangerous. When Maddy finds out who Kate really is and threatens to call the police on her if she doesn't leave Anne alone, Kate decides to kill Maddy.

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Catch Poker Face season 2 episode 9, along with the previous episodes of the series, streaming on Peacock.

Edited by Kinette Sumadia