Sumith Prasad
The third episode of Peacock’s thriller series ‘Poker Face,’ titled ‘The Stall,’ follows the aftermath of Cliff Legrand’s arrival in New Mexico to capture Charlie Cale for Mr. Sterling. Charlie ends up in the state of Texas from New Mexico, only to get burdened with a “fascist sympathizer” amid her journey. She accidentally arrives at Boyle’s BBQ, a joint run by brothers George Boyle and Taffy Boyle, along with George’s wife Mandy. Charlie’s arrival affects the lives of the brothers severely, which leads to fatal consequences. If you are intrigued about the twists and turns the episode’s ending offers, here are our thoughts concerning the same! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Poker Face Episode 3 Recap
‘The Stall’ begins with George Boyle, the co-owner of Boyle’s BBQ, proclaiming that he is a murderer. George’s brother Taffy has been immersed in several financial concerns and an unrevealed man threatens him if he cannot ensure the funds required to settle his obligations. Charlie arrives in Texas and gets burdened with a dog, which doesn’t get out of her car. While dealing with the dog, she drives to Boyle’s BBQ, only for the dog to spoil some of the dishes at the joint. Since she doesn’t have any money to pay Taffy and George, she accepts a job at the place to pay them. It doesn’t take long for her to be friends with George, who introduces his cooking process to her.
Charlie gives George a set of DVDs of films that center around animals or pets. George gets affected by the same and starts to believe that he is nothing short of a murderer as he is killing several animals for making food. George lets Taffy knows that he does not want to run the joint anymore and even arranges for a firm to go through the accounts of the establishment to sell the same. Startled by the revelation, Taffy and George’s wife Mandy conspire together to kill George. Taffy, who is also a radio host, prerecords a sixteen-minute bit and plays it while he leaves the station for killing George.
Taffy locks George’s trailer using a floss string from the inside and fills the same with smoke, killing his brother, who is already unconscious after drinking poisoned beer. The sheriff, who is a regular at the joint, concludes the death as suicide as well. After the funeral, Taffy proclaims that he will run the joint for honoring his brother’s memories.
Poker Face Episode 3 Ending: How Does Charlie Solve George’s Murder?
When George’s death gets concluded as a suicide, Charlie doesn’t believe her friend killed himself. As one of the last individuals to talk to him, she knows that he wasn’t thinking about killing himself. Still, she sets out to leave Boyle’s BBQ, only to encounter the “fascist sympathizer” dog laying on the road, hit by someone. Since two mysterious events occur on the same day, she decides to take a look at them. After taking the dog to a veterinary doctor, Charlie learns that it was hit by pecan wood and after an investigation, she finds out that the particular wood type is only stored near George’s trailer.
Charlie also finds a dog tooth in the nearby grill, which makes her realize that the person who hit the dog can also be the killer. She investigates the trailer and finds a beer bottle. She smells the same, perceives that it was washed, and notices traces of Taffy’s floss near the lock. Upon connecting the dots, she suspects Taffy to be the killer but his radio station alibi puzzles her. Charlie then considers the possibility of Taffy using a pre-recorded bit and she even conducts a test herself to find out whether it is possible to leave the station, kill George, attack the dog, and return within sixteenth minutes.
Since a particular part in Taffy’s show on the night of George’s death doesn’t feature the sound of the train that passes through the region at that particular time, it doesn’t take long for Charlie to realize that he is the killer. Still, Charlie knows that Taffy didn’t commit the murder on his own, which makes her question Mandy, who lies about her actions on the day of the murder. Charlie seeks the help of Austin to prove that Mandy is also involved in the murder plot. Austin calls her impersonating Taffy, only for her to accidentally confess to killing George.
Mandy tries to take advantage of Charlie’s findings by leading the sheriff to arrest Taffy believing that his arrest will keep her safe. However, Charlie and Austin air Mandy’s confession, which leads to her arrest as well.
Why Do Taffy and Mandy Kill George?
Taffy decides to kill George when the latter tells the former that he wants to sell his share of the joint. Taffy lets his brother know that he doesn’t have enough money to buy him out, only for George to reveal that he had already approached a firm to look at the accounts of the joint to move forward with the sale. First of all, Taffy wants to stop any process that threatens the existence of the joint. Boyle’s BBQ has been the identity and prestige of the Boyle brothers in their region and he doesn’t want the same to get affected. But it isn’t the only reason why Taffy kills George.
Taffy may have already used the accounts of the joint for his personal use. As the introduction of Taffy establishes in detail, he is neck-deep in debts and George may come to know about the same if he checks the accounts of the joint. Since George is the master chef at the establishment, he deserves the revenue of the place more than Taffy and the latter may have been fearing the consequences of George finding out about his financial concerns and how it has affected his revenue or savings. Mandy encourages Taffy to kill her husband since she doesn’t want to leave the place and move to a random city of George’s choosing.
Mandy has worked immensely to build Boyle’s BBQ and she doesn’t want to forsake the result of her labor. In addition, her relationship with George is more or less namesake since they even stay separately. George’s death enables her to take control of the establishment’s finances, especially since Taffy has proven how incapable he is. Thus, by helping Taffy to kill her husband, Mandy eyes to make Boyle’s BBQ her own.
