Summary
More clever twists and searing tension from Poker Face as we near the end of the first season. There’s lots of fun to be had from this sports-themed installment, with guest stars Tim Blake Nelson and Charles Melton making the most of their vicious onscreen rivalry.
We recap the Peacock series Poker Face Season 1 Episode 7, “The Future of the Sport,” which contains spoilers.
Poker Face has gotten into a habit of defying expectations every week, delivering the same winning formula week in and week out, yet somehow providing multiple twists even within that rigid structure. “The Future of the Sport” is no different, a murder mystery about two rival racers who want each other dead. This installment stars Tim Blake Nelson (Watchmen) as the aging veteran and Charles Melton (Riverdale) as the up-and-coming heartthrob of the sport.
Poker Face Season 1 Episode 7 Recap
Who is Davis McDowell?
An adrenaline-fueled race opens, with the veteran Keith Owens (Tim Blake Nelson) battling the newcomer Davis McDowell (Charles Melton). It’s Keith’s final season in the sport, and he has a family legacy to uphold. At the same time, points leader Davis wants to trounce his enemy. Keith gets an early lead, but Davis plays dirty, knocking Keith’s car out of the action. Davis eventually wins, but the reporters want to interview Keith first. The veteran states that Davis is ruining the sport, and he will not be retiring any time soon. The interview ends in a fistfight, with Keith and Davis landing punches at one another.
Back home, Keith’s daughter Katy is fuming. She wants to take over the family tradition and be the next racer, but Keith’s postponed retirement means she’ll have to wait. Keith tells his wife he cannot retire as a loser; he must defeat Davis one final time. However, he has lost his flow and developed a case of the shakes. Davis then arrives, vandalizing the Owens’ family garden and mailbox. This is all the ammo Keith needs; he is now more determined than ever to defeat his foe.
How does Keith get his revenge?
That night, Keith breaks into Davis’ garage and tinkers with his race car, placing a fish hook contraption in the engine. The next day, Davis and Keith race each other again, and Davis crashes his vehicle. Keith’s tampering has ended in Davis’ car going up in flames. Keith looks on with a giant grin; his plan has worked perfectly. As is the tradition, we now revert to the day before, where Charlie Cale works as a cleaner at an arcades center called Kamelot Karts.
Charlie hears the race on the radio and sees her co-worker (Davis’ mother) Jean eagerly listening to the results. Ecstatic at the victory, she celebrates with Charlie. Davis then swings by the go-karts to sign autographs for his fans. He quickly sparks a friendship with Charlie, introducing her to the joys of racing, even if it is just an arcade game. Katy shows up afterward and argues with her rival, Davis. They agree to a go-kart race to settle things, and Katy continually beats her opponent.
What causes Davis to retaliate?
Angered by this humiliation, Davis drives to the Owens household, where he vandalizes their garden in retaliation, leaving the mailbox tied to his tow truck. Again, Keith tinkers with Davis’ car that night, but it is revealed that Davis saw the whole crime taking place. Davis inspects the engine and finds the fish hook but decides to do some tinkering, loosening the seatbelt.
He then asks Katy to drive for him at the race track the next day, challenging her to beat his time during the practice lap. It is Katy who crashes, not Davis. Keith wasn’t aware she was the victim of his prank. Katy ends up in a coma in the hospital after this awful collision.
Davis tells the gang that he may be suspended, even though Katy’s negligence caused the crash. Charlie’s lie-detector skills come out to play again, and she calls bulls**t. Davis admits that something doesn’t quite add up. They check the engine and find the fish hook contraption. He concludes that the car would have been unable to decelerate. His car was sabotaged, and Davis blamed Keith. As the voice of reason, Charlie agrees to speak to Keith first.
Keith tells Charlie he didn’t touch Davis’ car, and she instantly senses a lie. There’s another twist, though. This time Keith confesses to the crime, apologizing on the news about the tampering. Davis doesn’t need any evidence anymore; he’s won. He’ll be crowned the champion and receive his all-important sponsorship deal. Yet Charlie is still here, guaranteed to spoil all his fun. She overhears Davis lying about the seatbelt malfunctioning and is forced to start another investigation.
Poker Face Season 1 Episode 7 Ending Explained
Charlie inspects the seatbelts herself and interviews Jean about the night of the tampering. She discovers that Davis was home during this important event and that the seatbelts could have easily been loosened. It isn’t long before Charlie figures it out and confronts the killer. Afterward, Davis chases her home, and Charlie is forced to use her new driving skills to avoid another crash. She can’t prove Davis’ involvement but confronts the driver one last time anyway, this time in public.
All of Davis’ dreams have come true. He has his new sponsorship deal and is the leading champion in his field. Charlie tells him that Katy has woken up from her coma and is raring to get better to challenge Davis. There’s no real justice, but Davis develops his case of the shakes. She got into his head, and now Davis fears Katy and the undoing of his entire career.
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