Poker Face season 2 episode 5 ending explained: Did Rocket get his fastball back? Charlie Cale solves another murder mystery

Russ "Rocket" Waddell (Simon Rex) is the titular hometown hero in Poker Face season 2 episode 5, which sees Charlie Cale in her second stop on her journey to find her place in the world. Charlie starts the episode working as an office girl at a paper company before she joins the local baseball team, the Cheesemongers, as the ball girl.

The Cheesemongers are on a losing streak, and their 'hometown hero' is one of the reasons why. His pitches are subpar, and the team's coach no longer tolerates his poor form. He's headed into forced retirement, with only a few games left, but he plans to give him and his friends some nest egg. Unfortunately, a rookie derails his plan.

The rookie becomes the victim of Rocket's pitching prowess, which he thought he had lost. Rocket gets his fastball back, but it happens at an inopportune moment, which could send him not to retirement but to jail. However, he's not going down before he demonstrates to the town why he's called Rocket in the first place.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Poker Face season 2 episode 5. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Poker Face season 2 episode 5 ending: Rocket gets his deadly fastball back

Russ "Rocket" Waddell in Poker Face season 2 episode 5 (Image via Peacock)

Poker Face season 2 episode 5 is titled Hometown Hero, which also refers to the killer of the week: Russ "Rocket" Waddell. While he prefers to be called Russ, the locals refer to him as Rocket because of his pitching talent. As one of the spectators in the baseball game tells Charlie Cale, he was once a first-draft pick and played in the major league but was later demoted to the minors after losing his fastball.

Rocket hasn't been able to throw beyond 90 mph for years—he's a has-been, a washed-up baseball player with no left in his arm, his words. However, during a spat with the rookie who will replace him, Felix Domingo (Brandon Perea), Rocket has every insecurity he has thrown in his face. Felix, who once admired his legacy in baseball, starts talking about how Rocket is a faded player.

Seething, Rocket throws a ball as Felix starts walking away. He doesn't anticipate that his magic will be back in that inopportune moment. He notices that he hit the back of Felix's head, and the rookie is now facedown on the floor. Then, he sees the speedometer clocking the speed at 101 mph, and his fastball is back.

It's not a one-off either, or a lucky throw. During his final pitch, Charlie gives him a reason to throw the ball as fast as he can before he supposedly retires. At the end of Poker Face season 2 episode 5, he clocks another 101 mph. It proves that he has gotten his fastball back, but to the police officers waiting on the sidelines, it also proves that he's the one who killed Felix.

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Why did Rocket kill Felix in Poker Face season 2 episode 5?

Felix Domingo in Poker Face season 2 episode 5 (Image via Peacock)

Rocket has all the motives to kill Felix in Poker Face season 2 episode 5. Felix knows about their scam of losing the game so they can win millions after betting on their team's loss. He also threatens Rocket with exposing their scam unless he gives him all of their earnings.

However, Felix's death happens as somewhat of an accident. Killing Felix is not in Rocket's plan. First, he only wants Felix out of the game so they can purposely lose, not physically hurt him, hence the gums laced with hallucinogens. During his and Felix's altercation, after the latter discovers that Felix and his friends spiked his gum and their scam to lose the game, killing Felix is not his intention.

He even offers to split their earnings with Felix to keep his mouth shut. Hearing Felix humiliate him about his career, Rocket only intends to hit him with the ball in retaliation. The only wrong thing he has done at the moment is that he underestimated his throw. It hadn't crossed his mind that his fastball would return in that single throw, which was fatal.

Still, even without the intention of killing Felix, it doesn't absolve him of the murder.

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How did Charlie solve Felix's murder in Poker Face season 2 episode 5?

After hearing that Lucille (Carol Kane) will likely be facing a wrongful death lawsuit for Felix's death because of a faulty ball machine, Charlie Cale takes action to help her get out of the sticky situation. She already knows that Felix's gum is laced because she tasted it and has spent the last night high as a kite. However, the gum tests negative—Rocket has already switched it to avoid detection.

Charlie Cale in Poker Face season 2 episode 5 (Image via Peacock)

However, Charlie knows what she knows, and then she hears on the local news that someone won $3 million after betting against the Cheesemongers. The next clue comes from Carl (Jacob Lynn), sporting shiny, new "Grillz," and another teammate who looks like he won the lottery.

Charlie has also tested and discovered that the faulty ball machine can barely propel a ball faster than 83 mph. This means that the ball that the speedometer clocked at 101 mph didn't come from the machine. The next discovery that solidifies Charlie's theory is Rocket's lie.

During their previous conversation, Rocket had told her about losing his fastball, which, per her lie-detecting radar, Rocket is telling the truth. However, in their conversation after Felix's death, Charlie detects that Rocket is now lying about not having his fastball back. She thinks that in between the time they had those conversations, Rocket somehow got his fastball back.

So, before the game of Rocket's last pitch for the Cheesemongers, Charlie gives him a reason to throw the ball as fast as he can. When it clocks at 101 mph, Charlie's theory is confirmed at the end of the Poker Face season 2 episode 5.

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Will Rocket pay for murdering Felix in Poker Face season 2 episode 5?

Rocket's final pitch (Image via Peacock)

Poker Face season 2 episode 5 ends in somewhat of a cliffhanger, with Rocket throwing another ball that looks like another fastball. However, after he first clocks 101 mph during his second pitch, the police have already gotten their confirmation that, as Charlie suggests, Rocket killed Felix Domingo.

Before his final pitch at the end of Poker Face season 2 episode 5, Rocket realizes that the person at the stands monitoring him with a laser speedometer isn't a scout, as Charlie has told him. The person turns out to be an undercover police officer who has now contacted the team to lock all the exits in the area.

Poker Face season 2 episode 5 closes before it's revealed if the police detain Rocket. It looks like he was allowed to finish the inning, but with the exits closed, it also appears that the local police will get him after the game. It's still unclear if they can find enough evidence to put Rocket in jail, but his fastball has made him the prime suspect in Felix's murder.

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Catch Poker Face season 2 episode 5, and the previous episodes in the series are streaming on Peacock.