Written, as always, with the incomparable Margaux Poupard.
Trevor: LOVED this episode. Easily the best since the premiere. Billy Bob would be unbeatable for an Emmy were it not for those jerks Matthew McConaughey and Bryan Cranston.
Margaux: “Eating the Blame” was my favorite episode so far too, it was full of comedic twists and turns, didn’t let up for the entire hour. Just like the premiere. Poor Molly, surrounded by buffoons. It’s hard not to notice how out-numbered she is by bumbling fools, between well-intentioned Gus and speaks before he thinks it through Bill, parts of this episode were truly cringe-worthy.
Trevor: I agree. Fargo is pulling off the impossible feat of making me not love Bob Odenkirk! But you know what “Eating the Blame” just absolutely nailed last night? That movie tie-in, with 1997 Stavros finding the buried briefcase of money from the film. I got way too excited about that. What a great way to link everything.
Margaux: I legit started cheering out loud when Stavros looks over and to see the ice scraper. It was such a smart and subtle piece of writing and when they tie it to the present, Stavros’ unshakable belief that “God is Real”, well…goddamn. Everyone go home.
Trevor: Stavros is convinced that God is real, and Lorne Malvo, TV’s best villain, spends a solid hour raining Biblical plagues on him. The crickets in the grocery store subbing for locust, the blood in the shower, even the dead dog could reasonably stand for the dead livestock. And that shot of Lorne on top of the supermarket as everyone clears out – wow! He’s playing God. Fargo is really good at shooting Billy Bob from afar. One of my favorite shots was when Don was leaving Stavros’ house after pretending to be a plumber; he looks over and in the distance sees a shadowy figure. Nothing happens, but we know it’s Lorne.
Margaux: Glenn Howerton is straight killing it as Don, his super white teeth against that nuclear orange skin. When he has his parting exchange with Stavros, telling him to “get right with the Lord” it’s clear he means Malvo. This is his design and Stavros is his puppet, I’m very curious to see what else he has planned for the Supermarket King. And if it’s supposed to be “July in January”, crickets seem semi-approps.
Trevor: Good point! I didn’t think that Don and Stavros were going to be such big characters. Which I’m totally fine with, as Glenn Howerton and Oliver Platt are great. God, it’s hard to watch Fargo and not want Don Chumph to be some Midwest cousin of Dennis Reynolds.
So let’s talk about some actual plot. Namely, Lorne getting arrested. That conversation he had with Gus in the squad car was chilling. “That’s what you’ll be saying in an hour: you’re making a mistake.”
Margaux: I actually didn’t think their conversation was as chilling as their first encounter, Malvo has this amazing ability to make any situation seem familiar, at least to him. Bill Bob’s Malvo in full-on Frank Peterson, a Lutheran minister, “Go Bears” – it’s hard not be in awe (a lot like Grimly is, watching Malvo being interrogated) at how easily he wears the skin of others. The smile he throws Grimly through the two-way glass is starting to become one of Lorne’s many signature, “fuck you” moments throughout Fargo.
Trevor: The interrogation scene was great. One line that stuck out to me was after the Duluth PD chief wants to check on Lorne’s alibi, Lorne tells him, “Pick a name out of the phone book.” I might be reaching, but I took that as a reference to the sort of random chaos that Lorne represents. To wit: “Eating the Blame” saw the return of the motel owner and her son, who got ratted out by Lorne for pissing in her gas tank.
I saw on display a recurring theme in Coen Bros movie: the triumph of evil in the face of inaction or apathy (like in True Grit) or even in the face of sanity (like in No Country For Old Men).
Margaux: Or can Molly triumph in the face of inadequacy? Which was a lot of Marge’s journey in OG Fargo. By the end of the episode, she resolves that to go after Lester, who has narrowly just escaped Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench, only to find himself in lock up with them, a few hours later. The bar fight between Goldberg and his tall companion was delightful because I didn’t really know how/why they were doing it, until they come face to face with Lester in that tiny jail cell.
Trevor: God, that argument in the diner was amazing. Whatever reservations I may have originally had about the deaf Mr. Wrench, consider them gone. That scene alone completely swayed me. Also, props to Noah Hawley, for somehow coming up with this exchange:
“People don’t like to be watched while they eat.”
“Some do.”
“Who?”
“Mormons.”
And putting all that in sign language made it one of the funniest, most WTF moments in “Eating the Blame,” and this is an episode that had crickets running rampant in a grocery store.
Margaux: I appreciate that Mr. Wrench is the slightly more sympathetic one so Goldberg can be a total neurotic dickbag. I do wonder if Malvo, Mr. Numbers, and Mr. Wrench all know each other though, there’s gotta be some sort of contract killer message board.
And shit, can we talk about Lester’s beyond disgusting and fucked up hand? GO TO THE HOSPITAL.
Trevor: Right? You live in BEMIDJI FUCKING MINNESOTA, tell em it was a hunting accident. Hell, those shithell Hess kids are probably in there every other week with crossbow and throwing star wounds.
Poor Lester. Even compared to William H. Macy in the film, he is getting the shit end of the stick. I mean, the best decision he made tonight was punching a cop.
Margaux: Ha, that’s how you know it’s bleak for Lester. He didn’t give up Lorne when it came down to it, though I do wonder if he knows his name. His hand wound is going to get him busted, a tell-tale sign of guilt, it sort of reminds me of the hole in the back of Marcellus Wallace’s head in Pulp Fiction.
Trevor: Absolutely! It’s like a physical manifestation of how fucked he is. At the end of the episode, Molly says, after Gus asks what do they do now, “Lester.” And that’s it. That wouldn’t spell doom for Lester if Molly wasn’t shaping up to be such a good cop.
Margaux: She is the one who figures out Malvo’s “riddle.” I was bummed they didn’t take that opportunity for Molly respond with, “we’re going to catch a predator,” but I guess I can live with her going after Lester.
Trevor: Haha! It’s interesting you say that, I wrote in my notes that the predator-prey relationship might be the theme of Fargo. It’s very Darwinist. Stavros even says, “Kill or be killed.” Twice. Lorne is an apex predator, and Don has latched onto him like some weird tan symbiote.
Margaux: Hahahaha! Oh Don, how those two get anything done…”Who else knows you’re at the pet store?” “My Mom?” “Do I sound like your Mother?”. If they live to see the end of this series, I’d like their spin-off now, please. Don and Lorne: On the Road.
Besides Malvo, who else is the predator and who’s the prey? It’s the fun of watching Fargo.
Wanna talk stars?
Trevor: No, I don’t want to talk stars, because I already decided to give this “Eating the Blame” five stars, whether or not you agree. Do you agree?
Margaux: Lucky for you, there will be no knife fight over this, I totally agree with you. Five stars. I’m dying to know how Key and Peele’s FBI agents will come into play.
Trevor: So far, the only thing Fargo has done wrong is tell us that Key and Peele will show up and then make us wait.
Margaux: If had to have a complaint, yes – it’d be all of what you just said.
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