Written, as always, with Margaux Poupard.
Trevor: So, I caught a couple Coen brothers references last night. Namely, the store at the beginning, where Lester buys the socks and shotgun, was called Uli’s (Uli was the nihilist in The Big Lebowski played by Peter Stormare); the officer who arrested Lester was named Knudsen, as in Tara Reid’s surname from the same movie; and when Gus is laying in bed, says “nope,” and gets out, that’s straight out of No Country. Just had to get that out of the way up top.
Margaux: I’m glad that you’re putting your trivia night movie knowledge to good use here.
After subjecting myself to Rosemary’s Baby this week, it only made me appreciate Fargo (and it’s subtle and brilliant nods, like the ones you mention) more than I already did. I thought last nights episode, “ The Six Ungraspables” was the perfect way to set-up a batshit crazy ending to this story.
Trevor: It definitely felt like a “breather” episode – or in this case, more like a deep breath before a plunge. Not as much happened narratively as in the four preceding episodes; it was more about character and atmosphere.
Margaux: Which was fine, it took me thirty minutes to realize we’d be seeing more development from our characters versus the plot. They smartly cut between Lester, Molly, Gus, and Lorne – all gearing up for something; are Molly and Gus going to arrest Lester, and catch Lorne before he…kills someone (Greta Grimly I’m assume up at the top of that list)? But slow clap for Lester FINALLY getting his hand fixed and Molly taking advantage of his state at the time to sort of admit that Malvo was involved with his wife’s death.
Trevor: I think everyone was taking advantage of Lester’s weakened state, starting with Mr. Wrench and Mr. Numbers, who used the tried and true interrogation method of “grab a guy’s infected hand and shove a dirty sock in his mouth.” (Russell Harvard, who plays Mr. Wrench, was born deaf, I found out. He also played the adult HW Plainview in There Will Be Blood.)
Margaux: OH. MY. GOSH. THAT’S WHERE I KNOW HIM FROM. That has been bothering me since we were introduced to them. I digress.
The B side to that jail scene was brutal. But the flash of recognition between Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench leads me to believe it’s a small world when you’re a contract killer. And if Lester’s in the hospital, they’d obviously turn their focus elsewhere.
Trevor: I think they’ve gotten all they want from Lester. I hope so, because this show cannot stop shitting on the guy. It was equally as hard (for me) to watch Molly grill him in the ambulance, while he sweaty and delusional.
Molly is in full-on Midwest loose-cannon mode. I don’t know the full letter of the law, but I don’t think Lester’s roundabout confession to being involved in his wife’s death is admissible in court; and I definitely know it doesn’t give her permission to search his house. Even if she found the hammer – who moved that, by the way? – it wouldn’t have meant shit.
Alison Tolman is such a great find. Girl came out of frickin’ nowhere. Also: I’m falling in love with Alison Tolman. One of my notes from last night just reads “Molly is so pretty!” It’s gonna make this show harder to review.
Margaux: Put your boner away and stop doodling “Trevor Tolman” with hearts as O’s.
Tolman is fantastic as Molly. And even though that “confession” from Lester is 100% not admissible in court (Law & Order, come on), it’s enough reason for her harass – I mean, question him. By the same token, Lester knows he’s totally fucked, being shat all over or not.
That admission might not play but Molly is smart and he knows she’ll find a way around that. Especially now that fuckin’ Bill is on her side.
But I did notice the hammer had moved and it freaked me out. My best guess was Mrs. Nygaard’s ghost.
Trevor: God that would be the best twist ever. I wish I’d thought of that. I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed that Bill has come around – and he doesn’t seem happy about it at all. That’s a great touch, though: he’s not mad, he’s just deeply, deeply sad, because Lester is someone who he clearly cares about, and Bill really wanted to believe that he wasn’t mixed up in this sordid business. It says a lot about that small-town mentality.
Margaux: What about Stavros? He received the brunt of Malvo’s pain last week, there are still crickets in the supermarket and he still seemed to trust Malvo. But one weird car conversation and he’s out? That seemed fishy to me. Kudos to his on-the-spectrum son for nearly figuring it out, only to be shunned by his Adderal’ed out Father.
Trevor: Malvo is the best deliverer of somber, menacing monologues since Rust Cohle. Of course he doesn’t like The Jungle Book. And of course he goes to parties where girls will let 100-lb dogs hump them because…LOL? I did like that line, though: “There are no saints in the animal kingdom.” When Stavros got out of the car and severed his relationship with Malvo, it felt like an escape. I think Malvo let his facade slip – on purpose, of course – and Stavros was starting to realize how little he knew the man who showed up when everything went to shit.
Also, when Gus looks up Malvo’s pastor alter ego Frank Peterson, that picture is a such a hilariously bad photoshop. I do like that Gus’s backup plan was “Google Lorne Malvo.” In the words of Fargo’s Marge Gunderson, I’m not a hundred percent sure on your police work there.
Margaux: It highlights how utterly out of his league Gus is, and that makes me worry for him. When Lorne buys that walkie talkie from the Van Guy, (“I can give one to you, you can listen to me shit all over people at night.”) you just know the Grimly story will live up its name. How about “Jew Bus” neighbor getting all up on Malvo’s radar? Wasn’t he giving Gus a speech the night before about NOT being a hero?
Trevor: Maybe Gus got through to him: “You’ve got to try, though, right?” No one – NO ONE – in Minnesota, or at least in Bemidji, thinks twice about going up to strange cars in the middle of the night. And then for your trouble, you get some terrifying dude with a Ken Burns haircut asking if the cops can get there fast enough to save your life. I’d quit that Neighborhood Watch, pronto.
As far as the neighbor is concerned, though, that illustration of the parable he told Gus was masterfully done.
Margaux: “What-what is this?” “A parable.” – that line totally struck me as Coen-esque. But you’re right, growing up in LA, the thought of approaching ominous looking strangers – broad daylight or middle of the night – never, ever crosses my mind. I mean, I told a hobo I’d stab his eyes out with my keys, but that’s just regular stuff.
Trevor: That wasn’t a hobo, that was me! And you said that after I asked you to prom! I’m still dealing with it.
Lastly, we need to talk about Don Chumph, the most oblivious man in the Midwest. “Do you have any closets that lock?…Do you have a drill?…Do you have screws?…Get in the pantry.” And his response to all of this is, “Did you mean to lock me in here?” Cracked me up. He’s either looking at a bad end like Brad Pitt in Burn After Reading, or he might be the last man standing.
Margaux: The line, “I have some French lotions on hold…” didn’t have you keeling over? Jesus, I actually think Don will turn out okay, it’s his child-like wonder at the whole plan working out that’ll keep him alive. At least for now. And he’s helpful, he got all those crickets. But he does have a big mouth and horrible spray-tan. So, it could go either way.
Trevor: If I had to guess, Lorne will take him out just to avoid him shooting his mouth off. But if I had to guess, I also would have been wrong about 99% of what’s happened so far.
I’m tempted to dock Fargo for making us wait for Key & Peele, which is killing me, but I’m going to let it off the hook because “The Six Ungraspables” was such a nice change of pace. It pumped the brakes and really took the time to show you that these characters are more than a collection of “you betcha”s and “don’tcha know”s. I’m thinking four and a half? I mean, Fargo doesn’t make bad TV, period.
Margaux: You had me until you said half. I am still miffed there hasn’t even been an inkling of Key & Peele yet, I screamed at the end of the preview for next week: BUT WHAT ABOUT KEY AND PEELE DOE!
Last night was another incredibly well-written and beautifully shot episode and I cannot wait for the literal shit storm that’s coming next week. But, WHAT ABOUT KEY AND PEELE DOE?!
Four stars.
Trevor: I’ll tell you what: I’ll give you four stars, and throw in this 12-gauge.
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