Fargo recap: season one, episode nine – A Fox, a Rabbit and a Cabbage
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Version 0 of 1. This blog is for Fargo viewers watching the Sunday night UK transmission on Channel 4 – if you've seen ahead, please refrain from posting advance spoilers. Catch up with Richard Vine's episode eight recap "Aces" Six months of undercover work, blown out in an instant. Six months of spit and gums, ice wine and bean dip, getting close enough to fellow Kansas City dentist Burt (a great cameo from Stephen Root) to be invited along for a "little family reunion" in Vegas with Burt's brother. The buildup to Malvo's Vegas trip almost had me fooled; he seemed to be enjoying his new life as "Mick Mike" so much. Maybe he really wanted to be a dentist, maybe he'd been funding his Kansas City practice with the proceeds from the Fargo mob? But of course, as soon as Burt started to confide in him, and we learned that he had a brother living in witness protection, on the run from the mob, it was clear that this was just another role for Malvo: a deep, long con being played by a master. The chilling way he invited Burt to trust him ("you tell me"), the bawdy trading of bedroom secrets, "she's a hellcat" was all just another job. (How did he fake his dentistry skills though?!) "Yes" The old Lester would have let it slide. But the new Lester? He's so charged up with bravado, with his new haircut and his Salesman of the Year Award, that he's prepared to gamble not only with his life, but the lives of three strangers – and Linda – just to force Malvo to admit that they know each other. He won't walk away. He won't take no for an answer; and he's just bold enough to answer Malvo, who asks him once more: "Lester, is this what you want?" Three dead bodies later: "That's on you." Malvo blows his dentist cover to insulate himself from the connection to his previous bloodbath by killing his girlfriend, Burt and Burt's wife. "It's cold out there" Of all the cold-blooded moves we've seen in this series, Lester's manipulation of new wife Linda is possibly the coldest. He pulls his old orange parka out of the basement, and tricks Linda into wearing it as she pops into the house for him. As he suspects, Malvo is waiting. Death is as inevitable for Linda as it is for South Park's Kenny. It's all the more heartbreaking after seeing her cover for Lester during Molly's questioning – Linda trusts her husband, even though she doesn't have any idea what he's lying about. It's not quite as brutal as that other doorstop shooting in the last season of Breaking Bad (if you've seen it you'll remember – no spoilers!), but it's pretty close. Tense, brutal and surprising, it's everything that this series has done well. "This is tremendous work, Deputy." The Fargo syndicate murders are personal for Agents Budge and Pepper too. The scene where the two learn that Deputy Solverson has solved the case was packed with frustration and relief. They can get their man (and get out of the file room); but more importantly for Molly, someone else believes her story – and not just believes, but recognises what a great job she's done by herself. The awkward, shuffling body language between Bill and Molly in front of her evidence wall said it all. "I was kinda hoping to surprise him" A return visit to Bemidji for Malvo to tie up his loose end: Lester. Gus is busy on his mail route, and spots Malvo driving past, even though he can't quite place him until later when he's staring at the fuzzy photos on Molly's wall (Gus really is a better mailman than cop). We see Malvo visiting Lester's old house (taking the time to pass on the grisly details of the murders to the new occupants). He strikes out at the new Nygaard insurance office (it's closed), and then tries to casually extract some info at the local diner. Lou's not falling for it, keeping Lester's whereabouts vague, even from a fellow who claims to have "helped out" the Tampa DA for a while (in a very non-specific capacity). Lou plays it close to his chest, diverting Malvo's offhand, but pointed inquiries, with another reference to Sioux Falls (will we have time to get to the bottom of that next week?). Lou seems like the only character who's not fooled by Malvo; he's good police to the end. Notes, quotes and the like • Turducken – not only a snappy Gordian-knot answer to this week's Fargo brainteaser involving a fox, a rabbit and a cabbage, but also a Man v Food style Thanksgiving specialty. In case you've never tried, or heard of it, here's a recipe:a chicken stuffed inside a duck, stuffed inside a turkey. •"After three days of not sleeping, I was an animal." You can say that again. That patient with the toothache is going to be disappointed when he comes in for his six month check-up. • Two more for the Fargo playlist: Green Tambourine by The Lemon Pipers is Malvo's vinyl choice, and Yodel Boogie by Wylie and the Wild West also made an appearance. • A short, not so sweet cameo from Coen Brothers regular Stephen Root as dentist Burt – he's been in O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Ladykillers and No Country For Old Men, and more recently also was seen on TV as Gaston Means in Boardwalk Empire. • "Haven't had a pie like that since the garden of Eden." Is Malvo, you know, the big man downstairs? From his convincing turn as Pastor Frank Peterson to the plagues on the house of Stavros and this week's offhand remark in Lou's diner, Fargo has had a consistent thread of Biblical references running through its spine. Is Lester's pride here the last deadly sin unleashed by the diabolical Malvo? We've seen wrath (Lester bashing Pearl with a hammer); lust (Sam Hess and the lapdancer); envy (Lester and Mrs Hess); sloth (Lester not confessing, Bill not wanting to follow up Molly's theory); greed (Mrs Hess eager to cash in on her husband's death); and gluttony (Lester heading down to the bar for a "nightcap" instead of celebrating with Linda). • A couple of questions to ponder while we wait for the final episode: was that a bear trap nestled in among the guns Lester has inherited from Chaz's hunting gear? Was that the tape of Lester that Malvo was listening to or someone else? Has anything good ever come from cherry pie? |