The episode’s title recalls a Christmas fable written by O.
Henry over a hundred years ago. In the
story, the man sells his most prized possession, his grandfather’s watch, to
buy his wife a gift. The wife in turn,
sells her most prized possession, her longhair; to buy her husband a watch
chain for his most prized possession. The
moral of the story is their love led to sacrifice and that is the true meaning
of giving. It’s clear by the end of the
episode how this fable may fit into the narrative.
The episode opens with Ronald Reagan’s campaign bus entering
the desolate frozen tundra of North Dakota. The viewer hears Reagan speak of his modest
beginnings, his heroism as a lifeguard. In the woods, a man with a long bow
prepares to go for a hunt with Joe Bulo and company. The Kitchen brothers are present with
shotguns. As Reagan blasts the failed Carter economy, Hanzee is seen driving
his truck to the Gearhardt compound.
Hanzee enters the Gearhardt kitchen and presents Floyd with
the charred remains of Rye’s belt buckle. Hanzee declares he has found the man
responsible for killing Rye, a butcher in Luverne. Dodd adds the “Butcher of Luverne” is with
the Kansas City syndicate. To Dodd and
Hanzee, this allows them to declare open hostilities on Kansas City as
retribution for Rye. Hanzee theorizes
Rye was supposed to be a bargaining chip, but something went wrong and he was
murdered. (That element of the story is true.
But of course, Ed’s connection with Kansas City is a convenient lie
concocted by Hanzeee and Dodd to escalate the war.)
Joe and the man with the long bow continue to walk through
the snowy woods. Bulo states, “The mom-and-pop age is over. It’s all about big
business.” The man with the long bow touts his political connections; “The
governor would take my phone call during dinner.” The man raises his bow and
tells Joe, “Watch and learn!” Suddenly, the man falls, shot in the back of the
head. Bulo and the Kitchen brothers begin to exchange fire with Hanzee and
Gearhardt men. Reagan is heard in the
background of this violence, speaking about the importance of family. Hanzee appears to stab both Kitchen brothers
with a knife; Joe is seen fleeing further into the woods. Reagan begins his
famous “City on the Hill” speech to the small gathered crowd, which includes,
Lou, Betsy and Karl. (This speech was
made famous at the 1976 Republican Convention.) Reagan alludes to the
American’s rendezvous with destiny. In
the woods, Joe now faces Hanzee.
The crowd watching Reagan disperses. Lou is on duty to provide security to the
campaign bus until it leaves the state.
Karl states he won’t shake hands with Reagan since he did a movie with a
monkey; it would be “undignified.” (A reference to “Bedtime for Bonzo.”) Karl
asks Lou to find out if “Joan Crawford really gave the governor crabs.” Lou refuses to relay this inquiry to the
future president.
Hanzee returns to the Gearhardt kitchen to find Floyd
holding Rye’s belt buckle. Dodd proudly declares, “We got them!” But, has to
confess Milligan was not among the men in the battle. Floyd says morosely, “I thought they would
negotiate. I want this Butcher dead, no mercy!”
Ed wakes from fitful sleep full of nightmares about Rye. Ed goes down to the basement to find Peggy
amongst piles of magazines. Peggy is
trying to decide what they will need to take when they flee to California. This is news to Ed, who is still trying to get
the necessary funds to buy the butcher shop. Peggy shares that Constance saw her damaged
car, the night Ed was “taking care of the body.” Peggy isn’t sure her boss will alert
authorities, but she is nervous about the “ghouls” Lou hinted were coming for
them. Ed sinks into his denial. “No,
we’re going to clean it up. Buy the shop, have the kids…” Peggy begs Ed to be
realistic, “We need to deal with this before it deals with us!” Ed is unconvinced they need to leave, hoping
they can still “figure it out.”
Charlie pleads with his uncle to let him help in the war
with Kansas City. Dodd informs a hit man
to go to kill Ed, a man who is “posing as a butcher.” Charlie implores his uncle to use him,
reasoning it should be a Gearhardt who extracts revenge for Rye, adding, “A
real boss would know that!” Dodd agrees with his nephew’s argument; he
instructs the hit man to let Charlie pull the trigger, but insure the job is
complete. Simone leaves the compound,
despite her father’s protests. Simone
smokes a joint in the car, on the way to meet Mike at the hotel.
The surviving Kitchen brother coldly greets Simone. She finds Mike in a dark mood. He explains one
of the brothers died as well as several others due to “her Indian.” Simone seems
genuinely surprised and declares to Mike she knew nothing about the planned
attack. Mike muses, “Who do you think we are? Romeo and Juliet? My mom was real
dark, but I’m an optimist.” He gestures
for her to look inside a hatbox lying on a desk. Simone screams, and we see the top of Joe
Bulo’s fluffy hair! Simone says, “It’s
not my fault!” Mike holds her menacingly
and instructs her if she wants to be taken seriously, she must tell him what
the Gearhardt’s are going to do before they do it. If she can’t do this, she can “die with the
rest of them!” Simone quickly exits the
hotel.
Lou receives a call from Detective Ben Schmitt in Fargo. He reports he has a “real shit sandwich.” They have discovered the bodies of Kansas City
and Gearhardt and a local planning commissioner (the man with the long-bow) in
the woods. Lou shares he knows the local
beautician, (Peggy) was responsible for killing Rye Gearhardt. Stewart is under
pressure to negotiate with the parties, since he is a family friend of the
Gearhardt’s.
At Bud’s butcher shop, Ed makes phone calls to relatives
trying to raise the money to secure the down payment on the shop. Noreen, Bud’s daughter is unimpressed. She’s
been reading Camus and views his problem existentially, “What’s the point, we
are all going to die anyway!” Ed can’t
understand her; he wants a long full boring life of owning and operating his
own business.
Outside the shop, Charlie and the hit man wait in the car.
“What are you waiting for?” he asks Charlie. Charlie slowly checks his gun and
exits the car. The man calls out to him, reminding him to not leave any
witnesses. Charlie enters the shop and addresses Noreen shyly. He states he’s
looking for Ed. Noreen blandly states,
Ed is in the back and she buzzes him. As
they wait, Charlie tells her, “I read that book, and it was depressing!” Noreen
and Charlie share a moment comparing Camus to the beloved comeback story of
Rocky. It’s going to be impossible for
Charlie to hurt this girl. Ed finally
appears. Charlie heads back to the car,
carrying a package of meat.
Peggy is packing a few suitcases and takes a ride to the
auto body shop on the bus. She speaks with Sonny about picking up her car and
stows her bags. She asks Sonny not to
cash her check until at least the end of the week, better yet, wait until the
end of the month. She makes an off statement about how this is “for the best.” Sonny admires her car, which he has lovingly
repaired. Peggy starts the car, and then
stops. She asks Sonny how would he like
to buy the car. Sonny can only offer her
half of what it’s worth, seven hundred dollars. Impulsively, she decides to take his offer.
(Changing her mind about running away on her own.) Peggy rides the bus back
home with her luggage.
Hanzee returns to the Gearhardt house, using the outdoor
hose briefly. (Washing the blood off his
knife?) Bear comes out to greet him and
inquire how the battle went. Hanzee stoically reports they “lost a few.” Bear offers Hanzee his gratitude for his
loyalty to the family. Hanzee was
practically adopted by the Gearhardt’s when he was nine-years-old. Bear says he considers Hanzee part of the
family but goes on to state Floyd has doubts about the information about Rye’s
death. Bear seems to be offering Hanzee
an opportunity to come clean about the Kansas City connection to Rye’s death.
Dodd enters and tells his brother to “Not to speak to his man (Hanzee.)” Dodd
goes on to belittle Bear for siding with Floyd and makes a crude joke about the
nature of Bear’s marriage. Bear remains calm;
stating he feels a day of reckoning is coming. Dodd dismisses Bear’s beliefs and leaves.
Reagan finishes yet another speech regarding God and
America’s destiny. Lou and Reagan meet
in the bathroom. Reagan asks where Lou
served in Vietnam and Lou indicates he was with the Swift Boats. Reagan talks about his experience with the
Nazi’s in Europe, except that those were films he acted in, he did not serve in
the war. Lou tells Reagan about his
wife’s lymphoma and how he feels the “sickness of the world got inside of her
somehow.” Lou asks the candidate pointedly whether he feels America can “get
out of this mess.” Reagan responds he doesn’t know of any problem in the world
an American can’t solve. Lou asks,
“How?” Reagan seems distracted and
leaves Lou without answering the question.
Betsy sits at the table, looking at her “trial medication”
and a picture drawn by her daughter. The
picture shows three stick people with a U.F.O.-looking craft flying over them. Hank arrives to help his daughter, although he
confesses Betsy’s mom would have been better at supporting her. (Did her mother
die when she was young too? If so, it’s a reoccurring theme in both seasons of
Fargo.) She confesses to being nauseas,
which may mean she is receiving the actual trial drug. She asks her father to watch Molly so she can
rest.
Charlie uses a pay phone booth close to the butcher shop. Charlie indicates he wants to return to
school. (It seems he’s having second thoughts about his ability to participate
in the family business.) The hit man knocks on the door of the booth; it’s time
to complete the job. Charlie enters the
shop, locks the front door and turns the sign to “Closed.” Charlie pulls out the gun and Noreen calls out
for Ed. In the back, a pig sits on the table. Charlie approaches Ed, fires one shot which
starts a fire but his pistol has jammed and he would need two hands to clear it
quickly. The hit man enters; a shot hits
Charlie who falls to the floor. The hit
man proceeds to strangle Ed. At the last
moment, Ed manages to reach a knife, which he deposits in the hit man’s skull.
Noreen sees Charlie on the floor, and the hit man, and gasps. Fire is spreading though the shop. Ed is momentarily motionless until Noreen
urges him to leave and to drag Charlie outside because he is still breathing.
In the middle of the street, Ed tells Noreen to tell the
police he killed the hit man in self-defense. Ed leaves in his truck. Noreen watches
helplessly as the fire spreads to the second floor of the butcher’s building.
Dodd waits in the kitchen. Simone comes home, casually saying she was out
with a friend. Dodd motions her to come closer. He says menacingly, “You think you’re grown,
with your tight dresses and no bra? Well
being grown has its price! When you’re a
kid, you get the open hand; when you’re grown, you get the fist or the knife!” Floyd appears in the doorway and tells Dodd to
leave her alone. Simone exits without
another word. Her life is in danger from
Mike and her father.
Lou surveys the fire damaged butcher shop. Charlie is being loaded into an ambulance. It has become dark as the authorities
investigate the scene.
Ed rushes home. Peggy greets him warmly; “I have a surprise
for you!” Ed holds his urgent news to
her “surprise.” Peggy explains how he
was right, and they should fight for what they want. She tells him she sold the car to Sonny and
they now have enough to buy the butcher shop.
Ed breaks his news the shop has burned down, and they must leave. The couple is empty handed after their mutual
sacrifice, like the “Gift of the Magi” story.
Ed tells his wife he has killed at least one other man and they need to
get away. Ed confesses Lou was right
about the “ghouls.” But just as they
ready them selves to face their new reality, sirens are heard approaching their
house. It’s too late. The Blumquist’s stand facing the front door in
shock.
Violence punctuated the beginning and end of this episode. There are fractures and losses on both sides
as Charlie is wounded and Joe Bulo is dead. The power struggle within the Gearhardt clan
mounts as Hanzee and Dodd square off against Floyd and Bear. Added to this is the surreal nature of an
actor running for president, a man who speaks of destiny but only knows of it’s
fiction from Hollywood movies. A day of
reckoning looms for the remaining living characters. Who will prevail when there is evil on all
sides?
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