A palindrome is a word or phrase that is the same forwards
as backwards. Things have come full circle.
What began with senseless murders at a diner ended with countless
murders at a motel. What began with
Rye’s immature actions to prove his place in the family ended with Hanzee’s
rejection of that same family. War and
its scars were a reoccurring theme. The
“War of ‘79” has undoubtedly left scars on those who survived. The earth is scorched, ready for a new crop
to grow recalling the saying, “Barn’s burned down, now I can see the moon.”
The episode opens with a family album of dead Gearhardts:
Otto, Rye, Simone, Dodd, Floyd and Bear.
Betsy sleeps with her daughter Molly. As she awakens Noreen fills her in on what happened.
Noreen explains she spoke to the doctor
who theorized she was having a bad reaction to the experimental chemotherapy.
(It seems she was receiving the real medication after all.) Noreen bluntly adds the medication may kill
her faster then the cancer. Betsy seems
unsurprised by this information and anxiously asks about Lou and her father. Noreen hasn’t heard from either man but
encourages Betsy to sleep. Betsy dreams of the future, she sees new surprising
technology and huge warehouse stores.
She sees Molly grow up, graduate from high school, then become a mother
herself. But she also dreams of frightening things, she sees the chaos of
Hanzee’s killing spree including the carnage at the motel.
Her dream fades into the moment between Hank and Lou in the
motel in which Hank urges Lou to go on to pursue Hanzee. (Black Sabbath’s “Pigs of War” plays in the
background.) As Lou emerges from the room he sees the bodies of the Dakota cops
laying dead where they fell, some men in their boxers and t-shirts. In the chaos, Peggy and Ed run down an alley
and attempt to carjack a station wagon.
Hanzee is in pursuit, he kills the innocent car owner and one of his
bullets finds Ed. Lou follows the couple and Hanzee a few seconds later.
Mike and Gale arrive at the darkened Gearhardt estate. Mike walks through the open door proclaiming,
“People of the earth, I’m home!” He
takes his time looking around the living room. A banner hangs with a Deutch eagle bearing the
letter “G.” He sees an old fashioned picture of an infant, resembling a
“momenta morti” which he turns it over.
Peggy helps her husband walk as they near a supermarket. She warns the sole employee to leave, “Get out
of here! There’s a bad man coming!” The
pair limps through the store. Outside,
Lou follows Hanzee and comes upon Ben who is badly shaken but unhurt. Inside, Ed enters the meat freezer. Lou yells at Ben for letting the Blumquists
escape. Ben mumbles something about
Peggy tricking him and acknowledges things are completely FUBAR. (A military
term for F@cked Up Beyond All Recognition)
The Blumquists lock themselves in the meat locker. Butchered cows and pigs hang on hooks. Peggy examines Ed’s wound, he’s bleeding
profusely from his upper chest wound. He
says, “I don’t think we’ll make it, you and me.” Peggy vigorously disagrees,
“Adversity seals the bond!” Ed says
she’s always trying to fix everything and sometimes nothing is broken. All Ed wants is the life he had before Peggy
hit Rye Gearhardt. (The lyrics in the background sing about a “bed of roses”)
Hanzee enters the empty store with his weapon drawn.
Mike is surprised to find an old woman cooking in the
Gearhardt kitchen. Gale raises his weapon to kill her and Mike advises him to
“Be reasonable.” Mike tastes the woman’s cooking. He declares, “No more strudel
or schnitzel! From now on let’s have American food!” They hear a car approach. Ricky knocks once at the door then enters the
house. “Everyone’s dead!” He says out
loud then proceeds to loot the silver. Mike and Gale interrupt his activities. Ricky explains, “I didn’t think anyone was
here!”
Mike asks, “Do you know the definition of sovereignty?”
Ricky wasn’t prepared for this test. Mike continues, “Sovereignty is having the
power and authority.” Ricky replies, “Like a king? This is America, we don’t
have kings!” Mike disagrees, stating this is his coronation day, and it is
traditional to offer an act of kindness and one of cruelty to assert power.
Sparing the cook was Mike’s act of kindness so Ricky is out of luck. Ricky
sighs, “The story of my life!” Gale shoots
him with a shotgun leaving a gaping hole in his chest. Mike turns to Gale and says, “I’m bushed, and
you should get some rest too. Maybe
they’ll throw us a parade!”
Hanzee nears the back of the store near the freezer. Peggy is terrified when she hears the door
handle move. Smoke begins to fill the
freezer from the ventilation system.
Peggy excitedly tells Ed, “It’s just like the movie I was watching. A couple in France was on the run, just like
us. Her husband was hurt, shot and they
were hiding out. A Nazi was after them,
trying to smoke them out. But they got out, they were saved!” (Referencing the
movie “Operation Eagle’s Nest the fictional movie starring Ronald Reagan.) Peggy goes to Ed, but Ed has died. The door rattles again, steeling herself for a
fight, Peggy grabs the icepick, which was holding the door locked and opens the
door to lunge at the man behind it. But
it’s not Hanzee but Lou and Ben. Lou
holds her arm. Peggy tells Lou Hanzee
was “smoking them out, just like the movie!” Lou explains there is no smoke and Hanzee is
long gone. Ben goes to Ed confirming
he’s dead. Peggy screams hysterically.
It’s dawn when Lou and Ben part ways. They learn Hank is in the ICU and there is a
massive manhunt underway for Hanzee. Ben
asks Lou how in the world is he going to recount the events of that night. Lou tells him just start from the beginning
and assures him he’ll be okay. Lou plans
to drive Peggy home in his cruiser. The
men part ways.
At the Solverson house, Betsy wakes up and again asks Noreen
if she’s heard from Lou or her father.
The girl reports they are not back yet. Noreen asks Betsy if she can
feel her cancer. Noreen’s aunt had
breast cancer and described it to her as “a hot poker through her bosom.” Betsy denies having pain but likens the
feeling to a peach with one side, which looks perfect, and the other side has
grown moldy. Noreen quotes Camus, “Knowing we will die makes life a
ridiculous.” Betsy scoffs at the French
philosopher, her truth is one has the time on the earth that has been destined
by God and she’s unafraid to die.
Peggy is talkative on her drive with Lou. She wonders if her case will be a federal one,
and if so if she could serve her time in California! She’s heard of a prison there, north of San
Francisco and thinks it would be nice to see a pelican. (Referring to San
Quentin, an all male prison that holds Charles Manson and other notorious
criminals on Death Row. I used to live several miles from it; it sits on some
of the most valuable real estate in the country.) Lou tells her a story. In the final days of the Vietnam War, the U.S.
was trying to evacuate their troops and their allies, the South Vietnamese. A US Navy frigate, the USS Kirk was receiving
incoming helicopters, then pushing them into the ocean because it had no place
to store them onboard. A larger Chinook
helicopter was trying to land. The pilot
had his entire family on board and was running out of fuel. The family began to jump from the chopper, and
dropped their baby, which was fortunately caught by a serviceman unharmed. They were wondering how the pilot was going to
escape, he maneuvered the chopper over the water, and jumped out, thousand of
pounds of helicopter falling near him. The man lived miraculously. (This is a
true story, look up USS Kirk for details.)
Peggy asks what’s the point of his story. Lou states he knew Ed was going to do whatever
he had to in order to protect his family. (Like the helicopter pilot in the
story.) He says he understands that now.
Peggy said she never meant any of this to happen. Her sanity slips off into another rant about
how “I had to be my own me! Why did that guy have to walk out?” (Rye) Lou is incredulous, “You’re the victim?” Peggy
insists she is victim, and women are under so much pressure to do it all, Lou
has no idea. Lou responds simply,
“People are dead.”
With “California Dreaming” playing in the background, Lou
and Peggy near the South Dakota/Minnesota border. Lou gets out to attempt another call home from
the pay phone. This time he gets through
to Noreen and hears of Betsy’s fall and adverse reaction to her chemotherapy.
“Your missus is fine.” Noreen assures
him. Lou is emotional, he tells her Hank was injured and he’s on his way back
home from Sioux Falls. He thanks Noreen
and returns for his journey home.
Hanzee sits on a bleacher watching two boys play catch. A man approaches him saying, “Great empires
fall and are forgotten.” He hands Hanzee an envelope with documents including a
Social Security card with the last name “Tripoli.” The man tells him the name was chosen
intentionally, many different empires conquered Tripoli, Libya before it became
independent. Hanzee tells the man he
needs a “face man” to change his appearance and begin his new life. The man advises him to “Be like a phoenix.” Hanzee says, “Maybe I’ll start an empire of my
own.” On the ball field, older boys have
come to pick a fight with the original pair.
The man asks if Hanzee will seek revenge on Kansas City. Hanzee states he wants them dead. (The
implication is the man doesn’t know Hanzee turned on the Gearhardt clan. He may
have been a Gearhardt ally.)
Mike is shown around the Kansas City headquarters by the
boss who had ordered him killed. The man
congratulates Mike, he is to oversee the new Fargo branch of the operation. However, Mike will be working in an office,
business hours. The boss tells him he’ll be working closely with the accounting
department. The boss advises him to
change his wardrobe and cut his hair, “It’s not the 1970’s anymore.” The boss drones on about streamlining their
operations, much the same as any conventional business. He suggests Mike take up golf! It’s clear this isn’t what Mike had in mind for
his promotion. He’s been a man of reason and action. He’s shown to a small desk
with a typewriter and a phone. This
scene brought to my mind the end of the Shield when the mighty Vic Mackey ended
his career at a desk. Mike probably will
move on in a week.
Lou welcomes Hank for a family dinner. Hank is healing and able to share a beer with
Lou. Noreen is now part of the family,
helping with housework and Molly’s care. Lou asks his father-in-law if his report is
going to mention the aliens. The men
laugh. Hank shares Hanzee is now on the
FBI’s ten most wanted list making it the highest profile case he’s worked.
Betsy looks ill next to Lou. Hank is
just happy to be alive, “You’ll know the angels when they come for you because
they’ll have the faces of your children.”
Betsy tells her father she saw his mysterious office when
she fed his cats while he was in the hospital. Hank explains after the war and his wife died
he had given a lot of thought to the miscommunication between people. He had the idea of creating a new language
using symbols and the idea became an obsession. Betsy stares at her father, “You’re a good
man.” Hank demurs from the complement,
“I’ve got good intentions.” An
understanding of love passes between them.
Lou tucks in his daughter and suggests they go fishing the
next day. The final scene finds Lou and
Betsy together in bed bathed in moonlight. She whispers, “Goodnight.” Lou replies, “Goodnight moonlight, and all the
ships at sea.”
What an amazing ten hours of television. There is nothing as mysterious as the human
creature. We love, we fight, we die and
yet we believe in beauty and mystery of love and something beyond. Kirsten Dunst was nominated for a Golden
Globe for her role as Peggy. I hope
others will also be recognized for their incredible work this season. The door seems ajar to continue another story,
maybe following Mike and Hanzee through the eighties and beyond. (Please!) Its
rare a television series can make you think about anything, let alone the “big
questions” regarding love and life. This series did so without seeming preachy
or corny, just pleasantly eccentric as the fine folks from up north. Bravo!
No comments:
Post a Comment