Fargo, Season 2, Episode 5 The Gift of the Magi

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?

AHS Hotel, Episode 5, Room Service

Last week ended with Alex turning into a vampire. The Countess warned her the process would be challenging.  The episode opens with Alex at the hospital, treating the measles kid, whose disease has taken a turn for worse, including pneumonia. The mother is frantic, it’s been suggested to her by another doctor maybe the boy should be made a “do not resuscitate.”  Alex has a hard time focusing on the woman’s words since her senses have been heightened, she hears and sees pulsing blood in the living.  Alex leaves to go to the bathroom where she checks her own temperature; it reads a corpse like seventy-five degrees. (The same as he son’s.) Desperate to feed, Alex raids the blood bank.  She returns to the bathroom and uses a syringe to draw her own blood.  She enters the child’s room and closes the blinds, then injects her blood into his IV.  The boy’s heart rate jumps dramatically and he appears to be seizing.  Did she just kill her patient?

Donovan and Iris ring the door of Romona Royale’s mansion.  The butler complains its four am, but the couple insists on being seen.  Romona is upset, “Who’s this?” she asks. Donovan replies, “The answer to your prayers.”  Donovan explains his mother could be their secret weapon to get close to the Countess.  Romona scoffs at Iris’s condition, she appears intoxicated.  Donovan implores Romona to work with him and Iris to make “her bleed.” Romona knows Iris is not merely drunk; Donovan has turned her, which she thinks was reckless. “I like reckless!” Romona exclaims.  Iris is concerned the Countess will know she is different.  Donovan insists Iris is the best decoy to launch their revenge plans because the Countess never notices her.

Back at the hospital, the child with measles is cured!  His rash is gone and his mother and the nurse consider it a miracle.  Alex seems reluctant to take credit for his “cure” and hugs the mother awkwardly.

Iris stumbles back into the Hotel Cortez’s lobby, Liz is at the reception desk and asks, “Where the hell have you been? You look like shit!”  Liz thinks Iris needs a little “hair of the dog” to ease her pain.  Iris is doubtful until she sees Liz pour her a glass of the Countess’s special stash.  Liz advises her, “You’ll need fresh blood soon.”  Iris is doubtful she can adjust to her new immortal life.  She laments she will be forever stuck in current body and life where she feels invisible.  Liz advises her to embrace her new form but maybe try some violet eye shadow.

A breakfast of eggs and bacon sits on the table.  Beneath it lays the body of a smartly dressed man in a pool of blood.  A woman lies on the floor near him, her throat cut as she struggles to breathe; it’s the anti-vaccination mom!  The child Alex cured has become a vampire.  He’s dressed as Capitan Hook and wipes the blood off his face and hurries off to catch the school bus.

The boy, Max, arrives at school with tales of his near-death experience told to impress his friends.  The teacher asks him to remove his plastic sword, because “No weapons are allowed at school.” (I had this experience at the mall on Halloween, we had to conceal or remove my son’s plastic light-saber.)  Max shows his classmate a knife he has stashed inside his boot.  Max and his friend Madeline, who is dressed as a witch, go to an empty room to talk.  He explains to her he was sick but feels so much better now.  They kiss, but she pulls away because she bit her lip. (50 Shades of 5^th grade!) He bites his own lip and asks her to taste his blood.  In the next room, their teacher, Ms. Prichard finally notices two of her pupils are missing. Madeline complains of “Feeling itchy all over!”  Ms. Pritchard finds the students but Max quickly cuts her throat and commands Madeline to drink her blood to “feel better.”

It’s unclear what’s happened to Ms. Pritchard’s class, but they all seem to be writhing in agony, experiencing what Max did with the measles.  Another teacher comes to investigate and finds Madeline feeding on the deceased Ms. Prichard. Madeline exclaims, “It’s not my fault!”  Max appears and cuts the throat of the male teacher.  He instructs his stricken classmates to feed on the second teacher’s blood to be cured. (How they all became infected is a mystery, unless he blood-kissed everyone in class.)

At the office, the administrators are discussing the political correctness of one woman’s Native American costume. (Another typical California topic)  The male teacher has managed to escape the hungry hoard of kids and falls down bleeding near the office door. The “Lock-down” procedure is implemented; soon a SWAT team and the media are racing towards the school.  The police find all the adults dead in the school office. The vampire kids are huddled in the gym, covered with blood. When the SWAT team finds them, they reassure the kids, “Don’t be afraid, you’re safe now!”

The new vampire children make there way outside. Madeline explains to an officer they were attacked by a man in black, wearing a facemask. Another investigator approaches Max to question him. Max says with dead confidence, “I know exactly what happened!” Parents are reunited with their children, unaware of what has really happened inside.  As a viewer, I’m confused. How did all the kids turn and why are they okay walking in broad daylight, and when will they have the urge to kill their parents for food as Max did?

John is being questioned about his outrageous story regarding “Devil’s Night.”  It does sound crazy in the cold light of day.  The sergeant is incredulous, people masquerading as infamous serial killers?  John insists they are recreating the crimes of Dahmer, Ramirez and Gacy.  But John is convinced that Mr. March is the “Ten Commandment Killer.”  He implores his superior to search every inch of the Hotel Cortez, “down to the studs, if you have too!” to uncover the evidence of his crimes. The sergeant has heard enough from John.  He feels John has never been the same since Holden disappeared and wants him out of the job.  He adds, “Your pension is safe.” John surrenders his badge and his gun but warns, “Nothing is safe!”

A couple strolls into the hotel lobby.  The man, (Darren Criss of Glee!) asks Iris if they have special rates for “influencers.” The couple wants a discounted rate, since its late Halloween night and they want to “Hide out and smoke out!” (Some events in the episode seem to take place late Halloween night, but the school massacre was during the day?) The couple remains obnoxious as hipsters can be, the woman complaining about everything from the polyester sheets to the scratchy towels.  Iris accepts the abuse as she’s always done.

Returning to reception, she spies Liz reading “Candide.”  The Countess and Tristan appear, dressed in white and black for a fancy evening out.  The Countess hones in on Iris, coming in close and appearing to sniff her.  Iris fidgets, “Can I do anything?” She asks Iris to tell Drake he is invited to the party they are attending at Demi’s.  The Countess notes, “You seem nervous!”  Tristan adds “And you smell different, you’re sweating.”  Iris tries to explain its just Halloween makes her nervous.  The vampire couple leave and the phone rings.

Iris answers, it’s the hipster couple demanding “grilled romaine” and other artisanal treats the Hotel likely doesn’t carry.  Iris cries as she puts down the phone.  Liz offers to help.  In the kitchen, Liz uses “Fancy Feast” for the couple’s pate. “Cat food smells worse then cat poop!” Iris notes.  Liz says her secret is “You see everything when no one sees you.”  As they bond, Iris realizes this conversation is the longest one they’ve ever had.  Iris admits she didn’t know how to talk to Liz, but insists she’s not homophobic.  Liz asserts she’s not gay and Iris is surprised.  Liz decides to share the story of her transformation.

In 1984, he had a marriage of convenience and was living in Topeka, Kansas. He traveled a lot for his job with Eli Lily as a pharmaceutical representative. (Actually, this was few years before Eli Lily was made a household name by developing Prozac but close enough.)  He married Tracy mainly because they shared the same dress size.  When traveling, Doug stayed in and only found happiness when he was alone and able to dress as a woman.  He was surprised one night in his room by the Countess.  She told him she’d been watching him, he dressed and acted like a man but his blood smelled like a woman.  Doug begins to cry, he feels ugly.  The Countess disagrees, “You are beautiful, you just lack commitment.  Become who you were born to be, a goddess.” (Straight from the lines of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”) The Countess helps him transform, as “Bettie Davis Eyes” plays in the background.  Liz recalls, “I was her living doll.”  She christens him “Liz Taylor” and encourages her, freshly made up, and bald, to go out with her.  Liz balks, but finally agrees to go down the hallway to fetch some ice.

Liz recalls that first walk as her true self; “I was Venus in the clamshell.”  On the way back from the ice machine, Liz runs into her fellow pharmaceutical reps, who accuse her of being a f*g88t and giving them AIDS. (For 1984, this was unfortunately routine.)  Liz finds her voice and yells back at the men.  The Countess quickly silences the men, using her silver knifed glove.  Liz is stunned.  But Liz decided to stay human and the Countess hired her.  Liz admits she lost contact with her ex and kids. Liz advises Iris to stop taking shit from people, and to start by teaching those hipsters a lesson!

Iris wheels up the room service tray.  Justin (Darren Criss) asks her to come in.  On the television, the news shows the attack on the school.  Justin asks if Iris is okay, because she “Looks like shit.”  The couple berates her for screwing up their order but admit the pate is good. (Meow!)  Justin complains about Drake’s hotel, the “ugly” wait staff among other non-hip things. The woman asks if Iris has “Alzheimer’s or something” then yelps, complaining how Iris almost cut her toe.  Iris takes the corkscrew and cuts the obnoxious woman’s throat.  Justin calls out lamely, “Help us!”  Iris soon shuts him up too with a knife to his back.  Iris rants as she kills, “You think the world didn’t exist before you were born!  You’ve never had to suffer, be gutted and scrape yourself off the floor! I MATTER!”  She proceeds to drink their entitled blood!

John wakes up next to Sally.  He is stunned, “How did you get in?”  Sally is upset he doesn’t remember how John “Practically dragged me up here.”  John sees flashes of the night they’ve shared, drinking, followed by sex in the elevator and in the hotel room.  He is ashamed, and asks her to leave.  Sally fumes, “Something real happened here! You remember, you can’t fight destiny!”

Iris and Liz wheel a cart down the hall.  Iris thanks Liz stating she feels “Deeply changed.” She wonders if she went too far.  Liz assures her she did the right thing, and helps load the couple down the “disposal chute.”  She shares the hipster’s wine with Liz, adding, “I never knew how to live until I died!”

Alex dresses carefully in black.  The Countess, dressed in white, brings her Holden. The Countess instructs Holden to “Give Mommy a kiss.” Holden hugs Alex, noting, “You’re just like me.” Alex savors the moment.  The Countess informs her she will serve as the children’s governess.  The Countess also threatens her relationship with Holden if she fails in her new duties.  Alex is worried that John will recognize the change in her. The Countess tells her not to worry about him.  Alex is instructed to put Holden to bed, and she protests they have just been reunited.  The Countess says, “You still don’t understand, you and Holden will now have forever.” Alex leads he son to his coffin, it’s now built for two and she is able to settle in besides her son and sleep…

I do have some questions about the episode but does logic really apply with American Horror Story.  The show seems to becoming more and more about the vampires and they are a bit dull.  The creation of the vampire class is troubling. When are folks going to learn what really happened at the school?  Where is the “creature?” And if Sally is a ghost, and having relations with John, is he a ghost as well?  What happened to the Ten Commandment killer is he even real or just the ghost of Mr. March running around Los Angeles committing new murders.  I’m sad Angela Bassett only had one scene this week; I’m ready for more “Foxy Romona!” So many questions, but it’s still a fun, campy and frustrating show.

Fargo Season 2 Episode 4, Fear and Trembling

An old fashioned truck cruises down an icy road; the radio speaks of President Truman authorizing the use of U.S. troops to assist in the fight against North Korea without going to Congress to declare war.  (A time stamp reveals it’s 1951, a year of heaviest causalities in the conflict which will affect the Gearhardt family.)  A boy and his father enter a movie theater; the picture is Moonbase Freedom starring Ronald Reagan. (Another Reagan reference as in the season opening.) Men in long coats check the man for weapons at the door.  A middle-aged Otto tells his son Dodd to “Be like the heads of Easter Island, not a sound!”  Otto speaks to a man who is likely the member of another crime family.  There is a power struggle between the families but Otto insists he doesn’t want the throne, just a seat at the table.  The man speaks about the science fiction movie and the plan of the U.S. government to go to the moon.  Dodd stares intensely at the movie screen where a U.F.O. has landed. The boss scoffs at Otto, “I’m the only one who sits, every one else is on the floor!”  A man points a gun to Otto’s head.  The other boss continues, “Stupid to bring your kid!” Otto replies, “He has to learn how men are..” Then little Dodd stabs crime boss in the back of the neck.  Otto goes to work on the man’s cronies, killing the rival’s men with a gun.

In the present day of the story, Dodd drives with his nephew Charlie down a similar lonely road. Dodd asks Charlie what his plans are for the future.  Charlie admits his father wants him to go to college to be a lawyer, but he’s more interested in joining the “Gearhardt family business.”  Charlie asks to demonstrate his shooting skills to his uncle.  They pull over and Charlie shows, despite his one useless arm, he can still shoot well with the other arm. His uncle is pleased.

Dodd and Charlie meet Joe Bulo’s men at a donut shop.  Dodd is a fighter not a talker and the meeting quickly goes south.  Dodd takes out a cattle prod to stun one of the men and lets Charlie punch the man twice as he holds him up.  High on his victory, Dodd orders some donuts and makes the Kansas City syndicate pay.

At the Gearhardt compound Floyd is readying to sit down with Joe Bulo. Hanzee drives alone. Betsy and Lou sit down with a new oncologist. The doctor mentions Nixon had declared “War on Cancer” and she may be eligible for clinical trial. Explaining how the “Xanadu” trial works isn’t exactly encouraging, Betsy’s chemo so far has not helped and there is chance she won’t receive the new medicine but a placebo. (Which the doctor compares to “Smarties.” Great!)

Hanzee drives his truck to Luverne.  Ed, wearing tube socks is “making the beast with two backs” with Peggy.  Ed is confident they have conceived during this session, but Peggy goes to the bathroom and takes her birth control.  Ed joins her in the bathroom, babbling on about his dreams of a bigger home, kids and buying the butcher shop.  He reminds her to “say no to the seminar” and the viewer gets an eyeful of his butt as he jumps into the shower. (Couldn’t we have seen Kristen’s butt instead!)?  Peggy complains she needs the seminar to “reach her full potential.”

Hanzee arrives at the Waffle Hut crime scene.  He goes inside and looks at the blood on the table and floor.  Outside, he follows the blood in the snow from the waitress. He looks at the tire marks in the snow and finds a piece of broken glass.  Hanzee holds the glass up to the light and looks up at the trees.  For a moment, he sees an otherworldly light and strange noises. (U.F.O. residual?) Hanzee gets back into his truck and makes a stop at the Auto Body Shop.  He finds the Blumquist’s car and matches the piece of glass to their car’s broken taillight.  A young mechanic confronts him and tells him he “can’t be in here.”  Hanzee finds the registration in the glove box and pulls a knife on the young “Sonny.”  Sonny tries to intimidate him by saying how he was in ‘Nam and they used to call him “Mad Dog.” (A crazy lie!) Hanzee asks him pointedly, “Do you miss it?”  Hanzee tells Sonny about his experience in Vietnam, working the tunnels and killing the enemy. Karl interrupts this discussion and asks Sonny if there is a problem. Sonny replies he doesn’t know.  Hanzee, seeing a gun on Karl, takes his leave.  Sonny tells Karl, “He seemed angry!”  Karl tells him to call the sheriff.

The bedsprings are getting a workout at a local motel.  The Kitchen brothers sit playing cards.  Mike and Simone are the couple making the noise in the next room. Simone asks for cocaine and whines about being too young to experience the sixties. “I could have woken up one day and named myself Flower-Rain-Blossom!”  Mike says the seventies were always coming and “Flower-Rain-Blossom is on methadone in Bismark turning tricks for breakfast meat!” (Mike has the best lines of the show.) Simone continues to wax nostalgic but admits to Mike, “You probably have got to kill my dad!”  Mike deduces Rye has shot the judge and is hiding out somewhere.  Simone is confident Floyd will compromise with Kansas City.  She lets Mike know her grandfather is going to the doctor today and Mike is interested in the details.

Lou helps Betsy out of the car.  He tells her he’s thinking of taking Molly ice-fishing that weekend.  Betsy reminds him to bring real food and not just beef jerky.  She adds, “She’s six and a girl, you’re going to have to learn this stuff.”  She knows she’s dying from cancer and is trying to ready Lou to become a single parent to Molly.  It’s a heartbreaking sentiment that she’s accepted her disease and death while Lou remains willfully ignorant.

Lou meets Hank at the Auto Body shop.  He tells Betsy’s father about her participation in the clinical trial before addressing the matter at hand.  Sonny relates Hanzee was looking at the Blumquist’s car.  Lou recalls Ed’s strange behavior that night at the butcher shop.  Lou feels certain the car and the Waffle Hut murders are related.

Dramatic religious music plays as the Gearhardt’s and Kansas City meet at the hotel. Floyd sits across from Joe Bulo. She asks where Mike is and Joe lies and tells her he is “running errands in Kansas City.”  Floyd offers a compromise deal, which will give Kansas City a “partnership not a sale.”  Floyd knows they may perceive her as an old woman with a weak back and stomach but she assures them she’s tough.  She tells them Otto would have killed them during their first meeting.  Joe brings up the incident at the donut shop, where Dodd attacked two of his men.  He asks Floyd to guarantee the “boys will abide.”  She assures him she can control her sons but this upsets Dodd and she orders him out of the meeting.  Joe makes it clear he doesn’t trust Dodd.

Otto Gearhardt is leaving his doctor’s appointment.  The driver curses to discover another car has parked too close for him to load the wheelchair bound Otto into the car.   Another car pulls around from the back of the building.  Suddenly, the driver is shot, and the two other of Gearhardt’s guards.  Mike exits the building and shoots another woman.  Mike walks up to Otto and says, “Joe Bulo says ‘hi!’”  The old man is left alive but without a way home.

At the meeting, Joe informs Floyd that the price they had offered has dropped by three million dollars.  They have twenty-four hours to accept these new terms and anything less than complete surrender will mean all out war.

Bud the butcher asks Ed where he was yesterday. (Creating an alibi with the car.) Ed is wearing a neck brace and explains he had an accident.  Bud tells him his down payment check to buy the shop has bounced.  He has had another offer from a man up in Sleepy Eye who wants to be closer to his family. Bud gives Ed an ultimatum, get the money to him by Friday or he’ll sell to the other party.  Ed goes to leave the shop, Bud reports the meat grinder is making funny noises. (Too much Rye!)

Ed marches over to Peggy’s salon and they speak together in the alley. At first, she is concerned something has gone wrong with the “accident” and murder cover-up.  Ed reveals he is upset Peggy spent the money on the seminar after he had told her she couldn’t go.  Peggy sees it differently, “I talked and you talked.”  But she didn’t feel he had listened to her reasons for going to the seminar.  Hanzee drives past slowly looking intensely at the couple.  Ed demands Peggy “get the money back or we’re screwed!”

Peggy returns to the salon and Constance confirms her check has already been sent for the seminar.  She asks Peggy to “look in the mirror.”  She convinces Peggy that no man should tell her what to do.  She makes Peggy say, “NO MORE!” (Pronounced naw-maaweer) to letting others run her life for her. (But, isn’t the seminar just people taking her money and telling her how to live her life, and isn’t Constance bullying her too!) Peggy smiles at herself in the mirror. No way Ed will be getting that money back for the butcher shop.

A melancholic opera plays as Floyd and her sons drive home from the meeting.  Dodd rests his head on his mother’s shoulder and cries.  Does he regret his actions or are they just sharing a tender moment before the storm?

Hanzee enters the Blumquist’s garage.  He sees a stain on the floor and tastes it, then looks up at the bottle of bleach Ed used to clean up Rye’s blood. Hanzee enters the home and kneels by the fireplace. He reaches inside to extract Rye’s charred belt-buckle. (I knew that belt buckle would remain and incriminate them!) A car approaches the home and Hanzee casually walks out the back. It’s not the Blumquists, but Lou. Lou waits outside on the front porch.

When the Blumquist’s return, Ed says, “What the heck?” when he sees the law waiting on the porch. Lou tells Ed, “You have to invite me in!”  They do, as nervous as turkeys in November. Lou states he saw their car at the Auto Body shop.  Ed repeats the lie about how he slipped on some ice.  Ed notices the fireplace screen is misplaced and possibly Lou see it too.  Lou asks if he looks inside the car, would he find blood? Lou asks if Ed was in Vietnam to which he says no due to a medical condition. Lou says, “Sometimes, we’d see a guy whose been mortally wounded, but his brain hasn’t had time to register the pain. The guy will ask if he’s going to be okay and people lie and say, “You’re going to be fine.” If you had been to war, you’d know that look.  You and Peggy have got that look!”

  

Lou explains, the man they hit was Rye Gearhardt, whose family hurts people for money, and they will be coming for them. Lou says if they confess now, maybe they can fix things but the window is closing very rapidly.  Peggy stands up and tells Lou he’s out of line and he should leave.  Lou turns to Ed who confirms, “It’s probably best.”  Lou sighs as he gets up and implores the couple lock their doors.

Otto has made it back to the Gearhardt home.  Floyd holds his stiff body.  Bear comes to the door, asking her what she has decided.  She kisses Otto, and rises from bed. She tells her son, “It’s war!”

Betsy stares at a pill bottle containing the trial drug.  Lou is outside, tying knots in an old rope.  He tells her he thinks she got the “real” drug. Betsy shrugs, “Do you think that or just hope?”  Lou explains he feels the whole world is out of balance, he says he’s going to stay out here and make sure we’re safe.  Betsy kisses him goodnight and goes inside.  A sweet Irish dirge about murder plays over the closing credits.

This episode was fairly straightforward, the lines have been drawn and war is coming to Fargo and Luverne.  The preview for next week features Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign bus and more problems for Peggy and Ed.  Lou seems very close to solving the Waffle Hut murders, but there may be no one left standing to be brought to justice after the Kansas City/Gearhardt war. What do we make of Dodd’s flashback at the movie theater? Is it to show he didn’t choose the Gearhardt family but has had to be obedient? If Kansas City has decided bloodshed, Dodd will need to lead the family into a bloody battle.