# Fargo S01E02 \[Open spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2014, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696 "2014-04-22T17:05:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/21 "2014-04-24T14:37:48Z")
Sure, I think the female cop wants to talk to him about the pellet. ‘hero’ was probably the wrong word. There would have been no choice for Lester if he and his wife had been taken into the basement and the guy wass pointing the gun … ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/22 "2014-04-24T15:36:52Z")
> [@BrokenBriton](#): > > Sure, I think the female cop wants to talk to him about the pellet. I don’t think she’s noticed it yet, but it’ll make it’s way back to her. They’ve even made a point of showing Lester on his knees with his hands up and Malvo behind him. They made sure the audience knows where the wound came from. I think she’ll see it soon since they’ve made it so obvious and they’ve made _such_ a big deal about it. The phone call, on the other hand, they’ve kept that quiet. That, I don’t think will come into play until much later. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/23 "2014-04-24T16:58:07Z")
Didn’t Lester’s brother offer to take him hunting? Maybe he’ll try to explain the pellet wound by saying it was from a ricochet during a hunting accident. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/24 "2014-04-24T17:07:31Z")
The pellet would would wasn’t very noticeable when he was in the hospital bed, but when he removed the band-aid to examine it last night it looked quite a bit worse. He’s going to have to go somewhere to have it tended and the pellet removed. Not to the same local ER with the observant medical technician if he’s smart. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/25 "2014-04-24T17:17:32Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > The pellet would would wasn’t very noticeable when he was in the hospital bed, but when he removed the band-aid to examine it last night it looked quite a bit worse. He’s going to have to go somewhere to have it tended and the pellet removed. Not to the same local ER with the observant medical technician if he’s smart. I don’t work at a hospital, haven’t had to visit the hospital much, so I don’t exactly know what the procedure is. But when Lester is brought in unconscious, wouldn’t they have looked him all over for wounds? Wouldn’t someone have noticed it then? His head wound would be most urgent and the first taken care of, but I would think after that they give him an overall look to see if there were any other wounds from self-defense or from falling that needed to be taken care of. Maybe a nurse bandaged it without noticing that there was a pellet in there, or noticed there was a pellet but was too busy or forgot to tell police about it. It’s not a major issue, but it made me wonder while I was watching the episode. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/26 "2014-04-24T17:22:28Z")
Yep, it would be on his hospital record. It may not be a major issue now, but it must surely become one. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/27 "2014-04-24T18:36:41Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …Why was Malvo listening to the tape of Lester’s call? Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/28 "2014-04-24T19:22:32Z")
The only thing I can think of is that Malvo will use it in the future to get something from Lester; perhaps assistance in disposing of a body or something. However, given Malvo’s obvious joy from causing havoc for its own sake, he may just be trying to develop a scheme that has maximum entertainment value for him. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/29 "2014-04-24T19:26:58Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Why was Malvo listening to the tape of Lester’s call? Maybe he’s realizing that Lester intended to kill him, and blame him for his wife’s death. Although the countryside is frozen, I don’t think he’s the type to let it go. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/30 "2014-04-24T19:42:44Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Did he say that she was next in line or just that she’ll make a great chief someday. I got that he implied she’d be chief, I just don’t recall if he said she’d be his successor. Of course, he was probably planning to be chief for more then a few more hours and she really isn’t ready, just because she made a few good guesses on a current case. I didn’t tape it, but I just looked up the subtitles, and here’s the sequence: * * * 674 00:37:13,456 –\> 00:37:15,924 You’ll make a good chief one day. 675 00:37:15,992 –\> 00:37:18,239 Me? 676 00:37:18,242 –\> 00:37:20,844 What about Bill? He’s got seniority. 677 00:37:20,911 –\> 00:37:24,514 Bill cleans his gun with bubble bath. 678 00:37:24,582 –\> 00:37:25,882 No, it’ll be you. * * * So unless he’s never done any written performance evaluations, she should have been next in line. But my main question was whether I missed any exposition about it, and apparently I didn’t. It’s fairly far down the list of odd things that have occurred without explanation in the first two episodes, so I’m not going to worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/31 "2014-04-24T19:43:01Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Maybe he’s realizing that Lester intended to kill him, and blame him for his wife’s death. Although the countryside is frozen, I don’t think he’s the type to let it go. I think Malvo is just proud of his handywork…and that if Malvo gets fingered for this, he has an easy win in court. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/32 "2014-04-24T19:49:29Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > It’s fairly far down the list of odd things that have occurred without explanation in the first two episodes, so I’m not going to worry about it. fwiw, I can’t see anything odd. The conversation happened so we - the audience - understood the boss thought she was brigher than the guy next in line, and also that she knew it as well. The word here could be ‘protege’. The fact the guy next in line got the job is not odd given her ‘sponsor’ is dead and unable to recommend her. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/33 "2014-04-24T20:31:39Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Why was Malvo listening to the tape of Lester’s call? I think it’s Malvo causing havoc for its own sake like \*\*Raza \*\*is guessing. He obviously enjoys doing so, and the tapes are ways to reminisce about trouble he’s caused. > [@TonySinclair](#): > > Maybe he’s realizing that Lester intended to kill him, and blame him for his wife’s death. Although the countryside is frozen, I don’t think he’s the type to let it go. I didn’t get that at all. Were we shown anything to indicate that Lester planned on killing him? Lester might plan on killing someone later as things get worse and worse for him, but I definitely don’t see him as someone who could plan on killing someone yet, especially someone who’s basically a stranger who Lester knows is dangerous. I think Lester called him just out of pure panic, and knowing that there was no one else he could call. Malvo had recorded the call since he records calls that might be interesting or of use, and was listening to it for amusement. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/34 "2014-04-24T20:38:43Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > I think it’s Malvo causing havoc for its own sake like \*\*Raza \*\*is guessing. He obviously enjoys doing so, and the tapes are ways to reminisce about trouble he’s caused. > > I didn’t get that at all. Were we shown anything to indicate that Lester planned on killing him? Lester might plan on killing someone later as things get worse and worse for him, but I definitely don’t see him as someone who could plan on killing someone yet, especially someone who’s basically a stranger who Lester knows is dangerous. > > I think Lester called him just out of pure panic, and knowing that there was no one else he could call. Malvo had recorded the call since he records calls that might be interesting or of use, and was listening to it for amusement. Lesterr got the Shotgun - loaded it - and practiced opening the front door and aiming it - he clearly intended ‘something’ with malvo and the gun - then the sherriff showed up - and well - crap happened. The wife looked up while he was practicing and said “I bet he shoots the sheriff…” My response? but he will not shoot the deputy! well, we thought it was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/35 "2014-04-24T21:04:33Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Lesterr got the Shotgun - loaded it - and practiced opening the front door and aiming it - he clearly intended ‘something’ with malvo and the gun - then the sherriff showed up - and well - crap happened. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I’ll need to watch that part again, I was a little confused about what his plan was and where the shotgun was, then I guess I forgot about that once everything else happened. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/36 "2014-04-24T21:09:25Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Someone here at work just walked by and asked me just where Billy Bob Thornton went when he appeared to go down into the basement last week, and I had to answer that I really didn’t know. I wonder if they’ll clear that up this week. Basement windows are visible in several shots in the first episode. They looked quite a bit larger than the ones I’m familiar with, certainly big enough for Billy Bob to climb out. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/37 "2014-04-24T21:13:47Z")
I’d forgotten about Lester and the shotgun too. Maybe there’s more to that character than meets the eye. So now Malvo thinks Lester was trying to set him up? Which he probably was. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/38 "2014-04-24T22:32:14Z")
yes, he was practicing to shoot malvo, when vern arrived. he put the gun down and away, and answered the door. vern noticed the blood trail, then malvo shot him. this week i loved the line about the foot in the toaster oven. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/39 "2014-04-24T22:49:17Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Lesterr got the Shotgun - loaded it - and practiced opening the front door and aiming it - he clearly intended ‘something’ with malvo and the gun He was going to Malvo to take care of the body, then shoot him, then call the cops. The cops would come over, he was going to say “I found this guy in the basement hitting my wife in the head with a hammer, I got my hunting shotgun, loaded it, killed him.” Or some other somewhat similar story, but basically framing Malvo for killing his wife. In that podunk town with Duputy ‘just call Saul’ working the case, he’d probably be in the clear. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696/40 "2014-04-25T02:15:32Z")
So Malvo listening to the taped phone call – it served two purposes. It reminded us that Lester had planned to set Malvo up, and showed us that Malvo hadn’t forgotten that. So even though he’s in Duluth, he has unfinished business in Bemidji. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s01e02-open-spoilers/686696.md?page=3)