# Fargo S1E10--Final Episode \[Open spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2014, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038 "2014-06-18T04:47:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/81 "2014-06-19T15:15:48Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Right. Malvo was a threat to his family. He had arrested him before, and all he got for it was scorn and derision, from his fellow cops as well as from Malvo. So this time, he went to Plan B. I’m not a lawyer but I doubt the ‘police incompetence demanded vigilantism’ plea will hold up in court. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/82 "2014-06-19T15:31:38Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I’m not a lawyer but I doubt the ‘police incompetence demanded vigilantism’ plea will hold up in court. Police incompetence would most likely prevent any court action happening. The entire force was looking for Malvo and was convinced that he was extremely dangerous. They even locked up the police station for fear that he would show up. They believed that he killed one of their own and numerous others in their town and Las Vegas. I doubt that they would even take the time to figure out all of the particulars about the last minutes of Malvo’s life. Throw in the additional evidence discovered after the fact (the tapes / two dead FBI guys at Lester’s house where the bear trap obviously chewed up Malvo’s leg) and it’s pretty easy to see that all of the cops we’re relieved that they didn’t have to face Malvo. I suspect only one of the cops would even try to figure out what went down and she was married to guy who shot Malvo. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/83 "2014-06-19T15:42:16Z")
Where did Gus get the gun? I doubt if mail carriers usually have one in their cars. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/84 "2014-06-19T15:43:41Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > Yep, he dragged them behind the woodpile in the backyard. Was anybody else expecting to see a chipper next to the pile? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/85 "2014-06-19T15:51:42Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I’m not a lawyer but I doubt the ‘police incompetence demanded vigilantism’ plea will hold up in court. Many people seem to be missing the point that a case won’t go to court unless someone decides to prosecute it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/86 "2014-06-19T15:55:26Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Where did Gus get the gun? I doubt if mail carriers usually have one in their cars. It’s not hard to imagine that it was his personal weapon. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/87 "2014-06-19T16:13:04Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Where did Gus get the gun? I doubt if mail carriers usually have one in their cars. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s not hard to imagine that it was his personal weapon. It’s likely his, he was a cop. But keep in mind that his wife is a deputy and his FIL is an ex-cop. I’d guess that there’s plenty of guns in the house. Hell, the kid had a BB gun that she seemed pretty comfortable with, though she did have it pointing right at Grandpa at one point. Also, they live in a rural enough area that guns aren’t thought of as scary like they are in other places. Also, even if he didn’t carry one on his route, he was scared for his life when he was on his way to see Molly so it’s possible he grabbed it specifically for protection against Malvo in this case. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/88 "2014-06-19T16:19:46Z")
Because Gus was a good post man he noticed different car, the red BMW, in the driveway on his route. And for you guys who don’t think that Gus was a good cop, he was the best of the bunch in Duluth. I think he went into the house and found one of Malvo’s many guns. Malvo’s mistake, he doesn’t make many, was not noticing it was missing. Notice how the deer in the first episode sent Malvo to the hospital. Notice how the wolf pointed Gus to the right house and how the wolf looked in on Malvo prior to Malvo trying to set the leg. Nature itself was trying to kill Malvo. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/89 "2014-06-19T16:20:33Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > But it was pretty clear that there WAS no evidence, just Molly’s suspicion. And it was also clear that the incompetent police force wasn’t able to deal with evidence anyhow… Right, as I posted before, Molly had a great hunch, but crappy evidence against Lester. And honestly, Gus did the right thing. Call in the Police? That bunch of donut-eating ticket writing locals who even their Chief said couldn’t shoot a tin can off a fence post? Malvo would eat them like cornflakes. No, Gus did the right thing, the _only thing_. Anything else would risk the lives of more cops- not to mention Molly, his daughter and his father-in-law. Gus got the gun from the bag of guns Malvo had. If Gus had tried to arrest Malvo that first time, we’d just have a dead Gus. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/90 "2014-06-19T16:24:33Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Because Gus was a good post man he noticed different car, the red BMW, in the driveway on his route. I’m pretty sure that he heard the announcement that Malvo was seen driving a red BMW. So it wasn’t just the presence of a strange car in front of that house, but specifically the red BMW. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/91 "2014-06-19T17:20:57Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Just to nitpick, remember this is set in Jan 2006. I doubt a small town middle aged man would have had a facebook profile up. [googling]Facebook wasn’t opened to the general public until Sept 2006.[/googling] eta: For some reason I thought Malvo heard Gus’ daughter on their personal walkie talkie. Not sure if I am remembering right though. MySpace, then? ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/92 "2014-06-19T17:42:00Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > And for you guys who don’t think that Gus was a good cop, he was the best of the bunch in Duluth. > > I think he went into the house and found one of Malvo’s many guns. Malvo’s mistake, he doesn’t make many, was not noticing it was missing. Did we see enough of the Duluth cops in action to make that judgement? I thougt it was mostly him and the chief, with the others as background. In Malvo’s defense, He can limping in with a broken leg, dumped his stuff, grabbed the medical bag and set the bone. I don’t know if he would have noticed much out of his direct line of sight. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/93 "2014-06-19T18:03:43Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > It was way too early in the morning, sue me. Sometimes you \*do \*make it all too easy not to read your posts, you know. (Example: Was that really worth five sentences?) > > Nothing. It wouldn’t matter whatsoever that the tapes are what led them to a defendant. And who really cares whether or not the tapes were admissible (they probably would be), and who really cares what would happen at any subsequent resulting trials? I was just mentioning it as another loose end that we can all have fun speculating about what happened. But I’m over it. The tapes would only be admissible if Malvo were alive to testify as to when and how they were made. With him dead, the tapes are dead also. No way to legally authenticate them. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/94 "2014-06-19T18:49:12Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > The tapes would only be admissible if Malvo were alive to testify as to when and how they were made. With him dead, the tapes are dead also. No way to legally authenticate them. Doesn’t really matter that much, few cases ever go to trial. Just bring someone in, play the tape, offer a plea bargain, and _viola_! Not to mention they could put detectives on the trail. Know who committed a murder is critical, gathering evidence is much easier after that. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/95 "2014-06-19T19:51:45Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Many people seem to be missing the point that a case won’t go to court unless someone decides to prosecute it. I can’t help wishing that the “this is a true story” bit were actually the case–we could look up what happened to Gus. But there must be some statistics on legal-system responses to vigilante actions; when I have some time I plan to take a look. Fiction \*loves \*vigilantes, of course–but real life tends to display a bit of skepticism about the value of taking the law into one’s own hands. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > I … the kid had a BB gun that she seemed pretty comfortable with, though she did have it pointing right at Grandpa at one point… I noticed that, too, and wondered if a point were being made (versus it being an accident of filming). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/96 "2014-06-19T23:03:07Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > The tapes would only be admissible if Malvo were alive to testify as to when and how they were made. With him dead, the tapes are dead also. No way to legally authenticate them. They are an admission against interest by all the parties on them. I would think. Maybe a criminal lawyer would be of some assistance here, but I would certainly expect to be able to get it in against Lester in a civil wrongful death suit. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/97 "2014-06-19T23:03:31Z")
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/98 "2014-06-20T00:26:54Z")
Do we know for sure it was a bb gun? Maybe it was a 22 rifle which would have been more typical for someone her age in Minnesota ---
**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:** [June 20, 2014, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/99 "2014-06-20T00:42:11Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > Do we know for sure it was a bb gun? Maybe it was a 22 rifle which would have been more typical for someone her age in Minnesota A .22 would do a lot more than ‘put his eye out’. Living in a rural area and having all those cops in her life, I’m sure she’s done some plinking, but she said "I’ll put his eye you, you can finish him off’. Even if it was a .22, would it make a difference? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038/100 "2014-06-20T00:44:11Z")
Well that was a little disappointing, specially Lester’s fate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s1e10-final-episode-open-spoilers/691038.md?page=6)