I’ve got to start this now or I’m going to forget at least one of my questions.
Lester snuck out of the hospital, went to his house and picked up the hammer and dropped it at Chaz’s house.
Let’s stop there. Why not just ditch it. He could have just thrown it in a garbage somewhere and it never would have been seen again, but he decided to put it with the (Chekhov’s) gun (yes, that needed to be said). He also put something else in there.
I suppose he could be framing Chaz. I wouldn’t expect that, but it’s possible. Of course, I don’t think that’s a good way to do it. I think Chaz probably admires and shows off that gun often enough that he’ll see the hammer soon.
Then, he grabbed a revolver, went upstairs and put it in the kid’s backpack. Was he planning to take it and changed his mind or did I miss something and that was the plan all along?
Also, WRT the plagues, I wonder if the fish are subbing in for the frogs, the flies or the ‘rain of fire’. Other wise it was just a goofy way to get to kill his first born son.
Did anyone see the little piece of paper that was so neatly sitting on top of the telephone pole that was laying across his SUV? I checked a few times and it’s not readable, but it’s pretty specifically put there, must mean something.
Was I the only one thinking that Mr-Through-The-Hole-In-The-Ice-From-A-Few-Episodes-Back was somehow going to be the punchline to the opening fish cleaning/cooking/eating sequence?
I see that there are four more episodes. I could not figure out how Numbers and Wrench caught up with Malvo unless they already knew him. Why didn’t Malvo try to pick up the money? And what is with the fish storm in the blizzard?
I think Lester’s plan is:
Kid gets caught with gun at school.
Police come to house to investigate why kid was able to bring gun to school.
While inspecting the brother’s gun cabinet they discover the hammer and Lester’s wife’s panties.
Lester’s brother is then framed for the murder.
And other than the kid seeing Lester at the house, Lester has an airtight alibi. Chaz has been a big dick at many turns to Lester, but hardly deserving of being framed.
I had a nagging sense that Fargo was jumping the shark with this episode or at least taking a run-up towards it. It threw so much at us I found myself struggling to maintain my willing suspension of disbelief. I could well be wrong, I need to view the episode again, digest it a little more.
I don’t care if they were Siamese triplets who were only separated from him last month, there’s no way they could have known where he’d be. Even if they knew the name he was using and the car he was driving, both of which are unlikely, he had just come from the personal trainer’s house, and was on his way to the money drop, and they had no way of knowing either of those things.
He clearly intended to – he told the trainer that he was setting him up to keep the police too busy to respond if Stavros called the cops. But he had to deal with Numbers and Wrench. Note that we don’t know what happened to either Wrench or Malvo yet.
Beats me. I thought all the lakes were frozen solid.
The other glitch is if Chaz make’s it home to check the cabinet first. He’ll find the hammer and even if he doesn’t know what it is or why it’s there, he’ll probably be smart enough to move it. Hell, just because the kid brought the gun to school doesn’t mean the cops get to search the owners house.
Wow, that was a really good and really dark episode. I knew that the trainer would die eventually, but I was not imagining it would be anything like that. That was one of the horrifying scenes I’ve seen on TV in a while, considering how he was trapped, and he could see the pieces being put in place, and could do nothing about it.
Also, if Molly is dead I will be so upset. She’s a great character. Also the only main female character of the cast. I do look forward to seeing the actress in other things in the future. If Molly is dead, I don’t know who could take down Malvo, or if anyone will. Maybe he’ll be like Anton Chigurh and not be caught.
Well the other plagues were from Malvo, this one was from God. It was a goofy way of killing the son. The AV Club says this about the rain of fish:
I wonder if we’ll see follow up with Stavros now or if his story is over. I missed the piece of paper, hopefully someone on the internet has been able to read it and will post somewhere.
Oh, I was certain that there was going to be a finger or something in the fish. But I guess instead it was to bookend the episode- with fish being prepared in the beginning, and fish falling from the sky at the end.
I agree with Accidental Martyr’s summary of the plan, and your suggestion of possible glitches. But even if the brother finds the hammer and is smart enough to move it, I don’t know if he’s smart enough to put it somewhere the cops don’t find it. Or would it even occur to him that Lester was setting him up? Anything could happen, it’s impossible to predict with this show.
I was also wondering about the gun in the kid’s bag. I would think at most schools the kid would get in trouble, possibly suspended or expelled, and the parents would be brought it and talked to, but that the house wouldn’t be searched.
But don’t forget that this isn’t the first time that Lester has tried to set someone up for his wife’s murder. His plan to setup Malvo fell apart pretty quickly, and it’s very possible this one will too.
His escape from his hospital room, stealing the car, setting things up, and getting back pretty much unnoticed was highly implausible, but the show is in a heightened reality so I can go along with it.
Here’s a relevant link: Can It Really Rain Fish? Although it doesn’t address whether it’s possible in the middle of winter in Minnesota, during a blizzard.
I caught the photos and panties but somehow missed the hammer. (Is that what he pulled out of the hole in the wall from behind the poster?) So planting the gun didn’t make sense to me because I thought he was somehow trying to frame his brother for shooting his wife. It makes more sense now.
I knew as soon as Gus and Molly got separated in the blizzard, that he was going to shoot her thinking she was someone else. I hope she’s not a goner.
Lester is also assuming that the parents or kid won’t find the gun in the backpack before he goes to school. There’s also the possibility that no one at school will find out he has the gun.
Yeah, the hammer was in the hole in the wall, wrapped in plastic.
If they find the gun before the kid goes to school, or no one finds it when the kid is at school, then Lester isn’t any worse off than he was before. Before he’s released from the hospital he’ll probably have to talk to the cops and could say something about his brother acting weird around Lester’s wife. It’s definitely not a perfect plan, but still pretty good. Lester reminds me a lot of Walter White in various ways, including in his ability to improvise once he’s in a tight spot.
I’d agree that Lester’s plan is full of holes, but I’d also say that’s not surprising given that it’s a plan thought up by Lester.
Speaking of which — and I know it’s ridiculous to overthink a show like this — I’d assumed that the basement wall was concrete, given that Lester knocked himself unconscious by running into it (three times, judging by the blood on the poster). Is it even possible to get knocked out by hitting your head on drywall? Never mind without making a (second) whole in it.
In all, I thought this episode was less funny, less fun, darker, and more disturbing than any of the previous five. Not the Fargo I’ve been enjoying.
I’m sure it’s possible. But do we know that he was, for sure, knocked out?
Also, we’re working on the assumption that his head put the hole in the wall. He could have hit a stud and later punched a whole in the wall to hide the tools…which would be dumb since the cops would probably take the poster for testing to see who’s blood was on it.
Furthermore, his head could have hit the drywall gone through it and hit the foundation. That would take a hell of a running start, but if you have a dead wife and a dead sheriff, you might have the motivation.
I think he was smiling because he managed to pull of that little caper without getting caught. Also, he’s now implicated his brother, who earlier basically accused him of not being human.
I’m hoping Molly pulls through too. She’s the best part of the show besides Malvo.
As for the fish raining out of the sky, I have a suspicion we’ll see a flashback showing the Japanese sushi guys tossing a bit too much dynamite into a hole in the frozen lake while blast fishing (or something like it). One of these crazy ironic coincidences that are common enough in the Coen Bros. universe.