She certainly does appear to be quick on her feet … sometimes …** however **… consider the sequence of events:
The police ask him why he switched his departure flight from a later flight to an early one.
His wife appears quick on her feet and she cuts Lester off and answers saying it was her decision because she was homesick. She also said the following two things about Vegas:
Her favorite thing about Vegas was all the fountains.
She swooned when she said that you can gamble at the airport in Vegas.
Does that seem like someone who is very bright? At best, she seems dubious to me.
Later on in that interview, Molly explains the Vegas P.D. will be sending some pictures from the security camera and she tells the couple not to leave town. Lester’s wife then begins to tell her that is a shame because they were just planning to leave town. Lester had to put his arm on her shoulder and give her a squeeze or some other signal to let her know to be quiet.
Does that seem like someone who is very bright? It seems highly questionable to me. I don’t think she is at all very savvy - especially not when it comes to keeping Lester out of jail.
All things considered, I would conclude that Lester’s wife is very loving and loyal to him but she is definitely not very smart or savvy when it comes to keeping her husband out of jail. If I were Lester, I would want to tell her that when the police ask questions, she should just keep her mouth shut or let me answer all the questions.
Lester’s wife may be very nice and supportive. But she is definitely a little short on smarts. When it comes to keeping Lester out of jail, she is not too bright at all.
I hope you can understand why Lester would put her in harm’s way and let Malvo kill her. She was a big problem that Lester chose to eliminate from his life.
Judging from Lester’s reaction, he genuinely did not want to see his wife get killed. But as Hajario has said, I think he definitely preferred for her to get killed instead of him.
Lester did not really love her so much as he took advantage of her naivety.
I’m of the mind that Solvenson knew what kind of man Malvo is and didn’t give him a thing. Solvenson also wasn’t scared of with the veiled threats like Gus was.
Loving the Shakespeare quotes. The Aaron speech being one of my favourites. Here’s an early Richard III.
Why, I can smile, and murder while I smile,
And cry, ‘Content,’ to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions.
I’ll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall; 190
I’ll slay more gazers than the basilisk;
I’ll play the orator as well as Nestor,
Deceive more slily than Ulysses could,
And, like a Sinon, take another Troy.
I can add colours to the chameleon, 195
Change shapes with Proteus for advantages,
And set the murd’rous Machiavel to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut! were it further off, I’ll pluck it down.
Another villian of almost “superhuman” proportions. It could quite easily come from Malvo.
I don’t get the posters who seem to be hung up on the unlikelihood of such characters and situations. These are stock characters exaggerated to the nth degree. A suspension of disbelief is required, as long as our suspension of disbelief is not taken advantage of by the writers. Add a hint of paranormal or fate and im willing to be hoodwinked by the show. Everything else about Fargo is so good.
I’m pretty sure it’s Solverson, not Solvenson. Anyhow Lou (Molly’s dad, played by Keith Carradine) definitely picked up on Malvo; at least that he was creepy if not that he was full-fledged evil.
I wondered initially why Lester took the orange parka. I thought perhaps he was reverting to his wimp persona, but it was actually part of his plan.
By the way, why was Gus checking Molly’s chart? Is he going to get involved in the investigation again?
Remember the scene near the end of this episode when Gus was delivering some mail and Malvo drove by in that red car?
My guess is that Gus recognized Malvo or thought it might have been Malvo and Gus found a new determination of a husband and new father. He decided he would kill Malvo rather than let him hurt his wife or new child. I think he decided that he would rather kill Malvo and go to jail if necessary before he would allow Malvo to harm Molly or her new child or Gus daughter. I think most any father would feel the same way.
As a matter of fact, I think that is the final explanation. That is how this will end. Gus will kill Malvo to protect Molly and her unborn child.
Thank you for posting that Dewey. I believe you have hit on the way this next episode will end. I could be wrong, of course, but at this point I would bet dollars to donuts that is how the finale will turn out. Malvo will either threaten Molly or her unborn child and Gus will kill Malvo and be redeemed for his previous shortcomings and mistakes. In fact, this episode could be called, “The Gus Shank Redemption” (if Gus uses a knife to kill Malvo).
I just hope there is some kind of battle and Bill the Moron is killed in the crossfire.
I found it odd that Lester was obviously setting his up his wife when he sent her into the office, yet seemed genuinely shocked when Malvo shot her.
The scene in the coffee shop was really well done. I was prepared for some serious shit-hitting-the-fan convergence of events but Malvo slipped away as the others were showing up.
Also, I don’t know if it has been mentioned in any previous threads, but it occurred to me the other day where I had heard the name Malvo before: Lee Boyd Malvo was the younger of the two men convicted in the D.C. sniper shootings back in 2002.
To be fair, she doesn’t know that he killed his wife, that he’s connected with Malvo, that he just witnessed three people get killed in Vegas etc. All she knows is that they rushed out of the hotel and now a cop is poking around. Dumb 'ol Lester is in some kinda trouble and she’ll do what she can, but she has no idea how deep it goes.
We have no idea how she would act if he had said, for example, “I just saw three people get killed in the elevator, I hit the guy on the head and ran GO GO GO!!!” Maybe if he later said that he knew the murderer was ‘someone from his past’ she would have had more then 1 second to react. But it’s all moot now.
I thought that too at first, then I remembered that this isn’t the first reference he’s made to the Old Testament. Releasing the plagues on Phoenix Foods was another nod.
I don’t think he was hoping she’d be killed. More like he callously used her to save his own life in case Malvo laying in wait (which he was). Like sending the cannon fodder to clear a minefield. IMHO, the shocked reaction was more of a realization that Malvo is, in fact out to kill him, coupled with a bit of “have I sunk so low?” self pity.
I don’t know if Lester was thinking the same as I was, but when I saw the light on in the office, I just assumed that Malvo was in there. Also, Lester very, very clearly dressed her up to look like him. “Here honey, put this [my] coat on…put your hood up”.
Of course, if the writers really wanted to rub that in our faces in it they would have shown us that Lester already had the passports, the he was just sending her on suicide mission (if he was there). Of course, if he had the passports, they would have just left, but I think we’ll find out next week that he won’t make it through airport security. Molly or the FBI guys will be smart enough to alert them.
Another reason I suspect Malvo of having supernatural powers is the guy looks to be about 50, and yet without glasses (contacts maybe, but still) he recognizes the face of Gus in a 5 x 8 photo of the bride and groom from 8 feet away. Gus’ face is less than an inch in height. With my glasses on and vision corrected to far better than 20/20 I could not possibly do that. That isn’t the way vision works. Perhaps the writers don’t know that, but hey.
I’m thinking he is some sort of supernatural being limited somehow in what he can do. The fish storm was just way too freaky.
Anyone else think that Malvo isn’t a great businessman? He’s apparently one of the top hitmen in the business, and he’s already invested 6 months of hard work in a scheme to collect only $100K? A heckuva lot of risk and work for a relatively small payout.
What I don’t get is why he felt the need to kill all the people in the elevator just because Lester showed up. There’s no reason that he couldn’t have said “Could you guys just excuse me for a minute” and walked to another part of the bar to find out what Lester wants and send him on his way. Lester would have been happy, he would have told his three friends some story about who that guy was and everyone would have been alive. Lester had not blown Malvo’s cover at that point. Hell, Lester hadn’t blown his cover in the elevator either. Malvo blew Malvo’s cover when he started asking Lester questions and his friends saw his facade cracking…holy shit, Malvo was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. That’s not only another biblical reference, but a trying to get a fox and sheep across the river is how I’ve always heard the puzzle. I don’t know how exactly that all plays in, but I’m guessing it’s related.
This was my main question as well. I’m guessing that logically, he knew what he was doing, but to actually see your wife get shot in the back of the head? Unless you’re Malvo, nothing could prepare you for it.
All of this is true, but you’re assuming Malvo has the priorities and desires of your average human being. He’s not in the murder game for the money - sure, that’s a perk, but he also enjoys the actual act of killing. It’s like what Molly’s dad said - he’s worse than an animal, because at least animals only kill when they have to eat. Malvo could probably live quite comfortably off his past earnings, but that’s not what he wants. And he’s also not looking for the easy way out; just having a quick chat with Lester wouldn’t satisfy his dramatic flair. Neither would shooting Lester then and there - he wants to hunt him, to savor his victim’s fear before the inevitable victory.
You’re talking about a guy that, less than two years ago, hammered his wife to death because he got sick of her nagging and emasculating him. I don’t think seeing his wife get shot in the back of the head something he’s totally unfamiliar with. Granted, this was very different, he loved her, she worshiped him, he did this out of self-preservation, but if everything else were the same but he hadn’t killed his wife (just left her), maybe he would have had a harder time sending her to do this.
Malvo is a fascinating character. It’s kind of ridiculous to suggest he might somehow be supernatural, but he definitely takes the role of the trickster god, stirring up trouble just for his own amusement. It’s difficult trying to reconcile his capacity for brutal murder with his sparing of Gus back int he first episode. As best I can understand him, his goal in life seems to be to push people to be the worst they can be. I don’t think he collects those tapes for blackmail, but rather as trophies of his handiwork. Is that why he spared Gus? Because he recognized Officer Grimly was no real threat at the time, but saw that he could be corrupted into putting his own and his daughter’s well-being above his duty as a police officer? Everyone else Malvo has influenced succumbed to the corruption, but Gus stepped back, recognized his error and did everything he could to try and make it right. I’m curious how Malvo would react to finding out about that.
What Lester did to Linda actually made me feel a little sick. She wasn’t terribly smart, clearly was a bad judge of character, and pretty passive, but by all indications she was a kind, caring, and supportive person. Lester killing his first wife was a horrible, despicable, deeply selfish act, but in some tiny way I could empathize. She was an unpleasant person and the act was committed in the heat of the moment. As awful as it was, a part of me could still understand how Lester could see himself as the victim of circumstances. What he did to Linda, though, strips away any remaining illusions and nakedly reveals him as the disgusting creature he is.
