The portrayals of racial discrimination are interesting. Mike Milligan being called an “Eggplant”, and Hanzee being dissed because he’s a Native American, especially at the bar, but also by Dodd as a "mongrel and “half-breed”.
It is set in 1979, but how much has changed?.
I have relatives in North Dakota (including Fargo) and have visited several times. One local told me “Our Indians are like your blacks back East” (I’m from the Mid-Atlantic).
And this was in the early 2000’s.
Yes. That was it. Interesting that Frances McDormand also starred.
Do the Cohen Bros. discriminate against people who are not family or friends? (Frances is the wife of one of the Cohen Bros). Or do they just go for the talent? Doesn’t really matter. The result is success no matter what we think of their motives.
After he killed the two cops, Hanzee walked back into the bar and killed the bartender. After he killed the bartender, I was anticipating Hanzee would say something, “Now that ought to learn ya!” Of course, if you kill someone, they can’t learn anything from that. It’s one of life’s little ironies. Or maybe a big irony?
One of the more interesting insights into Dodd’s character came when he asked Bear whether he wanted to take the “strap or the buckle”. When Bear chose the buckle, it was as if Dodd was genuinely proud of his brother. He said something like, “Atta Boy!”
I wonder if it says anything about how Dodd was raised by his father as that was something to be proud of? Very strange. When Bear was genuinely kind to Hanzee, it’s not surprising that Hanzee had enough of Dodd.
But he did leave a witness alive (and even unharmed) — the third guy who followed him out of the bar. And that was after he decided he had had enough, and shot the other two guys, and had pretty clearly already decided to kill the bartender. He had plenty of time to shoot the third guy, but he just watched him run away with an amused expression on his face.
So he might have let the hairdresser live, although it’s a tossup whether he wanted to reward her for her cooperation, or kill her for betraying her friend. He’s not very predictable.
That said, I wasn’t surprised at all when he shot Dodd. I mean, before he came into the cabin, it never occurred to me that he would do it, but the way he acted after he came in somehow made me expect it. The way he told the Blumquists to step away from Dodd, while pointing his gun more at Dodd than them, made it sort of obvious, but not understandable, that he was after Dodd and not them. So there wasn’t nearly the shock that the death of the Undertaker had last week.
I also have to say, with the proviso that this is IMO the best show on TV right now, that I’m getting a bit tired of all the ninja stuff. When Hanzee ambushed the silent brothers out of nowhere, even though they were alertly scanning the area; when the stupid housewife Peggy somehow got the cattle prod and got the drop on the professional thug Dodd; and this week Dodd somehow being invisible in a tiny cabin until he somehow lassos Ed with the rope over a beam; all of those took me out of the story, if only briefly. The rope trick is just too over the top. He would have hid right by the door and conked him with a frying pan, and THEN strung him up if he wanted to.
He shot the two in the knee (wounded knee) - the third ran off - he walked into the bar, shot the bartender - came back out and killed the two cops - then he left.
He’s not worried about witnesses - he’s pretty much killing the people that keep putting him down - which in the end, was Dod. As he told the Bartender - he’s a decorated war hero - he’s tired of being put down due to his race. The cops might have survived, but they came out of the car with the slurs - but for sure, Hanzee did not want a chase either.
Peg getting the drop on Dod is easy - Dod dropped the prod, totally underestimated Peg and Peg knew the stacks.
I have less issue with him catching Ed unaware - more with his ability to escape the ropes and hide from Peg - Ed was distracted looking in the door - he saw the ropes, he saw Peg’s feet - Dod was in the shadow behind the cabinet (or maybe dropping the kids at the pool - that had to be along nite).
You made two really nice catches and I liked them very much.
First off, “Wounded Knee”. Very nice.
Then, Peggy’s stacks. We all thought she was “a little touched” for storing thousands of those magazines. But lookee what happened? Who’s touched now? Those stacks likely saved her life. Good for her. She found a good way to make all those magazines pay off.
This show just keeps on getting better and better!
Only one cop was killed, that’s from the previous episode when Lou told Danson and the shit cop that Hanzee killed one cop and wounded another.
ahh - nice catch.
Growing up in an Italian family with lots of Italian relatives and working in the Italian family business (a produce business no less), I can tell you, I learned the word melanzana/moulinyan very early on.
Hearing Tony Soprano toss it around was the when I realized it wasn’t something a handful of people I knew said, but a ‘real’ term.
In fact I heard that as much as I heard finocchio/finnoch.
ETA: but what does he know?
Also, Dod went off about Samson and Delilah in his rant about women.
I happen to agree with him on the Fargo episode, but didn’t he say that Kubrick’ The Shining was the worst movie ever made from one of his books?
Anybody else wondering where they got the photo of Hanzee to put in the newspaper article about the shooting?
Also, I noticed the name “Rushmore” on the gas station/convenience store, which I thought was odd since Mt Rushmore and Sioux Falls are on opposite ends of the state.
Old mugshot, maybe?
I didn’t notice that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of things in SD make reference to Mt Rushmore. Also, he said people stop there in their way to Mt Rushmore. Someone that’s been on the road for half a day and still has half a day to go might be happy to cross the boarder and see that they’re almost there.
I noticed it last nite - and that is specifically what the shopkeeper said, that people stop on their way to the mt.
This was also reffered to as part of the territory that the Gearharts had lost - and the new guy (from Buffalo) said “we need to get that back”.
I assumed it was a mugshot from a previous crime or a photo from a government issued ID like a driver’s license. Hanzee was driving his truck, so if someone got his plate number, it’d be easy to identify him.
I took that as another Vietnam allusion, in a season full of them: Peggy is underequipped, but she knows the terrain and is fighting for her freedom and independence; which allows her to outlast the invaders, who have more firepower but are unprepared for the terrain and are fighting for power and control (Dodd) or money (his goons).
It depends upon whether Lou and/or Hank saw Hanzee. Right now they may well think Ed or Peggy shot at them. Did Hanzee take the gun? If so, they should be OK. If he left it, they’re in trouble, at least until the fingerprints come back, and that would’ve taken quite some time back then.
Hanzee is on the run and trying to shake this whole thing. He needs to look different. a Haircut makes perfect sense. I’m sure he’d change it to light brown too if he could.
This, and
this
make me think that Hanzee was also a son of “The Lion,” their half-brother. Remember how Bear talked about their Dad bringing him home, and him being part of the family? He tried to be loyal to family, and older brother, but it was getting him no reward.
Between the way he grabbed her hair, and the old-fashioned movie references, I was primed for him to come out swinging a scalp. It would have been temptingly ironic for the Cohens, her being a hairdresser, but I’m glad they didn’t stoop to it.
I thought of the tunnel rats, too. I was sure he wouldn’t get through it alive.
He killed the bartender first. Just before being shot, the bartender yelled that he called the cops. Hanzee walked out to the truck, they pulled up, he retrieved the rifle and shot them.