TV Recap: Fargo - "Buridan's Ass"

Colin Hanks

Welcome to the new series that will dissect every episode of season one of FX's Fargo. From its faithfulness as an adaptation of the Coen Brothers classic to its growing plot, this will be a look at all things involving the show, its mythology, and occasional predictions of things to happen. There will be highlights of special moments in the series and deeper dissection of what may make this anthology series so endearing. What will happen in this freshman series about a homespun murder mystery? You'll have to read the recaps every Thursday to find out more.

Season 1, Episode 6

"Buridan's Ass"

"Heck of a lot of bullets for a fender bender."

-Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman)

Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) uses Don Chumph (Glenn Howerton) to call Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt) to place biblical threats on him and his family. This gets Stavros paranoid and forces his son into hiding. Upon completing the call, Lorne knocks out Don and ties him to a chair with a gun pointed at the door. After firing a different gun, he departs from his former partner. While in the hospital, Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) has a conversation with his brother Chaz (Joshua Close) that reveals how much Chaz doesn't trust him. Paranoid, he sneaks out of the hospital by wrapping up his face and posing as another patient. He then sneaks into his brother's house and plants the murder weapon in Chaz's son's backpack. The police finally respond to the gun shots that Lorne splattered across the neighborhood. Thanks to some rigged guns, they think that Don is murderous and shoot him. While escaping, Lorne runs into Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard) and Mr. Numbers (Adam Goldberg), whom he fights until he kills Mr. Numbers in a really large blizzard. Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) and Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) have responded to the case and begin trying to catch the culprits in a blinding blizzard. Gus shoots Molly by accident. Lester makes it back to the hospital unsuspectingly. As Stavros is driving to pick up his son after burying his money out of paranoia, he discovers a car flipped on the side of the road. Fish have fallen from the sky and caused their car to crash and kill him and his caretaker.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Most Blatant Homage

After a brief conversation in a car park, Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt) decides to exit minutes after entering. This confuses the ticket taker at the exit who simply wants the money. Stavros eventually gets his way. For fans of Fargo, this is a play on the film in which Steve Buscemi does the same thing. However, where that ends with him cursing out the employee, Stavros manages to pull the God card and uses his name as an excuse to get out of paying the ticket. It is a nice nod to the film without being a duplicate moment.

Glenn Howerton

Death Count

Don Chumph (Glenn Howerton) - Dies from a hail of bullets from a police raid

Mr. Numbers (Adam Goldberg) - A slit throat done by Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton)

Dmitri Milos (Gordon S. Miller) - Died in a car crash from a hail of fish

Driver - Died in a car crash from a hail of fish

A hail of fish - Fell from the sky (Approx. 100?)

A single fish - Sliced up to be made into a Turkish Delight

EPISODE COUNT (HUMAN): 4

EPISODE COUNT (ANIMAL): 101

TOTAL (HUMAN): 9

TOTAL (ANIMAL): 103

*Note: While Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) was shot, there is no visual signs that she suffered a wound capable of killing her. If word comes out that the shot indeed kill her, it will be referenced in next week's totals.

Top to bottom: Billy Bob Thornton and Adam Goldberg

MVP:

Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton)

Truthfully, this is one of those situations where you'd want to just flat out say nature was the MVP. The whole thing was a cluster of madness that built into a visually confusing war zone. It was intense. However, Lorne Malvo knew his way around and with the ability to kill off a greedy partner and someone who wants to kill him, he manages to remain a cunning force. Even if the fish from the sky (which is a real phenomenon) wasn't part of his orchestration, a lot of this episode's best moments came courtesy of his thought out plans. With this episode he solidifies himself as one of the greatest TV villains of 2014 and a sadistic force that makes it hard not to believe that the last three episodes will be some of the craziest moments yet.

Best Scene

It was hyped all episode, but the storm that finished the episode produced one of the show's most powerful moments. Save for Don Chumph's (Glenn Howerton) death via police firing shots, most of the chaos happened in scenes that were almost entirely encapsulated in snow. It was beautifully surreal and suspenseful in ways that make it a serious contender now for one of the year's best new shows. In particular, the one twist was when Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) shot Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman), who up to this point were believed to be the surviving force throughout the entire series. They still can be, but that gun shot does leave an interesting cliffhanger for this episode. Also, it proved how far Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) will go to keep things his way.

Martin Freeman

Overall Thoughts

It would seem crass to say, but this episode sort of makes it an applicable candidate for Breaking Bad comparisons. All you have to really do is replace desert with snow and you get some of the mysticism found in the violent eccentricities that are both compelling and repulsive. The show has its share of Walter White figures and even if there isn't as definitive of a through line, both have proven to be unforgiving to characters that we have grown to love. Is this only the start of a slate cleaning process? It is exciting in ways that later Breaking Bad were. While Fargo is nowhere near as good and True Detective (which more people dubbed as an applicable descendant) is better, it has done a phenomenal job of separating itself from the Coen Brothers film while paying homage. It is strange and ready to play hardball. It is pretty awesome.

Predictions

Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) still has to deal with Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard), who is a compelling foe since he doesn't talk. With Stavros Milos (Olive Platt) now officially alone, what will keep him from being depressive and self destructing? There is so much fodder to chew on his next move now that he may be his own folly. Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) will not die, but be too scared to continue doing police work. Also, Chaz (Joshua Close) is going to enter the investigation after the planted gun gets discovered.