Fargo returned tonight with episode 3, titled “A Muddy Road.” Our recap breaks down the events of the game changing third episode!
This should be obvious, but this recap will be very spoiler filled.
Moreso than even a loose adaptation of the Coen brothers’ film of the same name, to this point, Fargo has actually been a loose adaptation of a lot of their filmography. For example, Billy Bob Thornton’s Lorne Malvo characters bares a lot of resemblance to Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men. The references aren’t all that big; the premiere saw characters drinking White Russians, a nod back to Jeff Bridges’ “The Dude” from The Big Lebowski. So when episode 3 ended with Lorne’s Biblical voice over, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Coens have often used Biblical references, but True Grit‘s Biblical verse voice over was likely the inspiration this time.
This question continues to linger: who is Lorne, where did he come from, and how did he become the man he is? With only seven episodes left and numerous characters’ storylines to follow, it wouldn’t be surprising if we never get an answer to this question. That’s certainly not a bad thing. Part of Lorne’s allure is the mystery that surrounds him. He’s as big of a mystery to us as he is to the people he interacts with, and that works. In Duluth, he’s supposed to be tracking down Stavros Milos the supermarket king of Minnesota’s blackmailer, and when he does, he decides to have the blackmailer work with him to get even more from Stavros. We saw Lorne report to someone on the phone in the premiere, so it’ll be interesting to find out if not doing the job he was supposed to do was his idea or his boss’.
Meanwhile Lester is still trying to get back on his feet and live a normal life. This means going back to work because “you can’t just sit around the house.” Lester’s first assignment back on the job is a tough one for him. He has to go have Sam Hess’ widow fill out insurance forms, something that is difficult given Lester’s involvement in Sam’s murder. Even more awkward is that Gina Hess (Kate Walsh) is hitting on him. She ultimately wants her insurance money, but she might feel a bond with Lester given that they both recently lost spouses. Later Lester has a run in with Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench, but before anything comes of it, they’re gone.
Molly continues to show that everything would be better if people just listened to her, but it seems that she’s the only one not caught up the “small town” fantasy that everyone else is. The episode opens with a flashback to directly before the series began. The flashback shows Lorne literally pulling a man out of work, cutting his clothes off, and throwing him in his trunk. This is the man that Molly ultimately found frozen in the the premiere, and now in episode 3 she was smart enough to track that man down and get a piece of security footage that showed Lorne’s face. When she sneakily shows this to Lester he freezes, but Chief Bill is still not buying that Lester could be anyway involved and reiterates that she has to stay away from him.
After silently contemplating the outcome of his moral dilemma last week, Gus decides to reveal what happened to Lt. Schmidt (Peter Breitmayer), and he’s not happy. Fearing that it will be “goddamn Sioux Falls all over again,” Schmidt demands that Gus find Lorne and apologize to the Bemidji Police Department, absolving the Duluth department of any blame. Gus’ daughter Greta thinks going to Bemidji in person to apologize would be the best move, so they drive there. Hearing Lester’s name, Molly intercepts Gus to get all the information he has, still trying to pin it on Lester because she knows it’s him. The Lorne in the image she has is the Lorne Gus remembers, and it’s hard for Gus to explain to her why he just let Lorne go.
Then Greta walks in, and Fargo‘s best moment yet happens. Molly feels the enormous moral dilemma that Gus is still coping with, and she instantly empathizes. Gus and Molly need no words to communicate here, not even a look. She may not have kids, but she understands that, above anything, Gus must protect his daughter. They then go to eat burgers at Molly’s dad’s restaurant, and in the darkness of the story, a happy moment emerges. There’s a slight hint of romance, and even if nothing ever happens, it’s the people in this room, the Grimlys and the Tolemans, that deserve to have happiness. They’re the good ones.
The choice of Biblical verse at the end is interesting, and it does give a little bit of insight to the psyche of Lorne. Pulling lines from Exodus 2:5-12, it appears that Lorne is comparing himself to Moses. Who is he going to lead to the promised land?