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[Spectral Glider]

You are an island of one on this man.

Newspaper article revealed where Milligan was staying. Ed called the operator, operator connected to fron desk, front desk rang his room.

That was an entire scene man.

I give up. It's clear he doesn't pay attention to the show and is just here to spout an agenda.

 

[Moff]

I agree with Saty about hank, I pointed that out myself.
it doesn't make sense
and it doesn't really add anything that he brings lou with him, he could easily have done that himself, so my guess it was simply a mistake.

not that this would diminish the quality of this fantastic show in any way

 

[-griffy-]

I agree with Saty about hank, I pointed that out myself.
it doesn't make sense
and it doesn't really add anything that he brings lou with him, he could easily have done that himself, so my guess it was simply a mistake.

not that this would diminish the quality of this fantastic show in any way

The thing is the show and Hank both acknowledge that he made a mistake, and they go to great lengths to show just how much he was injured which further explains his confused actions, which makes it much easier to swallow than if it was just a plot point of convenience they tried to brush past without explanation. They don't pretend like he made the right call. That's the kind of stuff that sets this show apart from stupid stuff in (again the show that offers easy comparison since it does all this stuff so poorly) The Walking Dead.

To me the biggest convenience of the show so far is the newspaper that just happens to be in the phone booth for Ed to see, but even that is logically plausible enough that it isn't a big leap, AND it's not a stupid character action, the character acts perfectly logical based on the information he gets from it to perfectly answer the question of how he got Milligan's number from last week. And to a certain extent it doesn't even matter. They could have wasted more screen time showing Ed interrogating Dodd (and really Dodd wouldn't have given anything up I don't think) or something, but it would have gotten us to the same spot in a roundabout way.

 

[Spectral Glider]

To me the biggest convenience of the show so far is the newspaper that just happens to be in the phone booth for Ed to see, but even that is logically plausible enough that it isn't a big leap, AND it's not a stupid character action, the character acts perfectly logical based on the information he gets from it to perfectly answer the question of how he got Milligan's number from last week. And to a certain extent it doesn't even matter. They could have wasted more screen time showing Ed interrogating Dodd (and really Dodd wouldn't have given anything up I don't think) or something, but it would have gotten us to the same spot in a roundabout way.

That and the newspaper of Hanzee in the shop was pretty quick and convenient. I don't have any problem pointing out things I don't like or are possible flaws. I already stated I was disappointed at how Dodd met his demise which robbed the show of potential interesting moments. Didn't like Brad Garrett's character getting offed so early either. But yelling and screaming about every episode being poorly written every week and that it's ridiculous for the show to get love is a huge pile of horseshit. If he doesn't care for the show, then just stop watching it. Just like I did with two other series that totally lost me after a certain point and time, American Horror Story and Bates Motel. Could I go into those threads and constantly rant and rave? Sure, but I don't see what the damn point would be.

 

[Moff]

The thing is the show and Hank both acknowledge that he made a mistake

they did? how and when? I must have missed that.

I agree about the convenient newspaper, that felt cheap

 

[STILLethal]

That was the funniest Fargo ep Ive seen, Peggy and Dodd's scenes had me loling hard

 

[-griffy-]

they did? how and when? I must have missed that.

I agree about the convenient newspaper, that felt cheap

In last week's episode, the one that skipped ahead a couple days before this week filled in the blank, Hank mentions he really should have checked on Peggy when he woke up. I believe it's when they hear news of Hanzee shooting up the bar and cops in Sioux Falls, and realize he's following Ed and Peggy.

The character essentially saying "I fucked up, and because I fucked up they got away and are now in danger," paired with this week showing clearly how out of it he was when they get back to Ed and Peggy's house, goes a long way to explaining and excusing his behavior for me. The show isn't pretending it's anything but what it is: a character screwing up.

 

[jesu]

In last week's episode, the one that skipped ahead a couple days before this week filled in the blank, Hank mentions he really should have checked on Peggy when he woke up. I believe it's when they hear news of Hanzee shooting up the bar and cops in Sioux Falls, and realize he's following Ed and Peggy.

The character essentially saying "I fucked up, and because I fucked up they got away and are now in danger," paired with this week showing clearly how out of it he was when they get back to Ed and Peggy's house, goes a long way to explaining and excusing his behavior for me. The show isn't pretending it's anything but what it is: a character screwing up.

I also believe also Hank said to Lou or Lou said to Hank, I told you we should have went there sooner.

 

[Bandit1]

I think a constant theme in the Fargo franchise is small town cops who are thrust into something they're not used to dealing with or are equipped for. Often they make mistakes or they don't connect the dots. But there's always one who is incredibly persistent and usually solves the case simply by not giving up. This season it's Lou, last season it was Molly, (gets it from her father perhaps) in the movie it was Marge.

Think about all the mistakes made by Gus and Bob Odenkirk's character last season. So I can forgive Hank for not checking on Peggy after waking up from a hit in the head and receiving a radio call.

That being said, I don't see how Ed outruns Hank and Lou back to the house. Should have had a scene where Hank and Lou hit a deer, procede to put it out of its misery with Lou's Colt Python .357 Magnum, and load it up in the trunk for supper.

 

[-griffy-]

That being said, I don't see how Ed outruns Hank and Lou back to the house. Should have had a scene where Hank and Lou hit a deer, procede to put it out of its misery with Lou's Colt Python .357 Magnum, and load it up in the trunk for supper.

The easy answer is it is simply quicker for Ed to run home directly (cutting across roads, going straight through the woods rather than around, etc) than it is for Lou and Hank to drive there in a car. Small town back roads and all that. Remember they drove the opposite direction that Ed took off running at the end of that episode. I lived miles away from my middle school and took the bus, but when the weather was nice I'd walk home because I ended up getting home much faster.

 

[Cornballer]

New episode tonight:

The Castle

Spoiler

Peggy and Ed agree to follow through with their plan at the Motor Motel; Lou faces jurisdictional politics; Hanzee reports back to the Gerhardts.

This is episode #9 of 10 this season. It is scheduled for a 71 minute time slot tonight.

 

[Salvadora]

Why did Hanzee kill Dodd after them being bros in previous episodes?

 

[Real Hero]

Why did Hanzee kill Dodd after them being bros in previous episodes?

They weren't ever bros. Hanzee killed him because he was a racist idiot and he had experienced enough of that on the search for him.

 

[Salvadora]

They weren't ever bros. Hanzee killed him because he was a racist idiot and he had experienced enough of that on the search for him.

But that is surely no recent development.

He's been racially abused by Dodd, and no doubt others, for decades.

Like, sure, maybe he finally snapped -but it didn't appear that way on screen.

 

[Salty Catfish]

But that is surely no recent development.

He's been racially abused by Dodd, and no doubt others, for decades.

Like, sure, maybe he finally snapped -but it didn't appear that way on screen.

I think that's exactly what it was -- he definitely had endured that kind of talk before but that moment in that situation was the last straw. That was about as close to "snapping" as we'll see from a stoic like Hanzee.

 

[Moff]

Why did Hanzee kill Dodd after them being bros in previous episodes?

I think he went there with the intetion of freeing dodd.
but the events of that day and dodd's behavior, which wasn't the first time, made him think "oh fuck that guy, too"

 

[maxcriden]

Is there any explanation somewhere of the episode titles?

 

[Slacker]

Is there any explanation somewhere of the episode titles?

The AV Club reviewer has explained a couple but not all of them.

 

[internetwolf]

Why did Hanzee kill Dodd after them being bros in previous episodes?

hanzee jsut had enough of dodd and people like dodd at that point, I also believe he was ready to end his journey there.

 

[-griffy-]

Hanzee getting tired of Dodd started fully forming when Dodd lied about the "Butcher of Luverne," and Hanzee felt compelled to go along with the lie. You can see on his face he doesn't enjoy propagating the lie to influence Floyd.

 

[Bandit1]

I agree that Hanzee was just tired of taking crap from everybody, and when Dodd didn't exactly seem grateful and called him a halfbreed, Hanzee realized that Dodd didn't respect him anymore than the guys at the bar did, and Hanzee thought - "You know what? Screw you too."

I hope Hanzee makes it out alive, can't wait for tonight's episode!

 

[Salty Catfish]

I didn't realize until rewatching the scene on Youtube that the Undertaker had used a racial slur ("eggplant") moments before Mike put an end to him. There's some interesting parallels between Mike and Hanzee that make me feel like they're destined to meet before the season ends.

 

[Cornballer]

- Onion A|V Club's "Random Roles" interview: Ted Danson on Fargo, Damages, Cheers, and Leslie Nielsen’s fart machine

Fargo (2015)—“Hank Larsson”

Ted Danson: It was just one of those lovely phone calls. I don’t know who sent it my way, whether it was my agent at WME or my manager, Keith Addis, but I got a phone call saying, “Do you know Fargo? Would you be interested in taking a look at this role?” And I had not seen the first season. I had been told by all my kids, “You’re crazy! You have to watch it! It’s so good!” And I think part of me was going, “Well, I love the film. Why would I watch the series? I’m just going to be disappointed.” So when it came my way, I binge-watched it in two days, and I was, like, “Oh, okay, I get it. This is really good writing.” Yes, it honored the movie. It’s definitely Fargo. But it’s more than that. It takes off from there. And the acting performances, the directing, the writing—everything about it was delicious and was about the characters. It was very much like a 10-hour film.

So I had a conversation with [creator] Noah Hawley, and I think I had two scripts I could read, and I only saw about three scenes that Hank was in. Part of me wasn’t sure what to sink my teeth into, but by the end of the conversation… I’ve recently come to realize in life that the smartest thing I can do as an actor is find a writer that just has to write something. Find the most talented voice in the room and then ask them very nicely if you can be part of it, no matter how small the part is. It doesn’t matter. Just go be part of that creative process with a bunch of people who are trying to make something unusual. So I did. And it’s one of those times in life where I just kind of stumbled into something incredibly satisfying. I’m such a Noah Hawley fan.

The A.V. Club: Like most of the characters, Hank’s time on the screen is sporadic, but he’s certainly had his various moments to shine over the course of the season thus far.

TD: You know, it kind of felt like… Well, one of the things that Noah said about Hank—and I don’t think he even said it to me, I think I actually read it someplace—but he referred to him as a cowboy poet. And he asked me to grow a beard, and then I got to work with a dialect coach to get the Minnesota accent down. All of a sudden, trying on Noah Hawley’s words with the dialect, he felt like an old cowboy hero, someone who stands up against the odds and knows he’s not going to win, but you’re here to do the right thing in life, so that’s what he does. I’d never played that character before, and I really enjoyed it.

 

[IronRinn]

Ted Danson sounds like the nicest, most chill dude.

 

[Cornballer]

Tonight's Fargo is a freaking doozy. Hunker down and prepare yourselves.

 

[HoJu]

I'm pretty sure critics have said similar things before every episode this season.
And they've never been wrong.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

He was also in Sicario:

Holy shit. Now I have to watch the movie.

I got to hang out with him, and he's really nice guy. He was sick, but still came to a film festival I was invited to.

 

[Fury451]

Why did Hanzee kill Dodd after them being bros in previous episodes?

I have a theory that he was ordered to kill him by Floyd or Bear, and had some sort of arraignment beforehand.

Either that, or he just went rogue and put him down for personal satisfaction reasons.

hanzee jsut had enough of dodd and people like dodd at that point, I also believe he was ready to end his journey there.

Yep, seems most likely.

 

[pr0cs]

Holy shit. Now I have to watch the movie.

I got to hang out with him, and he's really nice guy. He was sick, but still came to a film festival I was invited to.

It's a wicked movie though his part in it is pretty small

 

[thestopsign]

My body is ready.

 

[Slacker]

Why did Hanzee kill Dodd after them being bros in previous episodes?

My theory is that it's a bad ass version of giving the Gerhardt family his two-weeks notice.

 

[maxcriden]

The AV Club reviewer has explained a couple but not all of them.

Thank you. I'm curious if anyone has pooled explanations of all of them....

 

[internetwolf]

oh how I wish I could buy a temporary subscription to FX.

waiting for it to hit the net kills me

 

[KodaRuss]

This season keeps getting better and better. Kinda sad that Dodd is gone, really liked his scenes but I guess people had to start dying.

Peggy and Ed are just terrific.

See it, then be it!

 

[Cornballer]

- AssignmentX: Zahn McClarnon on criminal family values

ASSIGNMENT X: What are Hanzee’s feelings toward the Gerhardt family?

ZAHN McCLARNON: Well, that’s the thing. As you’ll see as the series progresses, I can’t really give it away, what happens, but he changes quite a bit. It’s his only family he’s ever had. He was adopted when he was nine years old. I don’t think he remembers much of his previous family, and if he did, I think it was probably bad memories.

I mean, back in the Fifties [when Hanzee was a child], I forget the exact term, but basically what they did is, the government came in and they took the Native [American] kids off the reservations to “civilize” them and put them into boarding schools. And there’s a whole generation, like my grandfather and my grandmother, who went through those boarding schools and were affected by those boarding schools. They were run by missionaries and priests, and they were affected hugely by cutting the hair off, no speaking your language, and I think in the Sixties and Seventies, it was still happening, where a lot of native families were just giving up their kids, because of alcoholism, addiction and hoping to give them a better life. But I don’t think they knew what they were doing with Hanzee, my character. Because he goes into a pretty dysfunctional family.

AX: Did you had to learn anything to play part of the Gerhardt criminal enterprise?

McCLARNON: I think the main thing that I had to learn was being completely emotionless, pretty much. He’s pretty stone cold. He doesn’t do a lot – there’s not a lot going on. That can be tough to do sometimes, because for actors, we want to act. To be still – I’ve never had to be that still in my life. In the first scene, Noah said to me on the first day, “Still. Stillness.” Still’s kind of difficult to do. It’s harder than you think it would be.

More via the link.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Hah, looked up McClarnon's IMDB for the first time: He's one of the background voices in Red Dead Redemption.

 

[Cornballer]

- Decider: How the Music Cues of 'Fargo' Season Two Reflect Its Evolution
- NY Post: The secret Coen Brothers references hidden in the ‘Fargo’ soundtrack

 

[Cornballer]

Reposting a modified version of this from another thread:

Hey folks, just a gentle reminder that this is a television OT, and as such, is meant for discussing S2 of Fargo. If you disagree with another poster, your options are to either provide a counterargument to their points or to ignore them. Please do not engage in personal attacks, metacommentary, and sniping as it's disruptive to the thread.

If you do see issues that need to be addressed, such as overt trolling, personal attacks, or anything else, please contact moderation via PM and we'll take a look at it. Please enjoy the show and the discussion in this thread by keeping it focused on the content on screen and supplementary material. Let's try to keep the thread on track. Thank you.

 

[captjohnboyd]

Greatly looking forward to tonight's episode. And not engaging with people who clearly aren't looking forward to it

edit: how many more episodes do we have left now? I've turned on several coworkers to the show (took me forever but they were so happy I never relented) and we were talking about how this show seems to pack a seasons worth of twists and turns into every couple episodes. Just the best on tv right now

 

[User 479360]

I just finished catching up, as I had 5 episodes saved on my PVR, all of which I watched over the last few days.

The last episode was really solid and had some really funny banter between Dod, Ed and Peggy.

Spoiler

How did the cops figure out where they were, though? I didn't see them find a clue in the house.

Looking forward to tonight's episode!

 

[Chris R]

I just finished catching up, as I had 5 episodes saved on my PVR, all of which I watched over the last few days.

The last episode was really solid and had some really funny banter between Dod, Ed and Peggy.

Spoiler

How did the cops figure out where they were, though? I didn't see them find a clue in the house.

Looking forward to tonight's episode!

This is just conjecture, and it's from an aired episode so I'm not going to spoil it, but Hanzee left a pretty wide trail of destruction that should be easy for the cops to follow.

edit: and well duh, the gas station guy saw the newspaper after Hanzee left. I bet he called the cops ASAP

 

[Bandit1]

Greatly looking forward to tonight's episode. And not engaging with people who clearly aren't looking forward to it

edit: how many more episodes do we have left now? I've turned on several coworkers to the show (took me forever but they were so happy I never relented) and we were talking about how this show seems to pack a seasons worth of twists and turns into every couple episodes. Just the best on tv right now

We have tonight's episode then the finale next week, so two.

 

[User 479360]

Glad to hear it was picked up for a third season, and that S3 will take place after the first. I really liked those characters.

I really like both seasons, but think that S1 is the better of the two. And I'm glad that they told the story of the infamous blood bath of 1979.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Holy shit. Now I have to watch the movie.

I got to hang out with him, and he's really nice guy. He was sick, but still came to a film festival I was invited to.

It's a great movie.

THAT I WILL NEVER WATCH AGAIN.

 

[-griffy-]

Ready to actualize right after Tom Hanks ruins me.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

Tom Hanks with the feels.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

What the heck are you guys talking about Tom Hanks for?

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

What the heck are you guys talking about Tom Hanks for?

Captain Phillips ending.

 

[IronRinn]

Penultimate Fargo time!

 

[Baroquemantic]

Here we go!