The chaos continues. After the Kansas City's shoot out of the Gerhardt house, they hold a funeral for Otto, who died in the attack. The Gerhardt's are falling apart: with Rye and Otto dead, Dodd missing, and Bear starting to take matters into his own hands. However, they are able to take out a few Kansas City men, but not enough to make a huge difference.
Simone, hearing what Floyd and Bear talk about, decides to go to Mike Milligan's place to tell him. However, when she gets there, he has different plans for her. He almost kills her until Lou bursts in and stops it. Simone escapes Milligan's clutches, but she unfortunately runs into Bear, who followed her there. He makes her get into his car, and he drives her out to the middle of the forest. Since Bear hates Dodd for ruining his son's life, he decides to deal with Simone as payment. Doesn't help her case that she's been working for the other side the entire time. In a very emotional scene, Bear shoots and kills Simone, who was on her knees begging for her life. The scene was extremely tense, and it didn't help that Danny Boy was played after her demise were met. They don't show her being shot, but crisp whites, aerial shots, and other aesthetic choices really added to the drama of the scene. Like Simone says, "this family deserves the ground," and one by one that is happening.
Meanwhile, Mike Milligan has to deal with the repurcussions of his inability to secure the Gerhardt front after Bulo died. After an awkward call with a Kansas City higher-up, we are reminded that this show is taking place in the 1970s, and Milligan is not someone who is as respected as she should be. They give Milligan only 48 hours to fix everything, and when he doesn't come through, they call him to let him know the "Undertaker" is coming. However, even in the most desperate of times, Mike Milligan has a plan. When the Undertaker comes to greet him, Milligan goes to shake his hand, but instead he shoots him with the gun he hid in his shirt sleeve, he and the remianing Kitchen Brother finish the job, leaving two Kansas City men dead on the ground. A silent moment of realization from Milligan and The Kitchen Brother is broken by the sound of the hotel phone ringing. Milligan picks it up, blood dripping from his hands, and none other than Ed Blumquist is on the line. Ed tells Milligan it's "his lucky day," and that he has Dodd Gerhardt in the trunk of his car if he wants him.
Ed and Peggy were absent from the entire episode, until this moment. Ed called Mike from a payphone, since they are presumably on the run. However, it still isn't known if Ed and Peggy are together, because we don't know what happened to Peggy after she tased Dodd. This is brought up by Hank when he mentions to Lou that he should've checked on Peggy after he woke up from being knocked out by Hanzee. Surpisingly, the Blumquists have stayed in the game much longer than I expected. I underestimated Ed, but he is proving himself to be a formidable player. However, I don't know what will happen when he and Milligan come face to face. Add in the fact that Hanzee tells the Gerhardt's he found Dodd, there will sure to be a confrontation in the future. With Milligan, Hanzee and Ed being the biggest wildcards of the season, the meet-up will definitely be interesting.
On a more somber note, Betsy is being looked after by Karl, per Lou's request. One morning, Betsy talks to Karl, and asks him to make sure to care for Lou and Molly when she's gone, and that she wants Lou to get remarried if he needs to. She tells him that she's almost positive that she got the sugar pills, and that she wants to know they'll be cared for when she's gone. An emotional Karl agrees, and Betsy tells him to stop drinking so much. They have a sweet moment where they hug, and you can really feel the inevitability of Betsy's situation. But, in that moment, you are also reminded of how Betsy is the strongest character in the show.
In a strange twist, Betsy goes to her father's to feed his cat, and she finds his study completely filled with images and drawings of what look like hieroglyphics, and alien languages. This completely floors Betsy, and me for that matter. Hank seems so level-headed and cookie cutter midwestern, but now we are made very obvious that there is a lot more going on with him then we know. Hopefully this obsession gives us more explanation into the UFO theme of the season.
Overall, there is a lot still tettering on the edge for most of our characters. Floyd is much more out of the loop than she'd like to be, and she's blinded by the love for her family to be a strong player. Dodd's fate doesn't look good, but with Hanzee on the Blumquist's tracks, it could end up in his favor. However, Milligan is the biggest wild card of the show, and with nothing to lose at this point, he will do whatever it takes to be on top. With only a few episodes left, the fate of these characters will be met soon, and it most likely won't be pretty.
FARGO does a brilliant job of misdirecting viewers, and using plot devices we don't expect. Having Ed call Milligan immediately after he killed The Undertake was a huge surprise, but added a lot of drama to the coming episode. Also, having Simone get off free from Milligan, but be greated by Bear, and her demise, was a smart way of creating another layer of suspense after a tense moment. The writing on FARGO is some of the best on TV right now, and I'm so happy to hear it was renewed for a third season!
Let me know your thoughts on this episode of FARGO in the comments below, or tweet me at @kaitmilligan! Make sure to come back next week as I recap another epsiode!
Photos Courtesy of the Fargo FX Twitter
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