Recap: Fargo Season 2, Episode 3 – Tie-ing Up Loose Ends

Last week on Fargo, we got a better peek at the Kansas City mafia, Hank ruffled the Kitchen Brothers, Peggy showed her “bad girl” side and Ed made mincemeat out of Rye — literally. This week, the body count is stacking up and things are getting sort of tense. Well, Dodd (Jeffrey Donovan, Burn Notice) is getting tense. I don’t think he has the capability to not be tense. But I digress. Ready to jump right into Season 2’s third episode? Okay then!

The episode starts with a shot of Hanzee (Zahn McClarnon, Longmire) in the middle of the snowy woods, petting a white rabbit. Yeah, he’s not planning to keep that thing as a pet. There have been oh-so-many dead animals in just these first few episodes, and I’m not even counting the guy with the missing ears.

The action jumps to the Gerhardts’ living room, where the family is having a sit-down with a variety of area business partners. The meeting is to let everyone know who’s in charge and what’s going on with the Kansas City mafia. Of course, Bear (Angus Sampson, Insidious) is having a little snack. And by little, I mean he’s eating an entire chicken or flock of chickens or something. That seems to be what he does best. Dodd still doesn’t want to sell to the mafia, but Floyd (Jean Smart, Designing Women) says she’s considering it.

Dodd seems worried that, sell or no sell, they’re all dead meat. Everyone in the room seems to be in it together. That’s sort of what worries me. Some of these guys look like they could be killed with a chicken bone. Not Bear, of course. He’d eat the chicken bone and the rest of the chicken in one sitting.

Meanwhile, Joe Bulo (Brad Garrett, Everybody Loves Raymond) and Mike Milligan (Bokeem Woodbine, Riddick) are meeting over breakfast. However, the two aren’t there just to discuss hair products: They know about Rye Gerhardt and the judge, but his current whereabouts are still unknown. Perhaps they should check the meat counter over at Bud’s? Instead, they think he’s on the run and want to track him down. They still consider him to be an asset. Um, not so much.

Back in Luverne, MN, Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson, Angels in America) is headed to Fargo, when Hank (Ted Danson, Cheers) radios in to tell him that the gun found in the snow outside of the Waffle Hut has a fingerprint that matches Rye’s. If they want to double check, there still may be one of those rolling around on the floor of Bud’s Butcher Shop.

In Fargo, Lou sits down next to fellow cop Ben Schmidt (Keir O’Donnell, American Sniper). If that name sounds familiar, it’s because his future self (played by Peter Breitmayer) goes on to become the commanding officer of Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks).

The two talk about the scene at the Waffle Hut and the prints on the gun. Ben then gives a brief lesson in Gerhardt family history. Lou continues to poke around, asking whether or not Ben is familiar with Mike Milligan or the Kitchen Brothers (Brad Mann and Todd Mann). “So when you put a dead judge, the Gerhardt family, and some hitters from Kansas City in a bag together, I go back to thinking it might be best just to confess to the crime myself,” Ben says. “Go for the long life in a cell somewhere with hot and cold running water.”

In other words, none of these people are people you want to be messing with.

At Hanzee’s place, rabbit is on the menu — or at least on the kitchen counter. He’s talking to Simone Gerhardt (Rachel Keller) about Rye’s whereabouts. If Constance (Elizabeth Marvel) thought Peggy (Kristin Dunst, Spider-Man) was a bad girl, she really needs to meet Simone.

Peggy is at work, listening to Betsy (Cristin Milioti, How I Met Your Mother) talk about losing her hair from the chemo. The topic quickly switches to the whole Lifespring thing again, when Hank interrupts with a wanted sign with Rye’s face on it.

Peggy instantly recognizes the man on the poster. Of course she does. She spent an entire car ride staring at his face hanging through her windshield. Betsy mentions the shoe, saying, well … pretty much exactly what happened. As Betsy recites the first episode like she was reading our recaps, Peggy sweeps away with a sick look on her face. Just as Constance looks like she’s going to mention the gaping hole she saw on the Blumquist’s car, Peggy throws a wrench into Betsy’s story, which Hank buys into.

“Yeah, I’m inclined to agree with Peggy,” Hank says. “It’s not like you’re just going to drive home with a Gerhardt in your windshield and start supper.” Um, recaps people!

Peggy shows up at Bud’s Butcher Shop to tell Ed (Jesse Plemons, Breaking Bad) about Betsy’s theory. The two pass Rye’s picture in the window and Ed freezes up — most likely because he now knows the name of his victim. Or maybe just the family name.

Meanwhile, Lou is still waiting in Fargo when he sees Skip Sprang (Mike Bradecich), the typewriter guy. Lou and Ben follow him outside and start questioning him. Skip talks up typewriters, his business at the courthouse and spaceships. Wait, what? It’s just a quick mention, but it’s there. He’s rambling so much that the two contemplate taking him in, but Ben opts to let him go, instead.

And go he does — off to Rye’s apartment. Instead of Rye, he finds Simone and Hanzee. She identifies him as the guy Rye is doing business with, but Skip says he’s just there to pay off gambling debts. Of course, he doesn’t have any money, so she grabs him by the tie and says they should go for a drive and “have some fun.” This guy should really think about ditching those ties.

Ed and Peggy drive out their car out to a deserted area, with the hole still in the windshield. That doesn’t seem too suspicious or anything. The plan is to crash the car, file an insurance claim and put the whole thing behind them.

At the Gerhardt house, Bear tells Charlie (Allan Dobrescu) that Floyd is looking to sell a piece of the business to the Kansas City mafia. He wants Charlie to go back to school, but his son wants to stay and help. Bear says it’s non-negotiable. Just to get the point across, he points a turkey leg at him. Does anyone else get hungry every time this guy comes across the screen?

That could change at any second, though. Lou and Ben arrive at the Gerhardt house looking for answers and if that doesn’t put a knot in your stomach, I don’t know what will. That said, both characters were featured in Season 1, so it’s pretty safe to say that each has a future. It’s a tense situation, though. Floyd comes out and recognizes Ben. He introduces Lou, who says they need to talk about the incident at the Waffle Hut.

Just as Lou is throwing around a few threats, Dodd drives up with a few of his own. However, when Lou throws out the name Mike Milligan, Floyd looks worried. Dodd, of course, never bats an eye. Charlie interrupts the staring contest with news that Hanzee needs Dodd, so the conversation is cut off for now.

Ben drops Lou off at Carriage Typewriters. Inside, he runs into Mike Milligan and the Kitchen Brothers. All four of them are looking for Skip, three with guns drawn. Mike brings up his meeting with Hank from the day before. The bad guys leave and Lou heads home.

Lou stops to get gas and a random guy at the gas station rambles on about aliens. “Strange happenings occur, they are near,” he says. Again with the aliens! When Lou gets home, Hank is there. The two talk about Lou’s favorite topic of the day: Mike Milligan and the Kitchen Brothers.

Later that night, Dodd meets up with Simone and Hanzee. After smacking her around a bit, he tries to choke Rye’s whereabouts out of Skip. Not a good idea. Hanzee tells Skip to get into a hole that’s shaped like a grave. Despite his groveling, they bury him with gravel asphalt. Now who will introduce this tiny town to the world of self-correcting typewriters?

This was another killer Fargo episode in more ways than one. I have to wonder if someone will find that little scrap of Skip’s tie that was left sticking out of the ground. However, I’m more curious to see when everyone will find out about Rye. Will the Gerhardts take revenge on Ed and Peggy? Will the Kansas City mafia get to them first? Or will the two groups go after each other instead? More importantly, where is Rye’s grounded remains right now? Stay tuned!

New episodes of Fargo Season 2 premiere Mondays at 10/9CT on FX.