S03.E06: The Lord of No Mercy

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Gloria and Winnie get closer to the truth; Emmit tries to make things right; Nikki and Ray prepare for payback; Varga cleans up a mess.

Promo:

[AimingforYoko]

Damn, remember when not much was happening on this show? Well, that's over.

Ray was not a good guy, but I'm still going to miss his dumb, stubborn ass.

[Spartan Girl]

Shoulda just taken the stamp, Ray.

Ewan might be getting that Emmy/Golden Globe.

[WaltersHair]

Quote

Damn, remember when not much was happening on this show? Well, that's over.  Ray was not a good guy, but I'm still going to miss his dumb, stubborn ass.

Yes and yes.

Just as I as hoping they'd skip the gross we get a close up of Varga picking his teeth. Yummy. The only thing that saved it was his Spidey senses picking up the dynamic duo of Lopez and Burgle coming for him.

[Primetimer]

And I'm here to remind you that philately will get you nowhere.

View the full article

[Shriekingeel]

I don't think I've ever mentally shouted "DON'T GO IN THERE" as loudly as I did when Nikki went back to the room. Ray's death saved her life. 

[CynicalGirl]

5 minutes ago, Shriekingeel said:

Ray's death saved her life. 

For now. 

[thuganomics85]

Actually not too surprised that there would be a death of one of the Stussy bros, since it would mean Ewan McGregor would still stick around, but I was a bit surprised that it was Ray, since my prediction was that, if it happened, it would be Emmit, and then Ray pretends to be him for the rest of the season.  And it happening the way it did (you just couldn't take the win, could you, Ray?) was a bit of a shock.  Fare thee well, Ray.  You weren't very bright and.... well, that's it, really?  Well, at least your con artist girlfriend is gorgeous!

I wonder how long Mary Elizabeth Winstead was in the make-up chair for all of those bruises.  Glad Nikki didn't get killed, but it seems like she is being set-up for Ray's murder, which will no doubt be an issue for her going forward.

Varga talks a big game, but I actually think he overplayed his hand by getting involved with Gloria and Lopez interviewing Emmit.  I guess there was a risk that Emmit could slip up, but Varga was so obviously cagey and slimy, and has likely just put a target on his, Emmit, and the company's back.  Gloria completely saw through his blustering and speechifying.

Sy was only in one scene, but his reactions were cracking me up.  I love how he sometimes becomes the sane guy amongst all the crazies, even though he himself still has a few screws loose.  Michael Stuhlbarg is the best.

[knaankos]

Emmit killing Ray like that was very much reminiscent of season 1 of Fargo when Martin Freeman kills his wife and then calls Malvo. Although this was much more of an accident. 

Why did Emmit make zero attempt at all to save Ray? I would think he woulda been desperately trying to stop the bleeding anyway possible. 

[The Wild Sow]

3 minutes ago, knaankos said:

Emmit killing Ray like that was very much reminiscent of season 1 of Fargo when Martin Freeman kills his wife and then calls Malvo.

Yes!  

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, thuganomics85 said:

Actually not too surprised that there would be a death of one of the Stussy bros, since it would mean Ewan McGregor would still stick around, but I was a bit surprised that it was Ray, since my prediction was that, if it happened, it would be Emmit, and then Ray pretends to be him for the rest of the season.

That's what I thought would happen too--essentially jumping out of the frying pan into the fryer given Emmit's issues.  But at times, I also thought that it could go the other way too where Emmit decides to run by taking over Ray's life.

31 minutes ago, knaankos said:

Why did Emmit make zero attempt at all to save Ray?

Ewww.  Blood.  But seriously, I think he knew there was no chance.  He indicated to Ray not to take out the object.  It almost always makes things worse.

[AzureOwl]

Well, that settles our debate about Nikki's injuries. They didn't do anything to her legs, they just beat her in the torso so badly she couldn't even walk. Front and back

[MisterBluxom]

2 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Actually not too surprised that there would be a death of one of the Stussy bros, since it would mean Ewan McGregor would still stick around, but I was a bit surprised that it was Ray, since my prediction was that, if it happened, it would be Emmit, and then Ray pretends to be him for the rest of the season.  And it happening the way it did (you just couldn't take the win, could you, Ray?) was a bit of a shock.  Fare thee well, Ray.  You weren't very bright and.... well, that's it, really?  Well, at least your con artist girlfriend is gorgeous!

I wonder how long Mary Elizabeth Winstead was in the make-up chair for all of those bruises.  Glad Nikki didn't get killed, but it seems like she is being set-up for Ray's murder, which will no doubt be an issue for her going forward.

Varga talks a big game, but I actually think he overplayed his hand by getting involved with Gloria and Lopez interviewing Emmit.  I guess there was a risk that Emmit could slip up, but Varga was so obviously cagey and slimy, and has likely just put a target on his, Emmit, and the company's back.  Gloria completely saw through his blustering and speechifying.

Sy was only in one scene, but his reactions were cracking me up.  I love how he sometimes becomes the sane guy amongst all the crazies, even though he himself still has a few screws loose.  Michael Stuhlbarg is the best.

I always thought then when a police officer asks you to identify yourself, you must tell them your name, address and date of birth. Doesn't matter if you are driving a car or not.

I suppose I could be wrong. But I expected them to handcuff Varga and take him to the station for refusing.

Also, as far as the blood goes, maybe some health professional can answer this, but if the glass cut a major vein or artery, I would have expected the blood to come gushing out in torrents. The small amount of blood seemed to indicate it was not the kind of injury that would cause death in a few seconds. That seemed completely bogus.

Also, what if Emmet would have called 911? I would guess he could say it was just an accident the picture frame broke and since he called for an ambulance to help his brother, I doubt he would have been arrested. Maybe Varga was quick thinking and realized he could turn this situation to his advantage somehow?

Edited May 25, 2017 by MissBluxom

[Magic]

3 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

Damn, remember when not much was happening on this show? Well, that's over.

Ray was not a good guy, but I'm still going to miss his dumb, stubborn ass.

heheh, that's for sure. I was watching most of the episode kind of tense with anxiety like I am used to watching Fargo.

Gloria reminds me of Gus, kind of uncomplicated and quietly persistent.   Gloria correcting Varga that she was chief was priceless. 

It is going to come back to haunt Varga that he was so dismissive of her and Winnie.

And Gloria doesn't show up on Google searches either, lol.

Emmit's entire life is just crumpling to shreds around him no matter what he does.  Even when he tries to give the stamp to Ray and doesn't take the bait to keep arguing numerous times, things go even more wrong for him.  While I agree the bleeding scene didn't seem realistic it did seem Fargo-like.  

Sy's life is crumbling to pieces too.  Especially since he needs Emmit in a best friend way.  He is losing all of that relationship and doesn't know what to do when Emmit doesn't work together with him to agree with his ideas.  I think Varga will try to hang some bad things on Sy so he can end their relationship and manipulate Emmit easier and have his source of money laundering etc. that he needs. 

Very interesting when Varga said he is not often seen by other people.  

I couldn't believe how fast this episode seemed to get over.  Next we just need the Widow Goldfarb to bring some big guns around so this season can have their own massacre.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Total misfire on Varga panicking as he did.  No way he shows himself to the cops.  The office is bugged, anyway.  I also refuse to accept he would have ordered the immediate hit on Ray and the girl.   Why did Meema wait out Nikki coming outside?!  Why did Yuri not stay to help him?  That made no sense.  Ray took off, making it ever so much easier to handle - just one target in the room.  And he waited.  Then, absurdly, less than five minutes to his perfect chance, he does a Malvo and bolts as if he were invisible.  We better learn that Varga called off the hit as part of pinning Ray's murder on Nikki.

Loved the scene of the two fastidious Colombo's arranging their pens and papers.  But, here again, Varga has just put a bullseye on the operation by going all hardass on the IRS agent.  

Nothing whatsoever on da Burgle online.  Absurd.  The tools Varga has would have found something.  What is true:  A complete lack of data would scare the crap out of him.  He would be going crazy trying to assess just what he is up against.

The murder of a P.O. would bring out the veritable bazookas of Minnesota LE.  They simply could not let such a thing stand.  Accordingly, Moe would no longer have any power to stop Burgle.  He may be a maroon (tm Bugs Bunny) but he is not stoopid when it comes to the politics of inter-agency cooperation.  He is a creature of survival.

The biggest problem for me in this ep is that Emmit betrayed zero fear of Varga whatsoever.  Instead of deferring to him in the office when the cops came, he fended him off.  Nuh uh.  No way.  Despite the pointed inquiry by Varga of his brother, AND the cops being all over their relationship, Emmit makes the move he made without consulting Varga and Sy.  He really was not introduced to us as such a dense individual.  Quite to the contrary, he was shown to be savvy and industrious.  In sum - not a FOOL.

[Ms Lark]

Dang. I totally expected Ray to bleed out all over the stamp, rendering it worthless. Looks like Varga has the stamp. I bet he keeps it as his fee for "housekeeping."

Edited May 25, 2017 by Ms Lark

[knaankos]

This episode is why we should all still have faith in Fargo. Despite the early season slowness and confusion this episode was great.

All episode you could feel the tension and suspense. You just knew something big was going to happen. But what makes it great is that it's totally unpredictable as to what exactly will happen. Most shows or movies are fairly predictable at times but never Fargo. I kept on expecting Ray or Nikki to somehow blunder their way into killing one of the henchmen, that's the twist I was anticipating, but alas.

[loki567]

I'm of two minds. Ray wasn't a particularly well developed character so his death really didn't hit as hard as it was suppose to hit. Like a lot of things this season, the episode kind of felt blah to me. There was a definite resemblance to Lester's murder of his wife and I'm sure that was intentional, but in a season already too familiar I don't like that they're directly coping from more interesting moments' in the series history. 

That being said, killing Ray in episode six of a ten episode season could lead to some interesting directions. We have a situation where Gloria, Winnie, Nikki, and even possibly Sy could all be on the same side in the coming conflict with Varga. That could be good. 

I'm going to pat myself on the back for calling Gloria's aversion to technology. And I'm still guessing that Varga isn't quite the force of nature that Malvo or Hanzee were. He seemed awfully nervous about the cops questioning Emmett. I think before the season end, we're going to find out a lot of his image is just bullshit. 

[ghoulina]

Ray's death made me sad for a minute. I have 2 sons, and they're only 7 and 8. But they fight like fucking wild animals half the time and then love each other fiercely when the chips are down. My worst fear is some long-standing feud like the Stussy brothers had going on. To see Emmit show up, just wanting to give him the stamp and end it all, really touched me. But stupid fucking Ray  - it's never good enough. Now he DOESN'T want the stamp! He died fighting his big brother, like always. 

That made me sad. But I'm sorry, I thought McGregor's dying scene was super hammy and it really took me out of the moment. 

I was really worried for Nikki. I kept yelling - "why are you leaving the room? At night! When you're already on the run??? Stay in the fucking room! No, DON'T go back into the room!" Tense as hell. 

I really enjoyed the scene between Gloria and Varga. She really held her own. And, of course, there's nothing on Google about her. The mystery of Gloria Burgle is the thing that's really got my attention this season. Just WHAT is her deal? 

I enjoy the scenes with Sy and Varga as well. It's funny how Sy has always been the one to handle shit for Emmit. Yet he seems completely out of his depth here, and Emmit seems to have really come to terms with what's going on. I loved when Varga told Sy, "I'm beginning to think finance is just a hobby for you". 

The dispatching of the IRS agent was delightful! 

[ghoulina]

7 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

I always thought then when a police officer asks you to identify yourself, you must tell them your name, address and date of birth. Doesn't matter if you are driving a car or not.

It can get complicated, but I'm fairly certain you don't have to identify yourself unless the officer has reasonable suspicion that you're guilty of a crime. If they're actually detaining you, you show ID. If you're free to go of your own volition, you don't need to show them anything. 

 

7 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

Also, what if Emmet would have called 911? I would guess he could say it was just an accident the picture frame broke and since he called for an ambulance to help his brother, I doubt he would have been arrested. Maybe Varga was quick thinking and realized he could turn this situation to his advantage somehow?

Emmit knows he and Ray are already on the police radar - with Sy hitting Ray's car, and incident with the other Stussy. I'm sure he doesn't want to deal with him at all, unless he absolutely has to. 

[rur]

7 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

Also, as far as the blood goes, maybe some health professional can answer this, but if the glass cut a major vein or artery, I would have expected the blood to come gushing out in torrents. The small amount of blood seemed to indicate it was not the kind of injury that would cause death in a few seconds. That seemed completely bogus.

I thought there was quite a bit of blood. It didn't squirt out, but once he pulled out the piece of glass, I thought it definitely poured out, running down his neck and onto his clothes. The room was dark, though, so maybe everyone watching saw what they thought they should see. 

[SunnyBeBe]

Ref. Vargas refusing to provide his name to police.  Most states have laws that address the Obstruction and Delay of a law enforcement officer in the discharge of his/her duties.  If LE is investigating a crime, and you intentionally cause them delay or obstruct them from proceeding, then, imo, that person could be arrested. EVEN if they are on private property.  By withholding your ID, you now delay them, because now they have to figure out who this person is and why he's stalling them.  A citizen doesn't have to provide information that could incriminate himself, but, providing basic things like ID, would be required, imo.  Not sure if their state had a law like that back then, but, most did. 

Ray forgetting to take the cash when they first left the house.....oh dear.  I'm relieved that he's gone.  Some people are not meant for this world. lol 

Edited May 25, 2017 by SunnyBeBe

[Dev F]

6 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Why did Meema wait out Nikki coming outside?!  Why did Yuri not stay to help him?  That made no sense.

Yuri wasn't there. Varga sent him to swipe the Eden Valley case files, so Meemo was on his own.

Varga also made it clear that he wanted the situation handled quietly ("I'm trying to contain something, not expand it"), so Meemo wasn't going to murder Nikki in public or kick her door down.

Quote

Then, absurdly, less than five minutes to his perfect chance, he does a Malvo and bolts as if he were invisible.  We better learn that Varga called off the hit as part of pinning Ray's murder on Nikki.

We literally see him doing that, don't we? Meemo is waiting in the bathroom to murder Nikki, but then he gets a call and skedaddles.

[Bannon]

1 hour ago, rur said:

I thought there was quite a bit of blood. It didn't squirt out, but once he pulled out the piece of glass, I thought it definitely poured out, running down his neck and onto his clothes. The room was dark, though, so maybe everyone watching saw what they thought they should see. 

Carotid artery spurts, and kills in seconds. Jugualar vein pours/seeps, and takes longer, especially if the cut is partial. It was shot reasonably well. To me, it was a very sad scene, which was the intent, I think. 

[Bannon]

7 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Total misfire on Varga panicking as he did.  No way he shows himself to the cops.  The office is bugged, anyway.  I also refuse to accept he would have ordered the immediate hit on Ray and the girl.   Why did Meema wait out Nikki coming outside?!  Why did Yuri not stay to help him?  That made no sense.  Ray took off, making it ever so much easier to handle - just one target in the room.  And he waited.  Then, absurdly, less than five minutes to his perfect chance, he does a Malvo and bolts as if he were invisible.  We better learn that Varga called off the hit as part of pinning Ray's murder on Nikki.

Loved the scene of the two fastidious Colombo's arranging their pens and papers.  But, here again, Varga has just put a bullseye on the operation by going all hardass on the IRS agent.  

Nothing whatsoever on da Burgle online.  Absurd.  The tools Varga has would have found something.  What is true:  A complete lack of data would scare the crap out of him.  He would be going crazy trying to assess just what he is up against.

The murder of a P.O. would bring out the veritable bazookas of Minnesota LE.  They simply could not let such a thing stand.  Accordingly, Moe would no longer have any power to stop Burgle.  He may be a maroon (tm Bugs Bunny) but he is not stoopid when it comes to the politics of inter-agency cooperation.  He is a creature of survival.

The biggest problem for me in this ep is that Emmit betrayed zero fear of Varga whatsoever.  Instead of deferring to him in the office when the cops came, he fended him off.  Nuh uh.  No way.  Despite the pointed inquiry by Varga of his brother, AND the cops being all over their relationship, Emmit makes the move he made without consulting Varga and Sy.  He really was not introduced to us as such a dense individual.  Quite to the contrary, he was shown to be savvy and industrious.  In sum - not a FOOL.

I read Varga's behavior as idiotic arrogance, not panic, and the most shrewd of people are capable of idiotic arrogance. Varga's idiotic arrogance will be his downfall, I suspect, and it works for me, the very intelligent, cosmopolitan, sexist, organized criminal, with terrible hygeine and an eating disorder, being completely dismissive of two female police officers who he sees as bumpkins that he can completely ignore as credible threats.

This is dependent, however, on the nature of the racket he is running here, which isn't completely clear to me. The IRS thing only makes sense if it is a relatively short term play, say 6 months or less, leaving Emmitt as the patsy who takes the fall for everything, while Vargas and crew leave the country . I want to know more about this, but maybe the writers will keep it extremely vague, which I think would be a bit of a mistake. 

[MisterBluxom]

13 minutes ago, Bannon said:

I read Varga's behavior as idiotic arrogance, not panic, and the most shrewd of people are capable of idiotic arrogance. Varga's idiotic arrogance will be his downfall, I suspect, and it works for me, the very intelligent, cosmopolitan, sexist, organized criminal, with terrible hygeine and an eating disorder, being completely dismissive of two female police officers who he sees as bumpkins that he can completely ignore as credible threats.

This is dependent, however, on the nature of the racket he is running here, which isn't completely clear to me. The IRS thing only makes sense if it is a relatively short term play, say 6 months or less, leaving Emmitt as the patsy who takes the fall for everything, while Vargas and crew leave the country . I want to know more about this, but maybe the writers will keep it extremely vague, which I think would be a bit of a mistake. 

I've also been wondering just what the deal is with Varga. At first, I figured he worked for the Russian mafia or some European mafia. Is it possible he's just a guy with a criminal history who is a wannabe mafia man and he hired two criminals with lesser records to do his strongarm stuff? I'm guessing that may be closer to the truth.

In any event, the rest of this season figures to be the slow takedown and destruction of Varga and it could be just wonderful.

I'm so happy!

P.S. The other thing that will be most interesting next week will be to see Nikki's reaction to the loss of her "beloved". Was she really just playing him? Or was she seriously in love with him? My guess is she won't hardly even blink when she learns he is dead - except to plan what  her response should be. It's very hard to believe she wasn't just playing that dope all along.

Edited May 25, 2017 by MissBluxom

[SunnyBeBe]

6 minutes ago, MissBluxom said:

I've also been wondering just what the deal is with Varga. At first, I figured he worked for the Russian mafia or some European mafia. Is it possible he's just a guy with a criminal history who is a wannabe mafia man and he hired two criminals with lesser records to do his strongarm stuff? I'm guessing that may be closer to the truth.

In any event, the rest of this season figures to be the slow takedown and destruction of Varga and it could be just wonderful. I'm so happy!

I don't know who he works for, if anyone. He sure is an odd bird and not particularly attractive employee material, imo, but, where would he have gotten the funds for that original loan he gave Emmett's company?  And then, he had the patience to wait for the payback........

[Bannon]

1 hour ago, MissBluxom said:

I've also been wondering just what the deal is with Varga. At first, I figured he worked for the Russian mafia or some European mafia. Is it possible he's just a guy with a criminal history who is a wannabe mafia man and he hired two criminals with lesser records to do his strongarm stuff? I'm guessing that may be closer to the truth.

In any event, the rest of this season figures to be the slow takedown and destruction of Varga and it could be just wonderful.

I'm so happy!

P.S. The other thing that will be most interesting next week will be to see Nikki's reaction to the loss of her "beloved". Was she really just playing him? Or was she seriously in love with him? My guess is she won't hardly even blink when she learns he is dead - except to plan what  her response should be. It's very hard to believe she wasn't just playing that dope all along.

I think it more likely that Varga really is intimately connected to a large criminal organization.

Nikki, I suspect, will have about 2 seconds of grief over the demise of her beloved fiancee, and then she'll reformulate plans for financial advancement via unethical/illegal avenues. She's gotta beat the murder rap she doesn't actually deserve first, however.

[Eulipian 5k]

8 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

The biggest problem for me in this ep is that Emmit betrayed zero fear of Varga whatsoever.  Instead of deferring to him in the office when the cops came, he fended him off.  Nuh uh.  No way.  Despite the pointed inquiry by Varga of his brother, AND the cops being all over their relationship, Emmit makes the move he made without consulting Varga and Sy.  He really was not introduced to us as such a dense individual.  Quite to the contrary, he was shown to be savvy and industrious.  In sum - not a FOOL.

I think Emmit was showing his smarts in that he wanted  Varga and his association with Stussy Lots as faaarrr away from Gloria as possible. Varga butted in and, as inevitable, set off every bell, whistle, red flag, and alarm  possible.

The best thing Emmit could hope for now is that Gloria starts thinking Varga may be responsible for Ray's current 'assumption of room temperature", since he was in the room when she talked about a feud between Ray and Emmit.

[Spartan Girl]

12 hours ago, knaankos said:

 

Emmit killing Ray like that was very much reminiscent of season 1 of Fargo when Martin Freeman kills his wife and then calls Malvo. Although this was much more of an accident. 

 

It's funny, because Emmit's whole "Why don't' you like me?" speech to Ray almost reminded me of Lester's "Why don't you like me?" to Molly.  Dude, grow up, nobody has to like you, not even your own brother!

But to be fair, Emmit hasn't really done anything to deserve the same contempt I had for Lester.  Not yet anyway.   

[iMonrey]

I kind of thought maybe Nikki and Ray would somehow get the drop on Varga's goons so I was totally unprepared for Ray's death. I think I can attribute Emmit's inaction to shock. I myself freeze up in a crisis (don't die around me). Plus he'd just been questioned about having a "feud" with his brother by the police, and that had to be rushing through his head too. 

[teddysmom]

Quote

 

"I'm beginning to think finance is just a hobby for you". 

The dispatching of the IRS agent was delightful! 

 

I loved the finance is just a hobby line. I work with a couple people (in RE development) that this line would apply to on a weekly basis. That or their brains have no capacity to retain information. 

The IRS, police, etc all work on the theory that they can scare people enough with their presence, and then by telling them, let me help you get out of this, that you'll think you have no option but to trust them and give them what they want. WRONG!!! 

I was kind of surprised that Gloria left so easily after Varga told them to.    

[rur]

I thought it was interesting that invisible-to-electronic-sensors Gloria is also essentially nonexistent on the internet. 

[MisterBluxom]

44 minutes ago, teddysmom said:

I was kind of surprised that Gloria left so easily after Varga told them to.    

 

My guess is the reason for that was because if the police come to your home and you invite them in and then you ask them to leave, if they have no warrant, the law compels them to leave. Some police will try to argue with you or otherwise trick you when that happens. But if Gloria was to learn anything important after she was asked to leave and didn't, I would guess she would have trouble using that info in court and -  more importantly - using that info to get any other important info or make any discoveries that would help her get a conviction.

She would look very incompetent if she was asked to leave and didn't but then found some info that led her to convict Emmit of something only to have it all thrown out because she broke the law in refusing to leave when asked. IMHO, she is smarter than that.

Edited May 25, 2017 by MissBluxom

[Magic]

2 hours ago, Bannon said:

Nikki, I suspect, will have about 2 seconds of grief over the demise of her beloved fiancee, and then she'll reformulate plans for financial advancement via unethical/illegal avenues. She's gotta beat the murder rap she doesn't actually deserve first, however.

She might not deserve the murder rap for Ray, but don't forget about the murder of Maurice LeFay.  Nikki cold-bloodedly got that in motion.  

Who was the guy with the mustache and in what looked like a military jacket in the painting behind Varga in his "residence".  I thought it was German guy at first but then the red tassels looked Russian perhaps?  And what is it with living in a semi truck?  Doesn't make for a quick get away so does't seem that smart either.

I couldn't quite tell with the timing but it looked like Meemo/Yuri got a message from Varga and that is why they left when they did.

Wouldn't one of them have wanted to follow Ray when he drove off though?  I mean, they would know where Nikki was so could always go back and take care of her but it seems like they would have wanted to see what Ray was up to.  

Edited May 25, 2017 by Magic

[WaltersHair]

It's surprisingly difficult to kill humans. I don't think picture glass could get in as far as would be needed and do as much damage. If Emmit had held pressure and dialed 911, Ray would have had a chance.

Or, if you look at from a law/jury perspective, I'm sure the state would call medical experts forward to say Ray was savable, and any chance is better than no chance at all.

[pezgirl7]

I was pretty bummed that Ray died, at the unintentional hands of Emmit no less. When Emmit called Ray "kid", it was the first time I really got a brotherly vibe from them, so it made the death a minute later even worse.

[Bannon]

30 minutes ago, Magic said:

She might not deserve the murder rap for Ray, but don't forget about the murder of Maurice LeFay.  Nikki cold-bloodedly got that in motion.  

Who was the guy with the mustache and in what looked like a military jacket in the painting behind Varga in his "residence".  I thought it was German guy at first but then the red tassels looked Russian perhaps?  And what is it with living in a semi truck?  Doesn't make for a quick get away so does't seem that smart either.

I couldn't quite tell with the timing but it looked like Meemo/Yuri got a message from Varga and that is why they left when they did.

Wouldn't one of them have wanted to follow Ray when he drove off though?  I mean, they would know where Nikki was so could always go back and take care of her but it seems like they would have wanted to see what Ray was up to.  

Oh, Nikki's a killer, no doubt. 

That was the charming fellow Joe Stalin in the picture, murderer of 50 million or more innocent civilians.

[FormerMod-a1]

I saw blood spurting from Ray's neck, several times.  It wasn't constant, or immediate, but it was there.  It was dark blood, too.

[Suzysite]

Quote

Who was the guy with the mustache and in what looked like a military jacket in the painting behind Varga in his "residence".

Joseph Stalin

[luna1122]

22 minutes ago, Magic said:

She might not deserve the murder rap for Ray, but don't forget about the murder of Maurice LeFay.  Nikki cold-bloodedly got that in motion.  

Nikki is an amoral murderer but I still held my breath when Meemo was waiting in the hotel room for her. Did she really go off and leave the door open? wtf?

22 minutes ago, Magic said:

Who was the guy with the mustache and in what looked like a military jacket in the painting behind Varga in his "residence".  I thought it was German guy at first but then the red tassels looked Russian perhaps?  

It was Stalin, wasn't it?

22 minutes ago, Magic said:

I couldn't quite tell with the timing but it looked like Meemo/Yuri got a message from Varga.

 

He absolutely did.

I was surprised that Ray died last night, and certainly at the way he died. He'd been annoying me the entire episode, with his impotent bluster ("Those guys had better sure be glad I didn't get my hands on them!". Yeah, sure, Ray.) and then his not just taking the stupid stamp and letting it all go, but I still felt kind of sad for him, and for Emmit.

I had to look away during Vargas' bloody teeth scene. So gross.

Loved Gloria's steely gaze with Vargas.

[teddysmom]

Quote

She might not deserve the murder rap for Ray, but don't forget about the murder of Maurice LeFay.  Nikki cold-bloodedly got that in motion.  

Yeah but Maurice did kill Gloria's step father.  I'm wondering if, as usual, the women will get out of this alive.  

Spoiler

Peggy made it out last season.

[Dev F]

21 minutes ago, luna1122 said:

Nikki is an amoral murderer but I still held my breath when Meemo was waiting in the hotel room for her. Did she really go off and leave the door open? wtf?

Maybe Ray took the only key so he wouldn't have to wake her when he returned?

[Evagirl]

2 hours ago, teddysmom said:

I loved the finance is just a hobby line. I work with a couple people (in RE development) that this line would apply to on a weekly basis. That or their brains have no capacity to retain information. 

The IRS, police, etc all work on the theory that they can scare people enough with their presence, and then by telling them, let me help you get out of this, that you'll think you have no option but to trust them and give them what they want. WRONG!!! 

I was kind of surprised that Gloria left so easily after Varga told them to.    

Gloria and her sidekick were not there in an official capacity.  The BIG chief had told them to drop it.  There were actually there in an unofficial capacity and it seemed like Vargas knew it because he was not forthcoming with anything, not even his name.  Had he or Emmit complained to the BIG chief, she would have been in a lot of trouble.

[atlantaloves]

Did that accidental death scene remind anybody of the ending of that fantastic movie "The Grifters"? God, I love this year's series...it is so Fargo-eeeeee. Almost as good as the first season, but then that season had Billy Bob Thornton. So evil! He killed it that first season, but this new season is very very very good. Oh yeah, and Nikki, she was totally using Ray, she is one cool con! Love her. 

[teddysmom]

Quote

Gloria and her sidekick were not there in an official capacity. 

Right but  they weren't speaking to Varga, they were speaking to Emmit, and he didn't seem to have a problem. 

I love that Gloria's hatred of technology which seemed so odd, will end up saving her (hopefully).  

[MisterBluxom]

1 hour ago, atlantaloves said:

Did that accidental death scene remind anybody of the ending of that fantastic movie "The Grifters"? God, I love this year's series...it is so Fargo-eeeeee. Almost as good as the first season, but then that season had Billy Bob Thornton. So evil! He killed it that first season, but this new season is very very very good. Oh yeah, and Nikki, she was totally using Ray, she is one cool con! Love her. 

I just wish we would have found out more about them playing bridge. I figured they may have developed some system for cheating and planned to make a lot of money using that. However, as far as I know, there is no big money to be made from cheating when playing organized tournament bridge. Some pro players make money by charging rich people to play with them. But I've never heard of pairs being awarded large cash prizes for winning tournaments. People frequently accuse others of cheating at bridge. It's fairly easy to detect. So, I think that anyone who tries cheating at bridge will have a very hard time getting away with it. Plus, it's a pretty dim-witted thing to do because it's easy to detect and there is isn't much money to be made by cheating.

Oh wait! Maybe it fits right in with Ray's personality after all. Seems like something he may have thought up and wanted to pursue. Still, I sure would love to know just what they were trying to accomplish when playing bridge tournaments and how they were planning to do it.

Edited May 25, 2017 by MissBluxom

[beadgirl]

Well, I did not expect Ray to meet his demise so soon.  And I'm really liking the characterization of Emmit.  I initially thought he'd be another Lester -- a supposedly normal, banal bougie type easily seduced into evil.  But Emmit really is a decent guy, albeit one who is rather weak in character and who has made some *very* dumb decisions, which will most likely doom him.

Nikki held accountable for the wrong murder would be an interesting twist.

Like many of you, I think Varga has made a grave mistake in underestimating Gloria (whose last name I only noticed last night; ironic for a cop!).  I look forward to her being instrumental in his downfall.

[WaltersHair]

Wouldn't it be funny if Emmit wound up divorced, penniless and with Gloria playing bridge?

[Eulipian 5k]

1 minute ago, WaltersHair said:

Wouldn't it be funny if Emmit wound up divorced, penniless and with Gloria playing bridge?

It would be as crazy as if Emmit's wife sees him with Nikki and divorces him because "That's the girl from the sex tape, without the fake wig!"