S03.E06: The Lord of No Mercy

[MisterBluxom]

53 minutes ago, beadgirl said:

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.

Burgle?

Initially, I thought her last name was "Bungle". That would have been even funnier for a cop - or anyone else.

But I have to say I find it very amusing - almost even "cute" - how Gloria seems to have picked up this cute little sidekick. She's like a little pet bird. She follows Gloria around and she acts real careful not to say anything that will contradict Gloria or cause her any problems. It's very interesting how these two lady police officers seem to have formed a bond all on their own. I'd guess their bosses don't know very much about this but would probably not approve. It sure doesn't seem like standard conduct for one police officer to just make a friend of another one from a different department and then arrange to just pal around together. I've never seen anything like that before. I'd guess before this season is over we may well see each of those ladies save the other one's life.

Gloria and Winnie. The names even sound like the big cop and little cop. Don't they?

Edited May 25, 2017 by MissBluxom

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, WaltersHair said:

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

I was thinking Emmit and Nikki might wind up riding off into the sunset together.

[LittleIggy]

"Vladimir Iliyich Ulyanov, not the Walrus..." Another Big Lebowski reference! :-)

Wow, Ray's death stunned me. Totally unexpected.

Vargas' teeth continue to gross me out. The close-up of him picking at them...::shudder::

[benteen]

This show is becoming unwatchable.  It's boring and no longer funny.  I don't get the obsession with disgust and gross shit this season either.

The scene with Emmitt, Varga, Gloria and Winnie was the one bright spot.

[annzeepark914]

19 minutes ago, benteen said:

This show is becoming unwatchable.  It's boring and no longer funny.  I don't get the obsession with disgust and gross shit this season either.

The scene with Emmitt, Varga, Gloria and Winnie was the one bright spot.

Well, the scene with Emmitt ,Gloria and Winnie was very good.  I can do w/o Varga.  Every time he's in a scene I keep expecting him to do something OTT gross (e.g. that scene where we first see him picking his disgusting teeth with some metal pick? I was sure he was going to spit out a lot of blood). Ugh. I'm definitely not loving Season 3 but I'm still watching.  Don't wanna miss anything!

[FlyingEgret]

10 hours ago, Bannon said:

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.

I give Nikki less than 2 seconds of grief before she starts wondering where the cash is

[AuntiePam]

Like others, I was surprised that Varga drew attention to himself when Winnie and Gloria showed up.   Inserting himself into the conversation could be explained, but refusing to give his name? 

I'd been viewing Varga like he was some kind of mastermind, but now I'm thinking he's not so much.  There's a workplace poster -- the saying goes something like "If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit."  Varga has been bullshitting all season -- mesmerizing Emmitt and Sy with his metaphors and his worldly otherness (or other world-ness)-- but if he had tried that shit with someone who had an ounce of sophistication, he'd have been laughed out of the building. 

[WaltersHair]

Quote

There's a workplace poster -- the saying goes something like "If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit." 

Harry Truman said something along those lines: If You Can’t Convince Them, Confuse Them.

Used to own a quote book.

[Milburn Stone]

Mary Elizabeth Winstead moved like someone with those bruises would. Like Bill Clinton, I felt her pain.

[MisterBluxom]

2 hours ago, FlyingEgret said:

I give Nikki less than 2 seconds of grief before she starts wondering where the cash is

I would say you are a very good judge of character. Perhaps just a tad generous. But two seconds is likely pretty close to the truth.

:)

[welcomerain]

I'm surprised at how lousy a cop Gloria was this episode.

She went at Emmit with nothing, even in the face of intransigent representation, and she got what you'd expect. If you go at a suspect, you need to have a gotcha in your pocket. She had a report of a vehicle accident. Weak. And every questioning a suspect escapes unscathed increases their confidence, tells them the shape of the story you're putting together, what you know and what you don't. There are exceptions to this rule, but they are few, and none of them apply here.

Worse, she characterized herself as the chief. Guess who's not going to have her back on that one. UAA can be a hell of a career ender, and in the course of an unauthorized personal investigation she has specifically been told to stop, I can see this going badly for her.

Of course, she's the designated Brave Heroine flying in the face of unjust restrictions blah blah blah, so like Nikki, she will be the beneficiary of scriptwriter ex machina to whatever extent is required to save her. Indeed, her immunity is going to outlast Nikki's.

But there's a reason cops don't investigate the deaths of members of their own family. There's a reason they don't wear the uniform when they are breaking the orders of their direct superiors. And there's sure as hell a reason why they don't generally confront a suspect until they have something really good to gig 'em.

[MisterBluxom]

1 hour ago, welcomerain said:

Worse, she characterized herself as the chief. Guess who's not going to have her back on that one. UAA can be a hell of a career ender, and in the course of an unauthorized personal investigation she has specifically been told to stop, I can see this going badly for her.

UAA?

I looked in a couple of Police Abbreviation sites. But no luck.

[Raja]

18 hours 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. 

Another thing Meemo, if you have seen the French film Diva, about  the bootleg concert tape of a never recorded Diva being chased by two sets of organized crime one of the local thugs spent the entire movie with an earbud in and not saying hardly anything spoiler alert

Spoiler

when he got killed we could hear folk music playing when the entire plot was them trying to get a  opera

11 minutes ago, MissBluxom said:

UAA?

I looked in a couple of Police Abbreviation sites. But no luck.

The Sheriff keeps talking about his military background. UnAuthorized Absence (UAA) has largely replace (AWOL) Absence WithOut Leave in common US military usage.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Raja

[welcomerain]

  21 hours ago, Bannon said:

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.

I give Nikki less than 2 seconds of grief before she starts wondering where the cash is

As Archer might say: "It can be two things." ;)

[welcomerain]

Mary Elizabeth Winstead moved like someone with those bruises would. Like Bill Clinton, I felt her pain.

I used to box. I've never been injured that badly, but I have some idea. Winstead nailed it.

[welcomerain]

  2 hours ago, welcomerain said:

Worse, she characterized herself as the chief. Guess who's not going to have her back on that one. UAA can be a hell of a career ender, and in the course of an unauthorized personal investigation she has specifically been told to stop, I can see this going badly for her.

UAA?

I looked in a couple of Police Abbreviation sites. But no luck.

Sorry, that's military: Unwarranted assumption of authority. I don't know what cops call it.

[welcomerain]

  18 hours 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. 

Another thing Meemo, if you have seen the French film Diva, about  the bootleg concert tape of a never recorded Diva being chased by two sets of organized crime one of the local thugs spent the entire movie with an earbud in and not saying hardly anything spoiler alert

  Reveal hidden contents

when he got killed we could hear folk music playing when the entire plot was them trying to get a  opera

  13 minutes ago, MissBluxom said:

UAA?

I looked in a couple of Police Abbreviation sites. But no luck.

The Sheriff keeps talking about his military background. UnAuthorized Absence (UAA) has largely replace (AWOL) Absence WithOut Leave in common US military usage.

Oh, I didn't know about that other UAA. It was AWOL when I was a lad.

[Raja]

3 minutes ago, welcomerain said:

Oh, I didn't know about that other UAA. It was AWOL when I was a lad.

I think it is actually UA. not UAA

[Eulipian 5k]

6 minutes ago, Raja said:

Another thing Meemo, if you have seen the French film Diva, about  the bootleg concert tape of a never recorded Diva being chased by two sets of organized crime one of the local thugs spent the entire movie with an earbud in and not saying hardly anything spoiler alert

"Diva" That's the first film that comes to mind every time I see Meemo. "Je n'aime pas le this , je n'aime pas le that...". I think they lifted Meemo from that film.

[welcomerain]

  7 minutes ago, welcomerain said:

Oh, I didn't know about that other UAA. It was AWOL when I was a lad.

I think it is actually UA. not UAA

Beats me. All I know is, I keep my discharge papers in my safety deposit box so I can forever prove that the bastards can't make me come back.

[welcomerain]

Like others, I was surprised that Varga drew attention to himself when Winnie and Gloria showed up.   Inserting himself into the conversation could be explained, but refusing to give his name? 

I'd been viewing Varga like he was some kind of mastermind, but now I'm thinking he's not so much.  There's a workplace poster -- the saying goes something like "If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit."  Varga has been bullshitting all season -- mesmerizing Emmitt and Sy with his metaphors and his worldly otherness (or other world-ness)-- but if he had tried that shit with someone who had an ounce of sophistication, he'd have been laughed out of the building. 

Actually, i think Varga played it pretty well. He volunteered no information that was not in his interest. If they had demanded his ID, that'd be different. He may correctly guess that they are not being assertive because they are acting beyond their authority.

Middle class Americans are taught to cooperate with the cops, but unless you have to or have called them to help you, it's often a bad idea.

[SoothingDave]

13 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

"Vladimir Iliyich Ulyanov, not the Walrus..." Another Big Lebowski reference! :-)

Wow, Ray's death stunned me. Totally unexpected.

Vargas' teeth continue to gross me out. The close-up of him picking at them...::shudder::

Yep.  They used "preferred nomenclature" in an earlier episode.

[Ottis]

On 5/24/2017 at 9:01 PM, AimingforYoko said:

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

But really, did it? Ray died accidentally. What else happened? Aside from some conversations, nothing. I'm not complaining, I'm enjoying the season. I just didn't see this episode as any different than earlier episodes.

On 5/24/2017 at 9:33 PM, thuganomics85 said:

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.

Varga has an almost unearthly "none of this really matters" sense to him. As if what he is doing is just to pass time, and there are no actual consequences. He confronts the cops in a way that is practically a slap in the face. He lays on a floor and listens to music. When he isn't telling someone what to do, he stands around and picks his teeth and thinks of ... what, exactly? If he is part of a syndicate, he doesn't seem to report to anyone, or have anyone telling him what to do next. he's just ... following a plan he always follows? Because he has nothing else to do?

20 hours ago, luna1122 said:

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

That didn't bother me. The whole time I was just wondering what he was thinking, or if he was thinking? He was like a robot turned off in self-cleaning mode.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Ottis

[MisterBluxom]

1 hour ago, welcomerain said:

Sorry, that's military: Unwarranted assumption of authority. I don't know what cops call it.

No Problem and thank you.

I really like your posts. I don't know why I don't seem to remember you. Your posts are extremely informative.

[cpcathy]

For an episode where someone got killed in a crazy way, it sure was slow and kind of boring. I'm also finding I don't appreciate the color pallet, very dark and washed out, no vibrant colors, like Peggy's red gloves and hat last season. I'm still in, but only because now I have to see if this season goes anywhere at all.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Inside the episode: anatomy of a scene

[MisterBluxom]

1 hour ago, welcomerain said:

Middle class Americans are taught to cooperate with the cops, but unless you have to or have called them to help you, it's often a bad idea.

There is a huge amount of material on the net in which professors of law explain that idea is far worse than bad.

The idea is that people who wind up in jail - especially if they are innocent - are very often there because they agreed to talk to the police without a lawyer present and it was the words that came out of their own mouths that convicted them.

More than that, agreeing to co-operate with the police (without a lawyer present) often results in much bigger sentences than you would otherwise get. For what it's worth, I would strongly suggest that whenever people are confronted by police and asked questions, they should always be very polite and respectful towards the police but should tell them, "I have been advised to have a lawyer present when being questioned by the police."

From the reading I've done, most people seem to think that "co-operating with the police" is a good idea. But not without a lawyer present. Co-operate all you like, but only if your lawyer agrees that it's a good idea.

I'm sorry for expounding on this. But it makes me so angry because so many good people (innocent people) wind up in prison because they just didn't know what a terrible idea it is to talk to the police without a lawyer present. The police have many years of experience in knowing just what to ask in order to get the info they need to convict you. In so many cases, that's the one thing they really care about. They want to convict you. When they say they'd appreciate your co-operation, what they really mean is they want to convict you and they'd appreciate if you would help them do that to you.

Edited May 26, 2017 by MissBluxom

[SoothingDave]

Same rules for the IRS!

[Dowel Jones]

It's a good thing that Joe Friday isn't around anymore.  You would get "the speech" for that comment!

[ChipBach]

So...  Why didn't Emmitt just tell the IRS dude that he took out the $10K to give to his brother?  "Sorry, I should have filled out the AML form, do you have one? My brother is a dumb-ass and obviously needs the dough"...  Seemed like an easy response to the "complication"....

[MisterBluxom]

20 minutes ago, ChipBach said:

So...  Why didn't Emmitt just tell the IRS dude that he took out the $10K to give to his brother?  "Sorry, I should have filled out the AML form, do you have one? My brother is a dumb-ass and obviously needs the dough"...  Seemed like an easy response to the "complication"....

I think that is exactly the kind of thing a good lawyer would do for Emmitt.  The lawyer would stop him from answering the question and then he would have told that to the IRS agent. If he didn't know that answer right then and there, he would have found a way to tell the agent he would give him the answer later on.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

I Am The Stussy Stamp On Fargo

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

[garyvp]

I don't get why it wasn't easier for Varga & co. to kill Nikki and then disappear her and Ray (and have missing persons issue) an instead set up NIkki with  the police as a murder suspect - she is too clever to get  caught in that. Especially with Gloria and Winnie at the table. I forgot, did they remove the stamp from the crime scene?

[SoothingDave]

Yes.  Varga told his minion to remove the frame and the stamp, but leave the glass.  So they can frame Nikki.  No pun intended.

Who actually has possession of the stamp (Varga or Emmitt) I don't know.

[tennisgurl]

That escalated quickly! I'm surprised that Ray died so quickly (and accidently) but also, kind of...not? I figured one of the brothers would die, and Ray was the one who seemed like the one most likely to do something stupid and get himself killed. Emmett might be the one in trouble with the criminal empire, but he seems to be pretty level headed, while Ray is a stubborn idiot. I don't think he deserved to die such a bloody death at the hands of his own brother, but it wouldn't have happened if he just taken the damn stamp. What did he expect now? In the end, he wasn't even really angry about Emmett taking the stamp, he was just bitter that his brother was more successful.

I'm feeling more sorry for Emmett than I expected I would. I assumed he would show himself to have a dark side just waiting to come out pretty quickly like a lot of the other "normal person thrown into crime" types of characters they've had, but he actually seems like an alright guy whos biggest flaw is being a rather weak person who took some seemingly harmless shortcuts and is now in WAY over his head. I'm interested to see if he gets darker, goes to the police, or cracks under pressure.

I think that Vargo might be a bit more like Nikki than he might like. Both vastly overestimate their own intelligence and push too hard when they should be backing off. Vargo clearly thinks he's hot shit, even more than Nikki, and he thinks he's above everything and everyone, and I think that will be his down fall. Also, those teeth! Austin Powers would give this guy a toothbrush!

Alright, I know what the show is going for with Gloria and technology hating her and vice versa, and how the season is going for a theme of information being what you make of it and what you have at the moment, and Gloria having no prescience at all online is a good way of showing her lack of use of technology, but its rather ridiculous that a state employee in 2010 would have NOTHING online about them. Not even some articles about arrests she's been involved in? Or pictures in local papers? Nothing? Not even some other woman with her same name somewhere? Did they say they had no website either? How do they even function in 2010? I guess its possible, but it seems like more trouble than its worth. Are we going to find out that Gloria is actually a ghost or something, or is literally allergic to tech?

Edited May 26, 2017 by tennisgurl

[Nutjob]

Quote

Alright, I know what the show is going for with Gloria and technology hating her and vice versa, and how the season is going for a theme of information being what you make of it and what you have at the moment, and Gloria having no prescience at all online is a good way of showing her lack of use of technology, but its rather ridiculous that a state employee in 2010 would have NOTHING online about them. Not even some articles about arrests she's been involved in? Or pictures in local papers? Nothing? Not even some other woman with her same name somewhere? Did they say they had no website either? How do they even function in 2010? I guess its possible, but it seems like more trouble than its worth. Are we going to find out that Gloria is actually a ghost or something, or is literally allergic to tech?

Gloria's a city employee--she works for the Eden Valley PD. And people would be surprised at how technologically-challenged some rural areas still are, even in 2017. Many don't even have broadband access and local governments can have some pretty bare bones websites.

For reference, here is the current Eden Valley, MN PD website. For real. http://www.edenvalley.govoffice.com/index.asp?SEC=68B8686D-3083-4F4F-B4A1-1C8B591C6E9C&Type=B_BASIC

Edited May 26, 2017 by Nutjob

[AzureOwl]

On 2017-5-25 at 1:48 PM, Evagirl said:

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.

The sheriff doesn't have the authority to order Gloria to drop it. As she is so quick to point out, technically she is still the Chief until the transfer is complete. 

He also has no authority over Officer Lopez. They were in St. Cloud and she is an officer of the St. Cloud PD.

If push comes to shove they can hide behind her still open investigation of the traffic collision on the diner parking lot. 

6 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

UAA?

I looked in a couple of Police Abbreviation sites. But no luck.

6 hours ago, welcomerain said:

Sorry, that's military: Unwarranted assumption of authority. I don't know what cops call it.

The thing is, at this point, the takeover of her police department by the sheriff's office hasn't taken effect, so Gloria is technically still the chief of Even Valley PD. The fact that she's choosing to ignore the man who will be her boss in a matter of days in a manner that he will undoubtedly interpret as a "Fuck You" is another issue entirely, but probably still legal.

Then there's the fact that all of this took place in St. Cloud, with a St. Cloud PD officer present. Officer Lopez is conducting her own investigation into the Stussys, and Dammik doesn't have the authority to order her to drop it. It's not his jurisdiction. 

3 hours ago, ChipBach said:

So...  Why didn't Emmitt just tell the IRS dude that he took out the $10K to give to his brother?  "Sorry, I should have filled out the AML form, do you have one? My brother is a dumb-ass and obviously needs the dough"...  Seemed like an easy response to the "complication"....

That would've been worse. As far as the IRS is concerned, those $10k would be income that Ray would have to declare. To say nothing of what Ray would've said if the IRS tracked him down to check. 

2 hours ago, garyvp said:

I don't get why it wasn't easier for Varga & co. to kill Nikki and then disappear her and Ray (and have missing persons issue) an instead set up NIkki with  the police as a murder suspect - she is too clever to get  caught in that. Especially with Gloria and Winnie at the table. I forgot, did they remove the stamp from the crime scene?

Varga & Co have no idea how smart Nikki is. Considering how incredibly misogynistic those three are, they probably think Ray was the brains behind everything and that using for a patsy will be easier than disposing of her body.

Edited May 26, 2017 by AzureOwl

[AuntiePam]

8 hours ago, welcomerain said:

And there's sure as hell a reason why they don't generally confront a suspect until they have something really good to gig 'em.

Good point, but I didn't see it as confronting a suspect.   All she suspects is that there's more to the story, maybe because Sy was so uncooperative with Winnie about who was driving the Hummer.  So she accompanies Winnie for a follow-up, thinking that a police chief might have more clout.  

The IRS agent -- was it curious that he didn't follow the rules?  Should we be suspicious of him -- that maybe he wasn't IRS? 

Something else I'm curious about -- in an earlier episode, in a police station -- I don't recall which one -- someone is being questioned and through a window we see to another room, where there is an elderly woman (?) in a wheelchair and it looks like there's some kind of disagreement.  I wondered if that was a throw-away reference to another Coen movie, but then when we saw Emmit's MIL in a wheelchair, it made me wonder. 

[Mockingbird]

10 hours ago, welcomerain said:

I'm surprised at how lousy a cop Gloria was this episode.

She went at Emmit with nothing, even in the face of intransigent representation, and she got what you'd expect. If you go at a suspect, you need to have a gotcha in your pocket. She had a report of a vehicle accident. Weak. And every questioning a suspect escapes unscathed increases their confidence, tells them the shape of the story you're putting together, what you know and what you don't. There are exceptions to this rule, but they are few, and none of them apply here.

I don't know if Gloria sees Emmit as a suspect, though. She thinks, mostly correctly, that he was supposed to have been killed instead of her stepfather. She was just looking for Ray's motive trying to have him killed when she was asking about the car crash.

Add me to the list of people surprised to lose Ray relatively early in the season. And I was surprised that I was a little sad to see him die. 

Varga is disgusting, but he's such a fascinating character. There is so much weakness under his bravado. 

[MisterBluxom]

1 hour ago, Mockingbird said:

Varga is disgusting, but he's such a fascinating character. There is so much weakness under his bravado. 

On the surface, this is true. But if he is a representative of some criminal organization, then it may not be true.

The one puzzling question is, "Is Varga sufficiently wealthy that he could lend $1 million to Stussy Lots for a year and only then come around and demand a partnership?"

If the money was his and he was not part of any organization, Stussy Lots could just refuse to pay back the money and tell him that he'd have to sue to get it back. If he didn't belong to some larger organization, I can't imagine him ever risking his money in this way.

Most people think the money comes from a larger organization and that would seem to be more likely than Varga being able to just loan a million dollars on the spot. He would have to have many millions of dollars to do that and if he did, I would think he would travel in the company of more than just two strange henchmen.

In any event, I'm very much looking forward to see how this story develops. I have loved this season just as much as the previous two seasons. I just wish they could figure out how to produce two seasons every year. I really hate having to wait so long in between seasons. Sigh.

Edited May 26, 2017 by MissBluxom

[Nancypants]

Is The Ambassador Motel the same motel where everyone gets shot up at the end of season 2? It looks like it...

[cpcathy]

That was The Motor Motel. It was in Sioux Falls.

[Stratego]

2 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

On the surface, this is true. But if he is a representative of some criminal organization, then it may not be true.

The one puzzling question is, "Is Varga sufficiently wealthy that he could lend $1 million to Stussy Lots for a year and only then come around and demand a partnership?"

If the money was his and he was not part of any organization, Stussy Lots could just refuse to pay back the money and tell him that he'd have to sue to get it back. If he didn't belong to some larger organization, I can't imagine him ever risking his money in this way.

Most people think the money comes from a larger organization and that would seem to be more likely than Varga being able to just loan a million dollars on the spot. He would have to have many millions of dollars to do that and if he did, I would think he would travel in the company of more than just two strange henchmen.

In any event, I'm very much looking forward to see how this story develops. I have loved this season just as much as the previous two seasons. I just wish they could figure out how to produce two seasons every year. I really hate having to wait so long in between seasons. Sigh.

Juxtaposing Mrs. Goldfarb's comments to Sy ("you don't want to make an enemy of a Goldfarb") and Varga finding Emmitt's parking lot company  from "afar", I believe that Varga is working for Mrs. Goldfarb so she can buy the company--and "for cheap".

[welcomerain]

  14 hours ago, welcomerain said:

Sorry, that's military: Unwarranted assumption of authority. I don't know what cops call it.

No Problem and thank you.

I really like your posts. I don't know why I don't seem to remember you. Your posts are extremely informative.

Thank you! I'm quite flattered.

Probably you don't remember me because I've not been posting much here until quite recently. Not sure why I didn't before or why I am now, but I'm enjoying it.

[welcomerain]

  On 5/25/2017 at 2:48 PM, Evagirl said:

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.

The sheriff doesn't have the authority to order Gloria to drop it. As she is so quick to point out, technically she is still the Chief until the transfer is complete. 

He also has no authority over Officer Lopez. They were in St. Cloud and she is an officer of the St. Cloud PD.

If push comes to shove they can hide behind her still open investigation of the traffic collision on the diner parking lot. 

  14 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

UAA?

I looked in a couple of Police Abbreviation sites. But no luck.

  14 hours ago, welcomerain said:

Sorry, that's military: Unwarranted assumption of authority. I don't know what cops call it.

The thing is, at this point, the takeover of her police department by the sheriff's office hasn't taken effect, so Gloria is technically still the chief of Even Valley PD. The fact that she's choosing to ignore the man who will be her boss in a matter of days in a manner that he will undoubtedly interpret as a "Fuck You" is another issue entirely, but probably still legal.

Then there's the fact that all of this took place in St. Cloud, with a St. Cloud PD officer present. Officer Lopez is conducting her own investigation into the Stussys, and Dammik doesn't have the authority to order her to drop it. It's not his jurisdiction. 

  11 hours ago, ChipBach said:

So...  Why didn't Emmitt just tell the IRS dude that he took out the $10K to give to his brother?  "Sorry, I should have filled out the AML form, do you have one? My brother is a dumb-ass and obviously needs the dough"...  Seemed like an easy response to the "complication"....

That would've been worse. As far as the IRS is concerned, those $10k would be income that Ray would have to declare. To say nothing of what Ray would've said if the IRS tracked him down to check. 

  10 hours ago, garyvp said:

I don't get why it wasn't easier for Varga & co. to kill Nikki and then disappear her and Ray (and have missing persons issue) an instead set up NIkki with  the police as a murder suspect - she is too clever to get  caught in that. Especially with Gloria and Winnie at the table. I forgot, did they remove the stamp from the crime scene?

Varga & Co have no idea how smart Nikki is. Considering how incredibly misogynistic those three are, they probably think Ray was the brains behind everything and that using for a patsy will be easier than disposing of her body.

I disagree with your analysis of Gloria's position. She has been ordered to take leave. She has been ordered to abandon this investigation. She has no authority to assist Lopez with anything, she has no authority to pursue an obviously related investigation, she has no authority period. She's in St. Cloud? I believe that would be called "out of her jurisdiction".

[shapeshifter]

11 hours ago, ChipBach said:

So...  Why didn't Emmitt just tell the IRS dude that he took out the $10K to give to his brother?  "Sorry, I should have filled out the AML form, do you have one? My brother is a dumb-ass and obviously needs the dough"...  Seemed like an easy response to the "complication"....

Sounds like a good cover story to me, but Emmit doesn't exactly think too quickly on his feet, and I get the impression that he really is "Minnesota nice" and without guile.
I could be wrong, though. 
When he mentioned to Ray that of course he had a key since he had cosigned on the mortgage, I figured Emmit was probably just patting himself on the back for signing a piece of paper and that he might not have actually put out any money.
But I think we are supposed to believe he never cheated on his wife and that he is law abiding etc. 
Still, my jury is still out on whether he's selfish—given his ostentatious (to me) lifestyle.

[welcomerain]

  16 hours ago, welcomerain said:

I'm surprised at how lousy a cop Gloria was this episode.

She went at Emmit with nothing, even in the face of intransigent representation, and she got what you'd expect. If you go at a suspect, you need to have a gotcha in your pocket. She had a report of a vehicle accident. Weak. And every questioning a suspect escapes unscathed increases their confidence, tells them the shape of the story you're putting together, what you know and what you don't. There are exceptions to this rule, but they are few, and none of them apply here.

I don't know if Gloria sees Emmit as a suspect, though. She thinks, mostly correctly, that he was supposed to have been killed instead of her stepfather. She was just looking for Ray's motive trying to have him killed when she was asking about the car crash.

Add me to the list of people surprised to lose Ray relatively early in the season. And I was surprised that I was a little sad to see him die. 

Varga is disgusting, but he's such a fascinating character. There is so much weakness under his bravado. 

If Gloria didn't consider the strong possibility that Emmit is dirty in this, she's an even worse cop than I thought. Sometimes there are truly innocent victims, or would-be victims, but it's not the way to bet.

I suggest her department beg Lou Solverson to come out of retirement and run their department for a bit. If nothing else, the coffee will probably improve.

[welcomerain]

  16 hours ago, welcomerain said:

And there's sure as hell a reason why they don't generally confront a suspect until they have something really good to gig 'em.

Good point, but I didn't see it as confronting a suspect.   All she suspects is that there's more to the story, maybe because Sy was so uncooperative with Winnie about who was driving the Hummer.  So she accompanies Winnie for a follow-up, thinking that a police chief might have more clout.  

The IRS agent -- was it curious that he didn't follow the rules?  Should we be suspicious of him -- that maybe he wasn't IRS? 

Something else I'm curious about -- in an earlier episode, in a police station -- I don't recall which one -- someone is being questioned and through a window we see to another room, where there is an elderly woman (?) in a wheelchair and it looks like there's some kind of disagreement.  I wondered if that was a throw-away reference to another Coen movie, but then when we saw Emmit's MIL in a wheelchair, it made me wonder. 

I've addressed your point about Emmit as a suspect in my previous comment to another poster. I see it differently, but then I'm a terribly suspicious person.

As for the IRS agent, there is nothing requiring him not to come by a company and do an audit with their consent. That they were foolish enough to give consent, implicitly if not expressly, is another in the long tally of Sy's legal failings. What third-tier toilet did that guy graduate from? Did he actually pass the bar?

Anyway, the IRS guy is only required to give notice if he is demanding to do an audit. Just being politely insistent is not a demand. Indeed, it's rather Minnesotan. He's not nice, just being polite about not being nice. Like he's doing them a favor. (To quote some philosopher or another.)

[welcomerain]

  4 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

On the surface, this is true. But if he is a representative of some criminal organization, then it may not be true.

The one puzzling question is, "Is Varga sufficiently wealthy that he could lend $1 million to Stussy Lots for a year and only then come around and demand a partnership?"

If the money was his and he was not part of any organization, Stussy Lots could just refuse to pay back the money and tell him that he'd have to sue to get it back. If he didn't belong to some larger organization, I can't imagine him ever risking his money in this way.

Most people think the money comes from a larger organization and that would seem to be more likely than Varga being able to just loan a million dollars on the spot. He would have to have many millions of dollars to do that and if he did, I would think he would travel in the company of more than just two strange henchmen.

In any event, I'm very much looking forward to see how this story develops. I have loved this season just as much as the previous two seasons. I just wish they could figure out how to produce two seasons every year. I really hate having to wait so long in between seasons. Sigh.

Juxtaposing Mrs. Goldfarb's comments to Sy ("you don't want to make an enemy of a Goldfarb") and Varga finding Emmitt's parking lot company  from "afar", I believe that Varga is working for Mrs. Goldfarb so she can buy the company--and "for cheap".

Now THAT is a very interesting speculation. It's going pretty far, but it's within the realm of reason. Why not give Stussy $1 million to buy lots which she will later acquire at a bargain price? Why not hire a creep to engage in deniable shenanigans which compromise Emmit and his company?

For that matter, has anyone seen Varga and gang do anything both illegal and profitable? That truck doesn't seem to be moving; it may contain nothing at all, its sole purpose to distract Emmit and Sy, and make them afraid to talk to the cops. If it is not moving, it is very likely not making money. If it contains contraband, it's a liability to leave it sitting unprotected.

If you wind up being right, you will deserve many kudos. Even if that doesn't turn out to be the case, it's a smart bit of thinking.

[AuntiePam]

59 minutes ago, welcomerain said:

I've addressed your point about Emmit as a suspect in my previous comment to another poster. I see it differently, but then I'm a terribly suspicious person.
 

It's understandable that she'd suspect Ray, because of his connection with Maurice.   And she could suspect that Emmit is dirty now that she's met Varga. 

But prior to that, I don't see that she had a reason to suspect Emmit in connection with the murder, unless she thought that Ray and Emmit, being brothers, were in cahoots.