ToastnBacon

Fishbach's statement about "three small women" being on the chopping block probably didn't go unnoticed at tribal. I hope it stuck in the minds of the alpha males he so fears, and gets him voted out. His comment about an evolution of strategy sounds more like a cover story for not being able to make things click. I've always wanted someone to ask a tribe member how their name is spelled on the afternoon of a TC.

Fish reminds me of when George Will wrote that book about baseball back in the 1990s. George Will had studied baseball extensively, could talk about the game endlessly, but could never play it. I remember liking Fishbach in Tocantins, but I don't like him in this season. His statement about "three small women" being on the chopping block probably didn't go unnoticed at tribal. I hope it stuck in the minds of the alpha males he so fears, and gets him voted out. His comment about an evolution of strategy sounds more like a cover story for not being able to make things click.

Note: I replied to this comment from the "No room at the inn" episode thread in here because I stray from the episode topic in my reply.I started out complaining about this episode being Matt centric, but I sure as hell have been talking about it a lot. It must have not been that bad, and I think the discussion in here has made me like the Matt character a little more. In regards to spirituality and religious matters, I am not surprised that I'm interested in this show. I am an atheist who used to be a devout Christian. My conversion to atheism took over a decade to unfold and was painful at times. What you said about how people reconcile the unexplained, is so very true. That and how people interpret the bible in so many different ways played a large role in my journey to atheism. What makes this show interesting to me is how people are coping with such an extraordinary event. I can't say how I would react to an unexplained disappearance of 2 percent of the world's population. Even if I suspected the hand of God was involved, I'd be pretty darned angry at his insistence on being ambiguous about it. I've never understood why faith is virtuous.

An F3 with a 10 person jury can still tie. Two players get five votes each and the third gets zero.

Goat cheesy Kass with her plumber's ass crack showing all the time had to go. I was tired of hearing her talk like she had the game locked up.

Why did Cierra vote Savage? Not that it would have mattered, but she went against her voting block.

@stillshimpy I like your analysis of Matt. Despite being a bungler, he does try to stand tall and has done some very brave things as a preacher.

Sure, there could have been that going on. However, I do think he was furious at what happened during the day. When he originally encountered that young lady who challenged him on wanting to set the stock guy free, he looked pissed that he couldn't do it then and there. After his showdown with John and his promise that, "we'll have a talk" he practically marched off to the stocks. I picked up an air of defiance in him, he seemed to have the walk of a crusader and not the sheepish gait of a shamed sinner. But you could be right too. That is only how I processed the scene.

She is great in this role, but she has only had a handful of scenes. Hoping we get to see a little more of her.I'm also looking forward to seeing her on the warpath. I've got to admit that I was somewhat puzzled by Dodd whimpering in the car. What led to him to do a 180 like that? Was it because he was scolded?

@stillshimpy Matt spent most of last season trying to convince people that the departure was not the rapture of the righteous. So, I'm not sure I would say he is incapable of viewing the situation outside of a religious context. About him going to take that guy's place in the stocks, I think he genuinely wanted to set that guy free. I had the impression that it was more his anger and frustration of the day's events that made him want to be take a stand.

I took it as they understood, but were being reluctant accept that was their only option. They were in disbelief from the shock of it, but they really knew what was up.

Thanks!You just gave an excuse to watch it again. I didn't catch the the 7 a.m. clock. I only noticeed the sun shine in the trees and the 1010 a.m. time.

Excellent episode! Anyone notice the song as the ending credits rolled? It was in Rasing Arizona, another Cohen Brothers film. Hanzee is pretty darn scary, don't cha know! Pretty good tracker too! You betcha that was some pretty darn serious Indian trope. But I liked it anyway.

I had forgot about that!Wow! He actually has a lot in common with John, and now I'm looking forward to the talk he is going to have with him once he is out of the stocks.

I'll go along with your analysis, but I would add that there is a practical reason to downplay the talk of miracles for the residents of the town. Their town has been turned into a circus and many probably want things to return to a simpler time. I would think some of those townspeople who do believe in miracles, would want to downplay it, and root out phony claims and fraudsters. That might be the reason the town gives John so much leeway in being the enforcer. I'm sure they are reaping benefits from the sensational aspect of being departure free, but they have also lost a lot too.

LOL If you spend a lot of time on the Halmark Channel, I can understand that reaction. Although I said the same thing about the writers throwing a lot of stuff at the wall to see what sticks, I think there is some very good stuff on this show. I'm more of a disgruntled fan of Lost when I speak ill of the writing. This show is haunting me week to week, and I think that is usually an indicator of a show being thought provoking.

Here is that song that played at the end of last night's episode, Regina Spektor's "Laughing with". I like the singer's voice a lot, and her delivery of these lyrics is amazing if you consider how many words and syllables there are in a couple of those lines. I am an atheist, and I usually get annoyed when someone tells me that there are no atheists in foxholes. However, I'm not so sure that is the message of this song. This song, and the Leftovers, make me ponder how sweet, and yet how pathetic humans can be about matters of spirituality and praying to God. I really don't know what to make of this song, or the Leftovers. But I do like how both make me feel in brief moments. Making sense of this show is a bit like trying to make sense of a muddled dream. When I awake in the morning after having such a dream, the only thing I know for certain is there were good and bad parts to it.

Awesome post! As much as I hate the nasally folksy theme song, it is telling us not to get too wrapped up in the mystery.

Sorry, but I don't think you are going to find out if Mary woke up or not. If Mary does wake up it will only be after someone turns a donkey wheel at the bottom of a cave that makes the Island move through time.

I never liked Matt much either, but he can have his moments. Don't be confused. It was a throw away scene, just window dressing with no meaning. They won't try to make sense out of everything. They are throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall and not caring what sticks. It is the TV show, Lost, in so many ways.

Excellent opening scene creating "Groundhog Day" with the repetition. I despise this year's nasally folksy theme song more with each listen. The freaks in the camp are worse than the chain smoking GR assholes, and John is an asshole. Matt is a dumbass and I didn't enjoy spending this episode with him until his showdown with John. What a badass move to take that dude's place in the stocks, stupid but badass. The no one is laughing at God song was cool, but then they had to play another nasal folk song as the credits rolled. This episode sucked compared to last week's episode. When Kevin and Nora showed up, I was hoping it would get better, but the damn goats cut our time short with them

Oh, I was expecting Peggy's Corvair to do a Ralph Nader style roll-over once it went into an uncontrolled skid. :-)

I haven't figured out Peggy, but I suspect that she knows that they are doing a lousy job of covering their tracks. I'm thinking that her assurances to Ed that, "It worked" really meant "it worked in setting you up to take the blame, so I can move to California with our savings when you get put in jail." I'm not sure because they haven't revealed that much about her yet.

We haven't been told where Milligan grew up, only that he works for an organized crime outfit from KC. However the way the character has a veneer of playfulness over his evil, I've just been assuming that it is his way of having fun.

I watched that scene again last night, and yes it was an auto service shop. Presumably somewhere between Fargo and Luvern.Lou stopped to gas up his prowler on the way home, he wasn't looking for damaged autos. At least at this point. There was a line of cars waiting for gas, but no talk of gas rationing on odd or even days. The guy at the pumps said, "they come in odd months." Meaning UFOs. No other information was revealed in that scene. I'm beginning to think the UFO stuff might be more than window dressing. I'm going to trust that the writers will use it in a clever way, and not get stupid with a Mork from Ork plot line. Maybe that repair shop is what eventually leads to the discovery of Peggy's car being damaged, but that wasn't what was going on in that scene. Either it was a complete throw-away scene, or they were setting up more information to be revealed later. If we were watching Lost or The Leftovers, then it being a throw-away scene would be a possibility. However, the way the writers in Fargo have been doing business, I am expecting a connect at some point.