S02.E05: The Gift Of The Magi

[Ujio]

LOVED how Charlie ended up coming out of the butcher shop with a package of meat after the first attempt -- to wreak havoc. I dig the sense of humor!

 

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Cristin Milioti in Once on Broadway. I know Patrick Wilson has a wonderful voice, too. Whenever I see them together, I wish they'd break into a duet of some kind. 

 

Whoever is in charge of casting is brilliant. All the way down to a seemingly insignificant role of Noreen, everyone is cast perfectly. 

[Catherinewriter]

Always fun to see Bruce Campbell, but do other people wonder why he didn't try to mimic Reagan's accent. After all, many actors learn accents for one role or another. Seemed strange to m.

[hendersonrocks]

hendersonrocks, since you've lived in the area -- is it at all likely that in 1979 (or any time), Peggy would have been able to get from home to Luverne on a bus?

 

No, it's not at all feasible. There are small shuttles available for churches and the like, but no mass transit...now or back in the late 70s. Regional bus lines come through with service to/from Sioux Falls and the Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) but I laughed when I saw the Rock County bus in the first episode and number of other people brought it up in the first episode thread, too.

 

It seems like the show is trying to illustrate that Ed and Peggy live a ways outside of town, and I wonder if that will continue to be relevant to the plot. Peggy hitting Rye on her way home from town, the bus situation since she lost use of her car, how it was light when Ed left the burning butcher shop and dark when he got home, and just the general landscape of their place from what we've seen. There are a couple very small communities in Rock County outside of Luverne - Beaver Creek, Magnolia, Hardwick, Steen, Hills - but all of them are still within ~20 minutes of Luverne.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

To this end...Where were Peggy and Ed going when they wrecked their car?  They were on their way out of town.  We never saw the question asked.  As savvy as Lou is showing himself to be, it's difficult to buy he wouldn't have been tracking down the "alibi."  

[shapeshifter]

Always fun to see Bruce Campbell, but do other people wonder why he didn't try to mimic Reagan's accent. After all, many actors learn accents for one role or another. Seemed strange to m.

The accent didn't both me, but then I was totally distracted by the black hair.

[Conan Troutman]

To this end...Where were Peggy and Ed going when they wrecked their car?  They were on their way out of town.  We never saw the question asked.  As savvy as Lou is showing himself to be, it's difficult to buy he wouldn't have been tracking down the "alibi."  

 

Maybe he did check (or let someone else do it), it's not really that showing that scene would serve a purpose. Maybe he'll mention it when trying to convince them to confess, or it could be still not enough to arrest them. I'm not even sure if that would make much of a difference in the first place, since they don't really have any evidence just yet. They'd probably need to find some blood in the car or in the garage or the like so that busting the alibi would actually matter.

 

It's probably a moot point now anyway, because after the events in the butcher shop, he certainly has enough to arrest Ed. Maybe not enough for a conviction (it clearly was self defense plus there's even a witness), but easily enough to justify an arrest and keeping him in custody, safe - at least in Lou's mind, he probably isn't really safe there.

 

So it seems likely Peggy and Ed will be separated for the next couple of episodes, Peggy could go to the seminar after all. Going out of town isn't exactly the worst idea for her right now and so her boss could come into play. Her character would be a bit pointless if Peggy and Ed would just stay at the police together.

[albaniantv]

My guess is both Peggy and Ed are about to be put in custody or protective custody.

 

I'm patiently waiting for the UFO to fit into the story.

 

Interesting how this season in each of the dyads or families the woman is planning or pushing the plot ahead, or finding and assessing the clues. Last season, except for Toliver, it seemed  Malvo and Lester tossed the ball back and forth, and the women were fodder.

[shapeshifter]

I'm patiently waiting for the UFO to fit into the story.

Peggy seems like the type to be a "believer."

 

Interesting how this season in each of the dyads or families the woman is planning or pushing the plot ahead, or finding and assessing the clues. Last season, except for Toliver, it seemed  Malvo and Lester tossed the ball back and forth, and the women were fodder.

Good point that I didn't notice. That's why these boards are worth reading.

[Juliegirlj]

I am dreading the heartbreak and sadness that is surely coming with Betsy's death and seeing her father and Lou grieving. When Bear thanked Hanzee for his loyalty and told him he will always a have a place at the table with Bear and Floyd, it made me think Hanzee may turn on Dodd. When Floyd intervened on behalf of Simone when Dodd was threatening her I started thinking Simone may confess her misdeeds and perhaps her family can use her as a double agent- think back to when she surprised Mike Milligan with her thumb up his bumm as foreshadowing. Could Ed the Butcher somehow do a Breaking Bad flip and actually become a bad guy boss man?! Was Betsy's father Hank still alive in season one?

[Kel Varnsen]

On 11/12/2015 at 11:17 PM, Eyes High said:

 The easiest explanations that come to mind are that either Dodd helped him once in a big way, that Hanzee is so traumatized by Vietnam that he doesn't think he deserves anything better than being Dodd's minion, or that Hanzee's in love with Dodd. All of these would be a bit trite, but at least they would be something. What bothers me more is the possibility that we may never find out, and I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea of Hanzee remaining this inscrutable, mysterious figure who appears to accept his apparent lot in life as Dodd's slave for no reason, due to the obvious racial dynamics at play (Native American gracefully accepting his life of servitude under his white superiors, who treat him like a servant at best, property at worst).

Or it could be simply that Hanzee is super traditional and in his mind with Otto out of the picture, Dodd is the boss.

Also speaking of the Gerhardt's, I have never been to North Dakota or Minnesota, but why is it that there compound has green grass but Luverne is covered in snow. Should this make sense or is it likely some filming error related to scheduling?

Also it was hilarious that Betsy told Molly she could have candy after she ate something green. Last season His told his daughter basically the same thing.