S01.E02: The Rooster Prince

[Guest]

Molly begins to suspect that Lester is involved with the murders, but her new boss points her in a different direction. Meanwhile, Malvo investigates the blackmail plot against a man known as the Supermarket King.

 

 

[Tara Ariano]

Here's my post on the episode!

[thuganomics85]

Man, I've definitely seen a few shows where a guy pisses in front of someone to establish dominance, but Lorne just flat-out taking a dump in front of the security officer (or "fire hydrant", as he called him, hee!), was just on a whole other level.  Lorne ain't fucking around.  While Lester was my favorite in the pilot, Lorne was the character that stood out tonight, and I thought Billy Bob Thorton killed it.  He is such a hoot in this role.

 

Ah, Bob Odenkirk.  As great, if slimy, as Saul Goodman was as a lawyer, Bill's incompetence as a chief/cop, is making up for it.  I figured he was going to be used to prevent Molly from automatically gunning for Lester.  But I like that he's now made her the head of the "underwear guy" investigation, which means she will at least be going after Lorne, assuming she's skilled enough.  I'm rooting for her!  Love her and her scenes with her dad.  Keith Carradine is always a treat.

 

Some new characters: Oliver Platt as the Supermarket King who is being bribed, his wife and her "bronzed" trainer; the later who seems to be said briber; and an assassin duo, consisting of Adam Goldberg and a deaf guy.  All of them were pretty entertaining, and I can't wait to see more of them.

 

Still seem to be doing a slow burn with the Gus character.  We meet his daughter and it looks like he has a crush on that woman from across his building, but I'm wonder what else is going to come out of him, besides letting Lorne go in the pilot.

 

While the pilot reminded me of the film a lot, this episode made me think off No Country for Old Men, especially the scene with Lorne and the post office.

 

Really digging the show so far.

Edited April 23, 2014 by thuganomics85

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I so love this Malvo character.

I also love the no-nonsense and no apology violence.  You in da way?  Move.  Now.  You still here?  Bye.

Removing the deputy from the case right in front of her father?  Awesome.  Regardless how correct in her theory she may be, she either follows the directives of her superior, or she does not.  Again.  Wham!  Consequences.  

I was totally fooled when Max? rolled up in his Cadillac.  I thought HE was the badass.  

The small signs in the basement were fun to see.  Yes, indeed.  Go for the life you imagined!  Follow your dreams!

When they whipped out that tool, it sure didn't augur well for the dude in the trunk, eh?

[Fisher King]

Loved the shout out to Raising Arizona with "you missed a spot".

The deaf guy with his fringe leather jacket and 70s sideburns was both funny and scary.

Great to see Glenn Howerton in full spray-on tan mode, but still playing Dennis Reynolds.

Are we working on a specific theme with the episode titles? Crocodile and rooster?

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

Wow really enjoyed this episode - couldn't get off the sofa the whole time I was so mesmerized. 

I've got it DVRed because I have to go back and watch Odenkirk - I couldn't really recognize him from the other episodes (I only relate to him as Saul at this point). **okay went and looked at some pics of Odenkirk on Fargo - I sure didn't get any Saul vibes from him at all. Chameleon actor!

Oh and I mentioned those weirdo bangs on Billy Bob during the last episode - somebody else had them last night (can't remember who, gotta crank up the DVR yet again)

Hooray for Adam Goldberg and Keith Carradine! It's great to see people with some serious acting chops showing up here and there like shiny gems during the show. 

Edited April 23, 2014 by ItsHelloPattiagain

[Joystickenvy]

Wow really enjoyed this episode - couldn't get off the sofa the whole time I was so mesmerized. 

I've got it DVRed because I have to go back and watch Odenkirk - I couldn't really recognize him from the other episodes (I only relate to him as Saul at this point). **okay went and looked at some pics of Odenkirk on Fargo - I sure didn't get any Saul vibes from him at all. Chameleon actor!

Oh and I mentioned those weirdo bangs on Billy Bob during the last episode - somebody else had them last night (can't remember who, gotta crank up the DVR yet again)

Hooray for Adam Goldberg and Keith Carradine! It's great to see people with some serious acting chops showing up here and there like shiny gems during the show.

The poseur tough guy in the strip club that they thought might be the killer had the weirdo bangs, which I thought was a nice touch.

[Ohwell]

I've seen all kinds of torture in movies and on TV, but dumping that poor bastard upside down in the ice hole was just...awesome and horrific and inventive at the same time.

 

I agree about the deaf guy being both funny and scary.  Was it my imagination, or was the fringe on that jacket awfully long?

 

While I like the female deputy, I kinda agree with Lester that she was just a little too aggressive in her questioning.  I hope she doesn't turn into the annoying cop who makes you root for the villain.  You can tell she's green, because a seasoned cop would just watch him and give him enough rope to hang himself.  The chief was right to call her on it, even though he's got blinders on just about everything else.

Edited April 23, 2014 by Ohwell

[Mindymoo]

I agree, Ohwell. As much as I like Molly, and as right as her instincts are about Lester, I really couldn't feel too bad for her because she was aggressively questioning him and trying to prevent him from leaving that parking lot. She doesn't have evidence that he is the killer of either his wife or any inclination that he killed Vern, just the suspiciousness of the conversation in the hospital waiting room. She is a smart cookie though, and since she is on the case of the naked guy from the pilot, I think she will be able to tie it all together anyhow.

Edited April 23, 2014 by Mindy McIndy

[LGGirl]

I just don't know why Lester just didn't tell Molly that he was talking about Hess with Malvo in the hospital. Malvo brought him up and it was in passing.

Not feeling Colin Hanks character.

Edited April 23, 2014 by LGGirl

[Ohwell]

I've seen so many interesting characters thus far, but I'm willing to give the Colin Hanks character a couple more episodes to develop.  He's just got so much competition.

[annzeepark914]

I agree.  Colin's seemingly normal/bland character has waaaay too much competition in this very odd series (filled with lots of oddballs!)  The guy with the fringe reminded me (once he became violent) of that horrifying guy in the movie who was operating the wood chopper.  That scene on the ice has overtaken, at least in my mind/memory, the revolting woodchopper scene (I'm almost afraid to ask, "what's next?")

[random chance]

I'll probably keep watching because I want to see the deputy be vindicated, but this is a really hard show to watch.  Even the content warning freaks me out - whoever does the voice for that sounds like he already murdered five people and now he's coming for you. 

[halgia]

Wow does just sitting down and taking a dump in front of someone say "I don't care about what you're talking about."

 

I didn't like this one as much as the pilot, but it had its moments. The ice hole scene was great, as was the after-credits continuation of it. Also happy to see a Deaf badass; that's not something we get too often.

 

Agree that the Hanks character isn't really going anywhere yet, though of course it's building up to something or other.

[walnutqueen]

When they whipped out that tool, it sure didn't augur well for the dude in the trunk, eh?

 

I'll bet his blood ran cold when he saw it, Lonesome Rhodes.

 

Was it my imagination, or was the fringe on that jacket awfully long?

 

Not for the 60s, Ohwell.  They were what attracted me to my first high school boyfriend.  :-)

 

I'm enjoying the dark humor so far.

 

[Endeavour]

 

I just don't know why Lester just didn't tell Molly that he was talking about Hess with Malvo in the hospital.

I can see him denying that he was talking about Hess, but I think pretending that he didn't remember him at all wasn't particularly smart. I think that might come back to haunt him.

 

 

I didn't like this one as much as the pilot, but it had its moments.

This is how I felt. There were a number of things I liked but I wasn't crazy about the two new characters from Fargo.

 

 

The ice hole scene was great, as was the after-credits continuation of it.

I didn't watch the credits. Was there something after the credits last week too?

[halgia]

I didn't watch the credits. Was there something after the credits last week too?

This week was a little bit of "hole's too small" / "he's too fat" on the ice; I only saw it by accident this week.

 

I just went and checked the first episode, and at least on the Amazon version they just showed a few seconds of Lester sitting on the rumbling washer.

I can see him denying that he was talking about Hess, but I think pretending that he didn't remember him at all wasn't particularly smart. I think that might come back to haunt him.

Absolutely; that's got to be part of what's keeping Molly investigating. Mishearing for "my face is a mess" is not at all believable.

[LittleIggy]

Well, gosh darn it, I am rooting for Lester. I rooted for Walter White to the bitter end in "Breaking Bad." Speaking of which, I'm so glad to see Bob Odenkirk again.

A nitpick: that sure didn't look like an US Post Office branch I'd ever seen. The guy wasn't even in uniform.

[Endeavour]

Thanks, Dougal. I'll check out the credits from now on.

[Mama No Life]

My DVR cut off at the diner scene with Molly and her dad, right after Chief Saul showed up. Can someone fill me in on the end? I assume someone was put down an ice hole? lol

[fastiller]

Wow does just sitting down and taking a dump in front of someone say "I don't care about what you're talking about."

Dougal

Actually, I think it says "I don't give a shit, except this one..."

[KDeFlane]

"Thank you for nailing my blackmailer!"

Don't you just love how that can be taken three different ways? 

* Thank you for pinning down who my blackmailer is.

* Thank you for punishing my blackmailer.

* Thank you for boning her, too.

Now, which way do you suppose Lorne meant it, and which way did The King take it?

[seamusk]

A nitpick: that sure didn't look like an US Post Office branch I'd ever seen. The guy wasn't even in uniform.

 

Well, in my old small town the post office was at the general store and the postal clerk was the store clerk.  But Duluth isn't nearly as small as that small Pennsylvania town and would most definitely have a more traditional post office.  So that felt off in every way imaginable to me.  Duluth has over 80,000 people (compared to the 250 registered voting in the small PA town).  Edited to spell "compared" correctly.  

Edited April 25, 2014 by seamusk

[Ohwell]

I grew up in a small town in southwestern Pennsylvania and the post office was at the general store and it, too, had a store/postal clerk.  Seeing that guy brought back memories of  me going to the store/post office to pick up mail.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Is this the first time Malvo and/or his "company" had business in Duluth?  

 

I ask because the small postal facility makes sense because Malvo needed to be able to intimidate the one guy.  In a standard facility, there would be too many employes and they would never give in like that.  So...was this the first time Malvo showed his face there?  Or, was this a regular mail drop?  If it was, I'm pretty sure the clerk would have had to go through this before.

 

I'm also trying to figure out why the clerk didn't already notice the odd addressee on that package.   It was a big deal to the clerk when he supposedly first saw it.  

[LittleIggy]

I've heard of the PO being in a store in little bitty towns, but I didn't think Duluth was that small. And that place looked more like a gym than a store.

[seamusk]

I've heard of the PO being in a store in little bitty towns, but I didn't think Duluth was that small. And that place looked more like a gym than a store.

 

I agree.  It might have fit the story, but it didn't fit to reality.  Duluth is a city, not a small town.

[gibasi]

 

I'll probably keep watching because I want to see the deputy be vindicated, but this is a really hard show to watch.

I agree it is very hard to watch.  I enjoy quirky and the acting is great but I don't want to be skeeved out.  Lorne on the toilet skeeves me out.

 

And I live in a large metropolitan area with lots of zipcodes.  Some zipcodes have had their post offices outsourced to small stores.  So I was okay with that part of the story.

[Baltron9000]

Was anyone able to translate the sign-language? In response to the library's cutbacks, my girlfriend got 'That makes me angry and I want to kill someone."  

[Stinger97]

While I like the female deputy, I kinda agree with Lester that she was just a little too aggressive in her questioning.  I hope she doesn't turn into the annoying cop who makes you root for the villain.  

 

I think she's already become that for me. I appreciate that she was close to Vern and wants to apprehend whomever is responsible for his death, but she's rubbing me the wrong way. I'm not sure if it's the actress, the character, or some combination of the two (likely this one), but I want Malvo and Lester to get away with the murder(s) (and I don't even particularly like Lester either). 

[shmeep]

I know I'm late, but I just watched this so I can respond this:

 

Was anyone able to translate the sign-language? In response to the library's cutbacks, my girlfriend got 'That makes me angry and I want to kill someone."  

 

I thought it was pretty gutsy of them to put so much humor into ASL and then not even subtitle it. I'm guessing it's because the interaction is so graphic and the signs about sexual positions were pretty obvious. 

 

This is what they said:

 

Mr. Wrench (signed): Ask him about the library.

Mr. Numbers: He wants to know why there's no library in this town.
Mr. Gold: Cutbacks
Mr. Numbers (signed): He doesn’t know.
Mr. Wrench (signed): Tell him his tie is hideous.
Mr. Numbers: He thinks every town should have a library.
Mr. Gold: I agree. Tell him I agree.
Mr. Numbers (signs): His mom…(I couldn’t understand because it’s shot from behind and the actor clearly isn’t a real signer, but it looked like something really rude.)
Mr. Gold explains that Mr. Hess was stabbed in a strip club.
Mr. Numbers (signed): Hess killed in front of…and he signs some graphic licking sign I’ve never seen before that I’m sure is supposed to mean “stripper.”
Mr. Wrench (signed): Was he in front of her? Was he on top of her? Was she riding him?
Mr. Numbers (signed): Why do you need to know which position?
Mr. Wrench (signed): Maybe it’s important. Maybe he was on a boat and going at her from behind and an old piece of wood could have come down and hit him on the head. (I’m not sure about the boat part, but that’s what I saw. Makes no sense to me.)
Mr. Numbers: Do you believe this was connected to the business?

[j5cochran]

Mr. Wrench is played by Russell Harvard, who has been deaf from birth.  According to IMDB, he attended the Texas School for the Deaf from kindergarten through twelfth grade, and graduated from Gallaudet University in 2008. I would assume that he is fluent in and is using ASL as his character, though I suspect that he can use saucier language in character, as most folk don't speak ASL.

 

 

 

[halgia]

@j5cochran, @shmeep was saying that Adam Goldberg, who plays Mr. Numbers, probably isn't a fluent signer. And he's not.

[shmeep]

@j5cochran, @shmeep was saying that Adam Goldberg, who plays Mr. Numbers, probably isn't a fluent signer. And he's not.

That's right. Russell Harvard's ASL was gorgeous and very entertaining. Adam Goldberg clearly had no clue what he was doing. 

 

Edited to add:

 

Thanks for the link, Dougal! Very interesting. And yes, that cheek thing was supposed to mean stripper. It's actually the sign I use for prostitute, but I was distracted by the tongue and didn't recognize it. It's like trying to understand someone's English through a thick accent, but I like that Adam Goldberg is working so hard to make it seem authentic. The actual signs are okay, but he's kind of stiff and jerky so that throws me off. I'm sure he'll get better at it as it goes on. I'm only on the third episode now. 

Edited May 17, 2014 by shmeep

[Baltron9000]

Shmeep! Much obliged, thanks. I was also surprised when they didn't subtitle it, but its just one of many creative choices this show has made. That said, I dig that they have a deaf character and make no attempt to explain every little thing about him to the audience. I hope his deafness isn't going to be the reason he dies or faces some other horrible fate. 

I worked for a half-deaf farmer, and saved his life once when his tractor was about to fall on him. Not a fun day. 

[Kromm]

I just don't know why Lester just didn't tell Molly that he was talking about Hess with Malvo in the hospital. Malvo brought him up and it was in passing.

Not feeling Colin Hanks character.

He's playing a meek character (for a cop at least) so I kind of get it.  It's not going to be either a flashy, or heroic performance, it's gonna be a sad sack.