S01.E03: A Muddy Road

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Malvo flips the script on the blackmail operation, Molly sets a trap, and Gus debates whether he should come clean. Lester's return to work has complicated repercussions.

[annzeepark914]

I just love this show but I seem to miss some things.  What's with Malvo reading the story of Moses?  Who were the guys in the fishing shack?  And why did the creepy duo visit Lester at his office? 

[SimoneS]

I want Malvo deader than dead for killing the poor dog.

 

I liked how Molly understood why Gus let Malvo go as soon as she meet Greta. Molly and her father only have each other so she could relate to why Gus was afraid to leave Greta. So are Molly and Gus going to have a thing? Joey King (Greta) got so tall.

Edited April 30, 2014 by SimoneS

[thuganomics85]

Yep, Lorne just killed a dog.  I guess that's pretty much the show's way of saying "Yeah, he ain't going to be no anti-hero.  Dude, is just flat-out bad!"  So, he's now taking over the blackmail, and trying to swindle the Supermarket King out of a million dollars.  And I'm guessing that pill switching and blood dumping is to make him go crazy or something.

 

Finally got more of Gus this time around.  Glad he confessed to Molly what he did; Colin Hanks was better in that scene, then his entire run on Dexter.  I was surprised that she handled it as well as she did, but I now noticed the parallels between her and her dad, and Gus and his daughter, so I can see that effecting her on an emotional level.  But, at least they now got a picture of Lorne's face, so they know he was the kidnapper and the fact he was driving Lester's car.  I'm wondering how the investigation is going to go now, and if the'll continue to have Gus be involved in it.  And just how much more is Bill going to screw things up, with his blind spot for Lester.

 

Then again, Lester might be down with the cops all over him, now that Hitman Adam Goldberg and deaf guy have him in their sights.  Lester really is out of his league in all of this, but keeps managing to get by.  Almost impressive.

 

It was so obvious, but I still almost died laughing when the one Hess kid shot the other kid in the ass, with an arrow.  Their stupidity is just so amusing.  But my favorite moment was probably Lorne and the bronze briber in that supply closet.  The entire thing was just so hilarious.  Bill Bob is really impressing me on this show.

[cyberpumpkin]

Hi, TWoP refugee here, first time poster.

 

I don't know why he was reading the story of Moses, but it may tie in with the stained glass.

 

I'm pretty sure the guys in the fishing shack were the hitmen from Duluth (Adam Goldberg and his deaf friend).

 

Molly is great!  So smart and yes, she understood the situation as soon as she met Gus' daughter.

[Tara Ariano]

Dave giffed my favourite moment of the episode!

[annzeepark914]

Thanks for the explanations (obviously, I need them!). I don't usually watch shows like this but I'm hooked.  I thought the scene of Molly meeting up with an old school friend in a restaurant was quite an OTT nod to the movie (is that the Cohen Brothers' way of saying "Hi, y'all"?)  

[awp69]

Three episodes in and I continue to be impressed. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson may have early Emmy leads for astounding work in the otherwise good, but flawed True Detective. But as far as limited run series go, this one deserves praise all around. The writers and directors just effortlessly capture the Coen Brothers' pitch black comedy from its namesake as well as Blood Simple (which I still hold up as their best film). I really wonder how much the Coens have been involved in it (aside from being producers).

 

I've always enjoyed Billy Bob Thornton, but love his character in this. "Could you find a smaller room for this conversation?" had me rolling.

[Milburn Stone]

Molly is great!  So smart and yes, she understood the situation as soon as she met Gus' daughter.

 

Agree. It's a testament to how well-done the show is that so much is able to be communicated without a single word. In this case: "This cop did something almost unforgivable, but now that I realize he is the sole support of his twelve-year old daughter, I completely get why he did what he did, and let no man or woman stand in judgment of him." 

[LGGirl]

I've never been a Billy Bob fan and almost passed on the show because of it.

So glad I didn't.

Colin's character is getting better but he's being upstaged by Joey King.

Molly is so well written. Not the typical eager female cop. She's me favorite character.

Loved the ending and how Malvo is messing with the Supermarket King. It almost looks like Malvo, in his twisted head, is doing some type of justice.

Didn't we all know that one of Hess' kids would shoot the other with an arrow? Too funny.

[annzeepark914]

"Could you find a smaller room for this conversation?" had me rolling.

 

Best part of last night's show for me!

[Slacker]

Agreed on all points with LGGirl, especially Billy Bob. I was hesitant about him, but he is just nailing it every week. I loved that Lorne asked about the specific figure on the blackmail note, and his line about finding a smaller room to talk in was hilarious. I'm laughing while watching this show a lot more than I thought I would. 

 

If I had to complain about something, I'd say the police-chief-who-won't-listen shtick is a little tiring. Hopefully the new evidence Molly received from Gus will put an end to it soon. 

 

I love the little things that color the world around the story, like Molly's dad passing out the milkshakes.

 

"I put bourbon in one of them. Whoever finds it is the winner."

"He's just kidding. Wait, no he's not. I win."  

 

Can't wait until next week. Man I haven't had a reason to say that in a long long time. 

[halgia]

Practical question for the plumbing challenged: How does one make blood come out of the shower? Did he patch into the hot-water heater somehow? So was it warm blood? Also, how did he kill the dog so quickly and silently?

 

Continuing to enjoy this. It's veering more towards comedy than I expected, not all of which works for me (I didn't like the brother shooting the other, or the lieutenant on the toilet; both felt cheap; did like Billy Bob with the bronzer), but it's got some good character notes (Molly with Gus/Greta was great). Gus's slight boringness last episode was worth it to set up for this one.

 

Don't get the Moses thing at all.

[TeresaDee]

Sorry to be so graphic, but to answer the question : From the location of the blood in the snow, I assumed he slit the poor dog's throat.

[Joystickenvy]

Also loved the conversation in the small room. Usually not a fan of meet cute, but totally shipping Molly & Gus. Felt bad for the doggie.

If the guy has a well, I guess he coulda put the blood in there, otherwise my guess would be hot water tank.

For some reason the dragging the guy by the tie thing bugged me. I'm willing to accept a number of unrealistic things on this show, but for whatever reason I couldn't stop thinking about how the tie should break, come undone or slip over his head and how there's no way that dude would slide that easy on carpet/concrete.

Even though it was a cheap gag, I'll admit I laughed at the kid shooting his brother in the ass. Did the mom say, "not again?"

[Pandorasboombox]

"Just pretend I'm a 300 lb 9 year old who can't finish a sentence" lol

Lester's going to lose that hand.

[Endeavour]

Yep, Lorne just killed a dog.  I guess that's pretty much the show's way of saying "Yeah, he ain't going to be no anti-hero.  Dude, is just flat-out bad!"

 

Right? Now I feel like I can't like him anymore. It's a shame. He cracks me up.

 

I think my favorite part of the ep, was when the fire hydrant called Lorne an asshat. How it was said and Lorne's reaction made that much funnier than it should have been.

 

For some reason the dragging the guy by the tie thing bugged me. I'm willing to accept a number of unrealistic things on this show, but for whatever reason I couldn't stop thinking about how the tie should break, come undone or slip over his head and how there's no way that dude would slide that easy on carpet/concrete.

 

Now that you've brought up the carpet thing, it will bug me a tiny bit. What bothers me more about those scenes is that Lorne doesn't seem to care about being caught on surveillance videos or being seen by witnesses. Maybe it wasn't an issue in the past because he moved around a lot.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Endeavour

[Constantinople]

The dullest episode of the lot. The Minnesota / Midwestern mannerisms, slang, etc is already well past its Sell By Date.

Billy Bob just drags someone out of a cube and no one calls security or the police? Whatever.

Killing an animal is lazy writing.

[mbutterfly]

The dullest episode of the lot. The Minnesota / Midwestern mannerisms, slang, etc is already well past its Sell By Date.

Billy Bob just drags someone out of a cube and no one calls security or the police? Whatever.

Killing an animal is lazy writing.

Yeah, I couldn't image how they weren't all whipping up 911s. That said, I'm strangely still loving this show. I was catching up while cutting up a watermelon and dropping the rind slices into the garbage disposal. Kind of gave me a chill. 

[Curious5]

I might  be the only one who was disappointed with Molly and Gus.  She could have just said all police are scared at times doing stops.  And when the daughter came in, redirect her to another room so she could talk more with Gus.  She could have asked him if he saw a gun.  How did he exactly threaten him.  Did he have an accent?  What clothes was he wearing?  Did  he see anything in the car?  and on and on...

Lorne kills a dog and everyone is against him?  I figured  out he was a bad guy when he killed the sheriff with a baby on the way.

[mbutterfly]

I have to say I still enjoy Molly -- maybe she's picking up my Frances McDormand/Marge love, but I like her a lot though she's made some mistakes (and I don't think Marge really did). 

[LittleIggy]

Hated the dog killing. Yep, I'm one of those people who watch violent movies/TV shows without blinking an eye, but kill an animal and I'm upset. Gee, Anton Chigurh didn't kill that kitty at the hotel. Anyway, when Lorne made his comment to the "blackmailer," I said exactly what he said,"You're an idiot." It's fun when that happens.

Is that guy really doing ASL? His signing looks strange, like that guy at the Mandela funeral.

[halgia]

I might  be the only one who was disappointed with Molly and Gus.  She could have just said all police are scared at times doing stops.  And when the daughter came in, redirect her to another room so she could talk more with Gus.  She could have asked him if he saw a gun.  How did he exactly threaten him.  Did he have an accent?  What clothes was he wearing?  Did  he see anything in the car?  and on and on...

I think the thorough questioning may be yet to come, or happen off-screen. Deflecting Greta would make sense, but it would probably not help with getting Gus to open up to her. If she's just not going to ask any more questions, though, I agree that I may not agree 100% with her policework there.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Didja notice the subtle reason as to why, most of all, we are supposed to look at the Duluth Lt. like he is an asshole?   He did not wash his hands after being on the toilet.  What a great touch.

 

I am not understanding why Malvo has been so intentionally careless.  He let Gus go.  He drags that dude away in front of the entire world.  Of course, it's because he wants to be caught/questioned.  I just don't get why this is so.  I can scarcely wait to find out, though!

 

Any bets as to if Sioux Falls is the raison d'être for next season?  

 

I also wonder if Malvo is undercutting his bosses by ruining the King, or if that is part of the plan.  If he is going rogue, his superiors would be pissed to lose a "client" like the King who reliably pays them tribute.

 

Man, I never wanted this ep to end.  TV at its' best.

[Milburn Stone]

I also wonder if Malvo is undercutting his bosses by ruining the King, or if that is part of the plan.  If he is going rogue, his superiors would be pissed to lose a "client" like the King who reliably pays them tribute.

 

Good question. I don't know where the show is going, but I'm noticing--with the exception of the killing of Vern and the dog--that everyone Malvo messes with (still don't know how any of you know his name, but I'll use it, too) "deserves" it in one way or another. In this way, he's sort of a Robin Hood of murder and mayhem. He doesn't kill good people (like Vern) unless he has to. And there's an improvisational quality to his trouble-making, like when he got the stupid kid to pee into the gas tank and then turned him in (for the crime of being stupid, I guess). So I can believe he's improvising a bit with the King, in his continual quest to avenge the good by punishing the bad and/or stupid.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Milburn Stone

[Tara Ariano]

Is that guy really doing ASL? His signing looks strange, like that guy at the Mandela funeral.

 

Russell Harvard is Deaf, so even though I don't know ASL, I'm going to say it probably is. :)

[Lawfulevil]

The Moses thing was BBT laying a plague on the supermarket king guy. He changed water into blood. That's why he was reading exodus.

[LittleIggy]

Russell Harvard is Deaf, so even though I don't know ASL, I'm going to say it probably is. :)

I'm not familiar with the actor so I didn't know that. Maybe it looks odd to me because he signs so rapidly.

[Macktor]

My favorite part of this episode: We gets lots of talk about where the Supermarket King got his money, then we're treated to a shot of a familiar red ice scraper framed on the wall. Looks like someone found Carl's stash after all. 

[maggiethebeagle]

My favorite part of this episode: We gets lots of talk about where the Supermarket King got his money, then we're treated to a shot of a familiar red ice scraper framed on the wall. Looks like someone found Carl's stash after all.

I actually caught this on another forum...I was like "why does he have an ice scraper framed on the wall?". Can't believe I missed that! If the Coen's are really tying the movie in this way...that would be amazing!

So many great one liners this episode!

[Milburn Stone]

I actually caught this on another forum...I was like "why does he have an ice scraper framed on the wall?". Can't believe I missed that! If the Coen's are really tying the movie in this way...that would be amazing!

 

I'm missing the meaning of the ice scraper and how it connects to other Coen stuff. Enquiring minds want to know!

 

As to how much the Coens are involved…I kind of feel that they're not the ones putting in the allusions to their own work. I know they're "executive producers" on the show, but that might have just been a necessary condition to buying the property for television, not an actual job function. I feel like the true show runners are clever and highly familiar with the Coens' body of work, and are entirely capable on their own of throwing in Coen stuff for their and our amusement.

Edited May 3, 2014 by Milburn Stone

[Macktor]

In the film, Steve Buscemi's character Carl ransoms Jerry 's wife for $1 million dollars instead of the original $80K agreed upon. He takes out the $80K and buries the rest in the snow, marking the spot with a red ice scraper.

[Galloway Cave]

THAT'S IT!!! That damn red ice scraper has been driving me batshit crazy since Tuesday. I knew I was suppose to know what it means.

[Curious5]

My favorite twist in this show is when Malvo, known serial killer, does not kill the blackmailer but takes advantage of it and taking over the blackmail scheme. Ah, not one to lustfully kill but to use any opportunity to make money. His twisted sense of humor is great even though it's showing the mean streak.

Dragging the man out of the office was great. Perhaps he is showing he thinks he is smarter than the police. Perhaps the writers are expressing their opinion of Minn. office workers being that dumb, showing them just standing and watching. Gee, I even would at least thrown a stapler at Malvo.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I definitely see Malvo's audacity as a condemnation of the typical human being.  Very, very few are willing to stand up for folks not directly related to them if it involves real risk.  For all Ameriker's self-satisfied boasting how we are "different" and "better," in this we are no better than anyone.  I honestly don't know how I would react if I ran into a Malvo.  I certainly hope I would take him on, or at a minimum, shout out a warning that he is amongst us.  If I see group injustice, I hope that I stand with the innocent.

 

That we are even discussing this is evidence that this show is special.  Though, I still want to know what Malvo 's strategic reasoning is in being so reckless.

[annzeepark914]

I'd like to think that I'd at least pick up the phone and call the police after I saw a co-worker being dragged (by his necktie) past my cubicle.  The unknown dragger wouldn't have known who called the cops.  Maybe the draggee was loathed by his associates and they just didn't care enough to do anything to help him. Can't wait for the next episode (just saw a promo on FX in which Malvo is being questioned and is talking like Lester).

[Catherinewriter]

I was unclear about how Malvo killed the King. He put something in the King's pill prescription, but in the shower, the King bled out. Or was there blood in the shower water. Odd. Must be easier ways to poison someone.

Billy Bob, you killed a dog. I'll keep watching but you're on my list.

[halgia]

Or was there blood in the shower water.

That one. You could see it coming from the head, plus he doesn't actually die. :)

[Kromm]

That we are even discussing this is evidence that this show is special.  Though, I still want to know what Malvo 's strategic reasoning is in being so reckless.

On some level he just doesn't give a shit.  Since that's true it's hard to see how he's so successful, but apparently he's used to thinking his way out of trouble.

[angelita100]

It took me until episode 3 to recognize Kate Walsh as Gina Hess.  

[shapeshifter]

I'm just catching up on this show now.

I just love this show but I seem to miss some things.  What's with Malvo reading the story of Moses?  Who were the guys in the fishing shack?  And why did the creepy duo visit Lester at his office?

The Moses thing was BBT laying a plague on the supermarket king guy. He changed water into blood. That's why he was reading exodus.

I didn't make that connection. Did he read as far as the plagues? I thought it meant that Malvo sees himself as Moses, who sees an Egyptian overlord beating his worker, so when nobody's looking, Moses/Malvo kills the overlord. For example, Malvo was probably ready to kill the blackmailer if he had been more powerful and violent that the blackmailee. But then, after asking his questions in the Smallest Closet, he decided the yoga teacher was not the one who deserved to be punished.

The title to this episode, "The Muddy Road," is spoken by Molly in reference to the recent killings, but it is also a reference to this Zen koan. If there's a metaphor for this koan, I'm missing it.

Muddy Road

Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.

Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

"Come on, girl" said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?"

[hilaryvm]

I thought the guy in the cubicle was there after hours, and Malvo got him at night, and no one else was there.  I didn't think it happened in broad daylight.

 

I guess we're all supposed to assume that the way the King got his money was digging it out of the snow?

[halgia]

I thought the guy in the cubicle was there after hours, and Malvo got him at night, and no one else was there.  I didn't think it happened in broad daylight.

They showed a bunch of coworkers watching and saying "oh dear" as Malvo dragged him away. The guy is out of frame here, but his tie is in Malvo's right hand and there's a gross choking noise:

 

http://i.imgur.com/gTcNIec.png

 

(Also, daylight out the window. I did have the impression that it was after hours, though, or at least a quiet time in the office.)