S03.E09: Aporia

[DoubleUTeeEff]

9 hours ago, Bcharmer said:

At least we were spared from seeing Varga throw up all that ice cream. Thank you.

I don't see how that would be any worse that watching him eat it! Ugh.

Someone please tell me, did they serve Winnie that Moscow Mule in a glass? It's supposed to be served in a copper mug! I wonder if the writers chose it because it's got a funny name or because of the Cossacks. Both, probably. "Make it ornery," ha!

Winnie hugging Gloria was the greatest thing ever. I guess no one ever really saw Gloria. She's ignored by her boss and her husband never loved her "like that." As soon as she made a friend, she was really seen as a person and the sensors in the bathroom worked! I loved it.

[Rumbletone]

1 hour ago, The Wild Sow said:

Weren't they were on the roof, looking down through the skylight?

No he was stationed in a hotel room, its pretty clear.

[MisterBluxom]

I believe it was ShapeShifter who posted a link to the following review. I could be mistaken. But it's still a good review regardless of who posted the link.

http://www.vulture.com/2017/06/fargo-recap-season-3-episode-9.html

One paragraph in that review reads as follows:

"Another great scene between Gloria and Emmit follows, as the best cop in Eden Valley realizes she’ll have to let a murderer go, and possibly to people who will now silence him forever. Gloria has a line that clearly echoes some of the political unrest of 2017, as she says, “You think the world is something and then it turns out to be something else,” and then she tells Emmit to go. He’s stunned. Gloria’s last hope is that he’ll give up Varga, but he just can’t do it. He walks out to a creepily smirking Meemo, waiting to drive him who knows where, and Varga in the back seat. Emmit walks from one prison to another."

Why do people just keep assuming that Emmit is a murderer? Seems to me there are several people here with legal training and I'm hoping some of them might clarify whether Emmit really is a murderer. Seems to me that this was really just an accident and Emmit is certainly not guilty of any kind of murder. Maybe Negligent Homicide. But even so, that would be a real stretch. I really doubt that he could ever be convicted of any kind of crime. He never intended to kill his brother. He feels guilty for cheating him out of the stamp some 30 years ago.  But that is not murder. Not even close. Why do the police in the show not tell Emmit that he is not guilty of anything? They can't make any murder charges stick. It's really terrible police procedure to try and trick Emmit when you know full well that you can't convict him of anything. Why do they keep pursuing this?

Of course, maybe I'm just wrong about this. But I sure do think it's pretty obvious this was an accident - not a murder.

Anyone have any other opinions about this?

Edited June 16, 2017 by MissBluxom

[Bort]

8 minutes ago, MissBluxom said:

Why do people just keep assuming that Emmit is a murderer. Seems to me there are several people here with legal training and I'm hoping some of them might clarify whether Emmit reassly is a murderer. Seems to me that this was really just an accident and Emmit is certainly not guilty of any kind of murder. Maybe Negligent Homicide. But even so, that would be a real stretch. I really doubt that he could ever be convicted of any kind of crime. He never intended to kill his brother. He feels guilty for cheating him out of the stamp some 30 years ago.  But that is not murder. Not even close. Why do the police in the show not tell Emmit that he is not guilty of anything? They can't make any murder charges stick. It's really terrible police procedure to try and trick Emmit when you know full well that you can't convict him of anything. Why do they keep pursuing this?

Of course, maybe I'm just wrong about this. But I sure do think it's pretty obvious this was an accident - not a murder.

Anyone have any other opinions about this?

Well, Emmit pretty much just stood there and watched Ray die. If calling 911 had gotten the paramedics there in time to save Ray, then yes, what Emmit did could be considered murder, legally. Can anyone prove that? Probably not.

[Spartan Girl]

He's guilty of manslaughter, definitely, but he's not an intentional murderer.  He's not even evil.

I'm trying to figure out what he wouldn't give up Varga.  Maybe because he figured Varga has a plan for everything and he'd manage to find his way out of it regardless.  It's not exactly like Lester not giving up Malvo to save his own ass.  Emmit at this point doesn't have much of a life left at this point.  He knows what Varga is capable of and perhaps he's afraid that Vargas might target his family if he tries to rat him out to the police.  

Edited June 15, 2017 by Spartan Girl

[cardigirl]

The character's name is Varga, not Vargas.  V. M. Varga.  

 

And while I don't enjoy watching people eat on the toilet, I thought the scene with Varga consuming ice cream was masterful.  He was the Wolf consuming Emmit, slowly and methodically. 

[scrb]

1 hour ago, PotterOtherP said:

Incompetent police are a Coen brothers staple. Marge Gunderson may have been the only good cop in any of their movies. Even in No Country for Old Men the police couldn't protect anybody.

In the latest Twin Peaks, some gangsters allude to operating in the small town because the cops are "pushovers."  (except the FBI in that show aren't shown to be too sharp either)

That is a theme in all the Fargo seasons, that these superstar criminals expect to get their way in the hinterlands.  But of course, in each case, there's one cop who somehow breaks the mold.

When the Gerhardts came to a police precinct in the middle of nowhere, Lou Solverson said a lot of the deputies in there were just kids.

[ShannaB]

Quote

Of course, maybe I'm just wrong about this. But I sure do think it's pretty obvious this was an accident - not a murder.

We, as the viewers, know that it was an accident but the police don't and must investigate everything.  Who's to say that Emmit didn't pick up a piece of the broken glass during the scuffle and jab the glass into Ray's neck?  I think good police work with good forensics would have shown that the death was accidental but the best bet for decent police work was immediately shut down when Gloria and Winnie were told to leave.  Emmit's confession would have been an issue but I think a good criminal defense attorney would have argued Emmit's frame of mind was off due to guilt of withholding the stamp and money all those years and making Ray suffer and feel inferior.  Emmit did say 'he killed/murdered Ray everyday for 30 years'. 

As far as calling 911,  it was already too late to save Ray.  That was a 'bleed out' wound.  I never really did criminal law but I do think Emmit was guilty of leaving the scene of an accident/death and not notifying authorities.

[iMonrey]

I'll say it again, Noah Hawley or whoever writes this thing has some weird fixation on toilets. It's creepy and it's disturbing. I don't know what artistic purpose it serves to gross us out by showing us Varga sitting on the toilet eating rocky road ice cream and zooming in for an extreme close-up of his brown, decaying teeth. It's sort of like hitting us over the head with a ten ton weight what a slime this guy is. We already get it. We don't need to see him eating on the toilet and we don't need to see close-ups of his disgusting teeth chewing anything, thank you very much.

The scenes with Nikki and Mr. Wrench were certainly entertaining, but they would have made ten times more sense if we hadn't seen last week's episode which threw into question whether those two characters are even alive anymore. At the end of the day I guess I'm just going to have to pretend that whole bowling alley scene never happened because at this point it doesn't really fit as part of the overall story. It needed some sort of follow-up showing Nikki and/or Mr. Wrench waking up in a puddle of blood in the middle of the forest, showing the whole bowling alley scene to have been a dream, or an out of the body experience. Without a scene like that it doesn't make any sense to just jump to where they were this week.

And that's part of the problem with this show. While I'm enjoying this season far more than the previous two (thanks to the absence of tiresome mob characters mostly) it still thinks it's earned the right to go anywhere it wants. But to me, there's still too much of it that feels self-important and pretentious. It's gotten a lot better this season but there are still some missteps along the way the writers can't seem to curb. 

For what it's worth I had already drawn the parallel between the "I can help" robot and Gloria before this episode aired. 

[Kiddvideo]

So if Nikki and Mr. Wrench are blackmailing Varga for $2 million, that means they're each demanding 

 

[Tara Ariano]

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

 

If There's More Fargo To Come, Where Could It Go From Here?

As another season winds down, amid rumors that it may be the last, how might the stories spin off if the rumors aren't true?

[knaankos]

1 hour ago, scrb said:

In the latest Twin Peaks, some gangsters allude to operating in the small town because the cops are "pushovers."  (except the FBI in that show aren't shown to be too sharp either)

That is a theme in all the Fargo seasons, that these superstar criminals expect to get their way in the hinterlands.  But of course, in each case, there's one cop who somehow breaks the mold.

When the Gerhardts came to a police precinct in the middle of nowhere, Lou Solverson said a lot of the deputies in there were just kids.

The Twin Cities area isn't exactly "the hinterlands". 

[AuntiePam]

I'm wondering how I'd feel about this season if it was the first season -- if I wasn't comparing it to the other two.  I think I'd be mightily impressed.

The "look" is so different, especially the colors -- all blacks and grays, "cool" colors.  It feels less energetic, for lack of a better word -- slow-moving and quiet, for the most part.  And it feels less grounded in reality, of course, thanks to Ray Wise and the bowling alley. 

The Widow Goldfarb is interesting, and odd.  Terrible taste in clothes -- gah, that outfit this week was awful, especially the fur-trimmed coat.  She has to be in cahoots with Varga. 

Does Chief Dumbfuck have jurisdiction in St. Cloud?  Is it up to him to decide that the case is solved? 

[welcomerain]

  3 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

Why do people just keep assuming that Emmit is a murderer. Seems to me there are several people here with legal training and I'm hoping some of them might clarify whether Emmit reassly is a murderer. Seems to me that this was really just an accident and Emmit is certainly not guilty of any kind of murder. Maybe Negligent Homicide. But even so, that would be a real stretch. I really doubt that he could ever be convicted of any kind of crime. He never intended to kill his brother. He feels guilty for cheating him out of the stamp some 30 years ago.  But that is not murder. Not even close. Why do the police in the show not tell Emmit that he is not guilty of anything? They can't make any murder charges stick. It's really terrible police procedure to try and trick Emmit when you know full well that you can't convict him of anything. Why do they keep pursuing this?

Of course, maybe I'm just wrong about this. But I sure do think it's pretty obvious this was an accident - not a murder.

Anyone have any other opinions about this?

Well, Emmit pretty much just stood there and watched Ray die. If calling 911 had gotten the paramedics there in time to save Ray, then yes, what Emmit did could be considered murder, legally. Can anyone prove that? Probably not.

I think manslaughter at worst. Murder would be a stretch.

[AzureOwl]

38 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

Does Chief Dumbfuck have jurisdiction in St. Cloud?  Is it up to him to decide that the case is solved? 

He doesn't and it isn't. At least as far as Ray and the dentist are concerned.

But from what little we saw of him the St. Cloud Chief of Police doesn't strike me as the type to look too closely at the orgy of evidence and the confession that Varga gift-wrapped for him and Dammik. 

Edited June 15, 2017 by AzureOwl

[ChipBach]

4 hours ago, The Wild Sow said:

Weren't they were on the roof, looking down through the skylight?

Pretty sure it was from a room.  When they looked up at the window through the atrium you could see a window with the shade up.  (Plus, I think Meems gun rig was on a night table.)

4 hours ago, The Wild Sow said:

When Paul Marrane sent Mr. Wrench back (to life?) from the bowling alley, he set him on "a better path."

I don't think he killed the henchmen when they stole the truck, either.  Just shot up their car engine/tires so they couldn't follow.

Mr. Wrench is Nikki's ally & protector, but I have a feeling he's no longer a killer.

Too bad.  Ray Wise needs to give Meemo the devils caabookie - I hope he finds death in the last episode however, it seems that muscle-type guy always gets away in the Fargo world (Wrench, Mike Milligan, etc.)...

I agree with the positive gushers.  I look forward to every episode and feel satisfied and entertained after an hour.  I find it unfair to compare, compare, compare only because it is an exercise in futility.  I take each season on its own merit and if this was the very first season I would love it.  I thought season one got a little more clumsy (when they really started fleshing out the Oliver Pratt character).

They sure make ten weeks fly bye!!

[Chopperita]

I'm new to this forum so I hope I'm posting in the right place.  I don't see an active speculation thread and I've had a theory since around episode 5 that I want to share.  Actually a theory that my sister and I came up with together, which is important to acknowledge.  Our theory --  Vargas, or one of his men killed Ennis.  A desperate addict trying to steal something for his PO would never have killed him by gluing his mouth and nose closed.  That is a vicious personal way to kill someone.  We think Vargas is Ennis brother and that Ennis was his initial target motivated by revenge.  We think that Vargas wrote the sci-fi novels, either by himself or better yet, co-wrote them with his brother who took both credit for them and the advance that he lost.   As disgusting as Vargas is he is well read and articulate and seems more like a writer than Ennis.   We took clues for this theory from early episodes.  Vargas talked about Cain and Able only being the most famous of many estranged brothers in the bible.   In the LA episode the waitress when talking to Gloria tells her that Ennis wasn't good either.   Maybe the M in VM is for Mosely.  

By our theory Emmit only got caught up with Vargas because of some mistake on Vargas's part, maybe thought they were Ennis's sons.  Or maybe he just wanted a cover to kill Ennis and make it look like Ennis was killed by mistaken identity.  

I can't wait for next week to see how it all ends.

[Bort]

@Chopperita, The speculation thread is here.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I think manslaughter at worst. Murder would be a stretch.

The problem is he stood there and watched him die, didn't call 911, didn't report the incident, and then tried to cover up where he'd been when questioned by the police. No, he didn't deliberately kill Ray but watching him die and not doing anything or reporting it shows some measure of responsibility beyond manslaughter.

Quote

I don't know about Minnesota, but out here in California, when you get newspapers delivered to your house, there's no mailing label with your name and address on it. 

Ah! Good catch. You're right, there wouldn't be an address label on someone's paper. The carriers have to assemble and deliver them, they don't have label machines and wouldn't have time to label everyone on their route.

[MisterBluxom]

42 minutes ago, Diamond Dog said:

This episode rocked!

Emmit's confession to Gloria was the first 'real' moment I've seen from Emmit. He's always been muted, and tightly composed. In a sense, he was taking power back for him, and for Ray. It was a cathartic moment  before being released back into the wolf den.

Gloria's moment with Winnie was poignant, and touching. When Gloria mentioned the robot "I can help" story, she spoke for many of us out there watching corrupt, and unjust actions occurring before our eyes every day in the news. It easy to get overwhelmed at times, and sometimes we just need a drink, and a good long hug from a friend who gets it. We all need to be seen, and to have someone really care, otherwise, we are like the robot, aimless wandering around. 

I cheered long and loud for my girl Nikki, and her boy wonder, Mr. Wrench. It too bad the season is winding up, because I want to see more from the two of them. 

***SPIN OFF***   ***SPIN OFF***   ***SPIN OFF***           PLEASE?

2 hours ago, Tara Ariano said:

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

 

If There's More Fargo To Come, Where Could It Go From Here?

As another season winds down, amid rumors that it may be the last, how might the stories spin off if the rumors aren't true?

 

If there is money available to pay the writers, it can go anywhere in the world it cares to go. You Bet 'cha!

Edited June 15, 2017 by MissBluxom

[Eulipian 5k]

No mention of Emmet quoting The Usual Suspects line about the Devil? Right before he went to the car just like Kaiser Soze and his lawyer; "and poof, he's gone".

I agree that Emmet isn't culpable for Ray's death. The frame was in Ray's hands ; it wasn't like Emmet smashed it over Ray's head. It was an accident; though, Emmet doesfeel guilty, but there is no legal standard just cause he was in the room.

I don't see that the wound to Ray's artery could be stopped up in  time if he had to wait on 911 EMT to show up. Many family members are slow in calling 911 when loved ones have an attack or stroke but they aren't guilty of murder.

So in this season we have Wr Wrench , a killer, saving Nikki, and we have Meemo, another killer, saving Emmet from suspicion... hmm...Ray Wise works in mysterious way.s

[ghoulina]

46 minutes ago, Chopperita said:

I'm new to this forum so I hope I'm posting in the right place.  I don't see an active speculation thread and I've had a theory since around episode 5 that I want to share.  Actually a theory that my sister and I came up with together, which is important to acknowledge.  Our theory --  Vargas, or one of his men killed Ennis.  A desperate addict trying to steal something for his PO would never have killed him by gluing his mouth and nose closed.  That is a vicious personal way to kill someone.  We think Vargas is Ennis brother and that Ennis was his initial target motivated by revenge.  We think that Vargas wrote the sci-fi novels, either by himself or better yet, co-wrote them with his brother who took both credit for them and the advance that he lost.   As disgusting as Vargas is he is well read and articulate and seems more like a writer than Ennis.   We took clues for this theory from early episodes.  Vargas talked about Cain and Able only being the most famous of many estranged brothers in the bible.   In the LA episode the waitress when talking to Gloria tells her that Ennis wasn't good either.   Maybe the M in VM is for Mosely.  

By our theory Emmit only got caught up with Vargas because of some mistake on Vargas's part, maybe thought they were Ennis's sons.  Or maybe he just wanted a cover to kill Ennis and make it look like Ennis was killed by mistaken identity.  

I can't wait for next week to see how it all ends.

THIS is an amazing theory. It makes a lot of sense. That would be pretty crazy, if you're right. 

[garyvp]

I love the fact that Mr Wrench is back and I'll bet he is thrilled to be working with Nikki, a partner equal to, if not smarter than, his prior partner, Mr Numbers. This series just has the smartest bunch of criminals. I hope Gloria, Winnie, Nikki and Wrench  make it through the next episode

[The Wild Sow]

19 minutes ago, Eulipian 5k said:

I don't see that the wound to Ray's artery could be stopped up in  time if he had to wait on 911 EMT to show up.

It looked like his jugular vein.  Your carotid arteries are deeper in your neck (well-protected!) and arterial blood is bright red, like ketchup.  That blood was dark purple-red.

Good strong pressure, basically holding the wound closed until it could be sutured up, might have saved him*.  Emmitt froze, but I agree he's not a murderer.  No intent, no premeditation, not even intent to harm Ray - just a shoving match with the stamp frame.

 

*Remember Abigail Hobbs from Hannibal, when her father cut her throat?  Same principal.  And her throat wound was much more severe than Ray's.

[Gudzilla]

He did tell ray not to pull the glass out.

[ghoulina]

I think maybe he was afraid that removing the glass would cause him to bleed out quicker? But, then he didn't try to do anything to help/stop it......so yea, I don't know. 

[scrb]

2 hours ago, knaankos said:

The Twin Cities area isn't exactly "the hinterlands". 

I think they were in Twin Peaks Washington though.

[Magic]

16 hours ago, AzureOwl said:

I may have had my doubts before, but now I am sure. 

The Widow is Up To Something.

hmmmm, now I am wondering if Varga actually works for her????

There was something about that "meeting" she had to go to in an hour, and the paperwork that Varga is trying to force Emmitt to sign, along with the fact that they keep dangling widow Goldfarb in and out just enough that they have to make her important enough to make her lies (and outfits, lol) worthwhile.

7 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Did anyone think that Nikki's face appeared quite different from how she's appeared previously in this series?  I'm not sure what it was, but, she just looked different to me.  Maybe, there was a new makeup person or something.  Her face seemed a little fuller and her features were muted.  

I noticed that too.  Her face was whiter and her lipstick was darker.  Maybe she really is half dead??

[scrb]

2 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

Does Chief Dumbfuck have jurisdiction in St. Cloud?  Is it up to him to decide that the case is solved? 

Not sure but Gloria may need to call in Danny McBride to get the chief off her back.

[AuntiePam]

2 hours ago, Chopperita said:

I'm new to this forum so I hope I'm posting in the right place.  I don't see an active speculation thread and I've had a theory since around episode 5 that I want to share.  Actually a theory that my sister and I came up with together, which is important to acknowledge.  Our theory --  Vargas, or one of his men killed Ennis.  A desperate addict trying to steal something for his PO would never have killed him by gluing his mouth and nose closed.  That is a vicious personal way to kill someone.  We think Vargas is Ennis brother and that Ennis was his initial target motivated by revenge. 

I love this theory.  One problem with it is that Maurice would have had to lie to Ray about what he did.  Maurice had one unexpected piece of information -- that it didn't look like Ray's brother was rich.   He wouldn't have known that unless he went to Ennis's house (or someone else's house, someone who wasn't rich).

So -- Maurice went to someone's house. 

He also hinted that he hurt the person, with his comment about how the guy was stupid to argue with an ex-con".  So maybe Maurice went to the wrong house and killed the wrong person, and the body hasn't been discovered yet -- if it had, someone would have commented about a murder spree in Eden Prairie. 

The theory requires some retro-fitting that ignores what Maurice said in the first episode.

[WaltersHair]

Question for Bridge players. I thought the scene between Nikki and Varga was like two chess masters playing off one another. But it occurs to me that a Bridge metaphor might have been at work with the sniper, the lookalikes, and the tea. Am I reading too much into it?

[MisterBluxom]

3 hours ago, Magic said:

hmmmm, now I am wondering if Varga actually works for her????

There was something about that "meeting" she had to go to in an hour, and the paperwork that Varga is trying to force Emmitt to sign, along with the fact that they keep dangling widow Goldfarb in and out just enough that they have to make her important enough to make her lies (and outfits, lol) worthwhile.

I noticed that too.  Her face was whiter and her lipstick was darker.  Maybe she really is half dead??

My guess is that she isn't really a widow and that Varga is her hubby. Maybe they faked his death to get some insurance money. More along the lines of his being invisible.

I can easily understand why she would want him to become invisible. Who wouldn't?

In fact, I will predict the Finale will begin with her giving the orders to Varga and rapidly showing us that she is the one who has been calling all the shots from the beginning.

That would be a fairly simple way to wrap up all the loose ends. Except perhaps for Meemo. Maybe it was her who told Swango to get those papers and send them to the IRS agent. I'm guessing someone did. How else would Swango know what to send and who to send it to and where to send it?

Someone must be working on the inside and pulling the strings. I think Ms. Goldfart is the obvious choice.

Edited June 16, 2017 by MissBluxom

[Doyounot]

Wow that whole scene at the bar was some powerful stuff! Same with emmits "confession". First time i felt for emmit when he was being let go straight into vargas car. Nikki though was a badass and kept her sense of humor calling him willy loman! I hope she gets the money and stays alive!

That whole scene of varga eating the rocky road was the grossest scene yet! On the plus side it will definitely help me not eat so much just thinking about it makes me not wanna pig out ha!

That hug, her recounting the story of wyh and her discovering shes "real" with the soap and sink working for her was so moving! It sucks that next week is the end though (maybe for good) and i wonder how they are gonna wrap things up in such a short amount of time.

[MisterBluxom]

1 hour ago, WaltersHair said:

Question for Bridge players. I thought the scene between Nikki and Varga was like two chess masters playing off one another. But it occurs to me that a Bridge metaphor might have been at work with the sniper, the lookalikes, and the tea. Am I reading too much into it?

I've played Bridge for many years and I'm afraid i just don't understand your question. I don't understand what the sniper and the tea could have to do with Bridge? But please tell us? I'd love to know.

[Magic]

3 minutes ago, MissBluxom said:

My guess is that she isn't really a widow and that Varga is her hubby. Maybe they faked his death to get some insurance money. More along the lines of his being invisible.

I can easily understand why she would want him to become invisible. Who wouldn't?

haha, there is no doubt most people would WANT him to be invisible.  That is a good angle.

4 minutes ago, Doyounot said:

That whole scene of varga eating the rocky road was the grossest scene yet! On the plus side it will definitely help me not eat so much just thinking about it makes me not wanna pig out ha!

I am not going to eat rocky road ice cream the rest of the summer, if ever again.  

It would be funny if sales of rocky road ice cream plummeted after this show.

[AimingforYoko]

6 hours ago, knaankos said:

The Twin Cities area isn't exactly "the hinterlands". 

Only Emmit lives in the Twin Cities. Most of this season has taken place in the St. Cloud area.

[FlyingEgret]

3 hours ago, Magic said:

hmmmm, now I am wondering if Varga actually works for her????

There was something about that "meeting" she had to go to in an hour, and the paperwork that Varga is trying to force Emmitt to sign, along with the fact that they keep dangling widow Goldfarb in and out just enough that they have to make her important enough to make her lies (and outfits, lol) worthwhile.

I noticed that too.  Her face was whiter and her lipstick was darker.  Maybe she really is half dead??

I'm curious...Why didn't Varga just forge Emmit's signature and then kill him as part of the Stussy Murder Spree?  I'm sure there are plently of samples of his signature just lying around the office...

[Stratego]

17 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

Emmet's confession didn't amount to anything more than an accidental death. He isn't guilty of murder. He isn't guilty of anything.

Nikki may be very clever. But if she were really clever, she wouldn't live her life as a criminal. That rarely ends up being a life lived outside of prison. She's already been to prison twice. She is not supremely clever.

+1!

Gloria is as incompetent as a cop as the sheriff.  She pulls "evidence out of thin air" to formulate her theory of the Emmit/Ray relationship--and then her mind "snaps shut like the proverbial steel trap".  Emmit's "confession was nothing more than "I've been a bad brother and took advantage of Ray's naivete. He proceeds to describe exactly (what we saw!) happen--an accident--and proceeds to arrest Emmit!  Gloria never asked what happened to the stamp!  It wasn't found by the "detectives"--so where did it go?  Emmit made no mention that he retrieved it--or that anyone else was at the scene--so what happened to the stamp?  Compare Gloria's response to Emmit based on he interpretation of "her alternative facts" and the sheriff's actions concerning arresting an ex-con who "confessed to all four murders".  If we didn't know who killed who (like the cops) why would people find fault with the sheriff?--Certainly not incompentcy.  Any reasonable cop would arrest the confessed murderer.  In real life, the whole thing would be turned over to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension because Meeker county wouldn't have "the resources" to properly investigate and analyse the evidence.  Possibly they would find fault in the story.  Though I could see the prosecutor (Meeker County) making a plea deal to avoid trial (likely exactly what Varga wants!). But. that's another story... .  My point: the sharp criticism of the male cops is not warranted based on sexism--Gloria made the same mistakes using a nearly identical path to her conclusion.  We only know the real facts because the writers contrived everything that way.  Ergo, the writers are contriving the reaction of sexism to boost ratings.

[AuntiePam]

19 minutes ago, Stratego said:

 

Gloria is as incompetent as a cop as the sheriff.  She pulls "evidence out of thin air" to formulate her theory of the Emmit/Ray relationship--and then her mind "snaps shut like the proverbial steel trap".  Emmit's "confession was nothing more than "I've been a bad brother and took advantage of Ray's naivete. He proceeds to describe exactly (what we saw!) happen--an accident--and proceeds to arrest Emmit!  Gloria never asked what happened to the stamp!  It wasn't found by the "detectives"--so where did it go? 

Why would it matter? 

[Macbeth]

22 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

Remember every stupid decision Ray made for Nikki? Worth it. She was your one-in-a-million, Ray.

I've never seen a show with a bigger intelligence disparity between the genders.

Well to be fair - Wrench knew instantly who to back.  So kudos to him.

[benteen]

Really good episode.  I had a feeling Nikki and Wrench would pull something off.  They're fun together.  Liked the confession, Nikki confronting Varga, Gloria and Winnie, etc.  I can't stand all the disgusting shit with Varga and I don't know what the showrunners are thinking with that.

[Gobi]

1 hour ago, MissBluxom said:

I've played Bridge for many years and I'm afraid i just don't understand your question. I don't understand what the sniper and the tea could have to do with Bridge? But please tell us? I'd love to know.

I think the Bridge metaphor works, if you consider that Bridge, unlike chess, requires four players (two sets of partners), and the partners have to know each other and work together well. Nikki said that strategy was her strong suit (no pun intended) in Bridge, and she showed that in her meeting with Vargas.

[Bcharmer]

5 hours ago, Eulipian 5k said:

No mention of Emmet quoting The Usual Suspects line about the Devil? Right before he went to the car just like Kaiser Soze and his lawyer; "and poof, he's gone".

 

I noticed it... but I also noticed that he mentioned it was an old saying (or something like that). So, I then assumed it wasn't original to The Usual Suspects. I looked it up, and found that is is actually a quote from the French poet, Charles Baudelaire (9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867), and that it was paraphrased in TUS.

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Baudelaire

"La plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas."

(The finest trick of the devil is to persuade you that he does not exist.)

Paraphrased in The Usual Suspects as "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

[LittleIggy]

That briefcase is probably "full of dirty underwear." Ha! The "whites"! And David Thewliss was in The Big Lebowski.

Why didn't Mr. Wrench kill Varga's lackey? At least break his limbs.

Loved when the faucet and soap dispenser worked for Gloria!

[KaleyFirefly]

Yes, this season has been a bit lackluster but I still watched it all, and looking forward to wrapping it up next week. 

My favorite scene was the one where Nikki confronts Varga. She definitely won that round! She also looked almost like she was glowing...her skin, her hair...she looked different. I guess she is like the avenging angel now.

Widow Goldfarb is pretty shady about something. It would be a nice twist if Varga works for her instead of the other way around. She has no reason to lie for Emmit since she barely knows him. I like Chopperita's theory about Varga and why he wanted to kill Gloria's stepfather. From the beginning, that murder didn't seem like something that dumb Maurice would have done -- he never would have thought of gluing a man's mouth and nose shut. But that is something Varga would do. 

I want Nikki and Mr. Wrench to get away in the end and go off together!

[Lonesome Rhodes]

16 hours ago, rose711 said:

How was Varga able to replicate the first murder scene? I suppose that was from the report that was stolen from Gloria's office in the library.

It's another example of the writers making Varga out to be a super-villain with unreal access to information.  The problem is that the past few eps we have seen Varga as being severely limited and not so omniscient.   The original Varga would never have made the mistakes which will prove to be his downfall. 

17 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Did anyone think that Nikki's face appeared quite different from how she's appeared previously in this series?  I'm not sure what it was, but, she just looked different to me.  Maybe, there was a new makeup person or something.  Her face seemed a little fuller and her features were muted.  

NIkki and Wrench are most sincerely dead.  They are now in some extra-dimensional state.  The instant I saw her, I recognized TPTB wanted us to see her as "angelic" and not as flawed/splotchy as she often was as the non-stop troublemaker she was.  Another clue as to her new status is that she didn't do anything in the intervening 90 days to have captured Varga's interest.  He needed her gone gone - not just in Canada or wherever.  He absolutely had the means to track her.  The Nikki we knew could not sit still for 90 seconds, let alone 90 days, without scamming or taking revenge.  Another?  They appeared out of nowhere, with a definite truck-jacking plan.  They did not follow the truck (how would they have known when Stage 5 or whatever was even going to start????) else Meemo and the support SUV would have seen them.  The road was deserted all the way.  

As much as I have ripped this and the recent eps, I did truly appreciate the specific quote as to evil that Varga shared.  it was most assuredly NOT the "greatest trick" piece of it all.  It was about how man is born evil, into evil, is equipped to do and deal with evil.  Basically, original sin.  The difficulty truly does come when man aspires to good - when conscience intervenes and demands we accept limitation.  This necessarily means we demand it of others who may, mind you, not want to do with less.  Boy, do I love the philosophical points Varga's observation touches upon.  Hawley deserves great, great, credit for aspiring to have the show rise to such a high-minded place.   He always does demand we think. 

[MisterBluxom]

2 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

It's another example of the writers making Varga out to be a super-villain with unreal access to information.  The problem is that the past few eps we have seen Varga as being severely limited and not so omniscient.   The original Varga would never have made the mistakes which will prove to be his downfall. 

NIkki and Wrench are most sincerely dead.  They are now in some extra-dimensional state.  The instant I saw her, I recognized TPTB wanted us to see her as "angelic" and not as flawed/splotchy as she often was as the non-stop troublemaker she was.  Another clue as to her new status is that she didn't do anything in the intervening 90 days to have captured Varga's interest.  He needed her gone gone - not just in Canada or wherever.  He absolutely had the means to track her.  The Nikki we knew could not sit still for 90 seconds, let alone 90 days, without scamming or taking revenge.  Another?  They appeared out of nowhere, with a definite truck-jacking plan.  They did not follow the truck (how would they have known when Stage 5 or whatever was even going to start????) else Meemo and the support SUV would have seen them.  The road was deserted all the way.  

As much as I have ripped this and the recent eps, I did truly appreciate the specific quote as to evil that Varga shared.  it was most assuredly NOT the "greatest trick" piece of it all.  It was about how man is born evil, into evil, is equipped to do and deal with evil.  Basically, original sin.  The difficulty truly does come when man aspires to good - when conscience intervenes and demands we accept limitation.  This necessarily means we demand it of others who may, mind you, not want to do with less.  Boy, do I love the philosophical points Varga's observation touches upon.  Hawley deserves great, great, credit for aspiring to have the show rise to such a high-minded place.   He always does demand we think. 

Excellent post - IMHO.

[MisterBluxom]

I got a flash of intuition when Nikki told Varga, "I want to take something you love and destroy it" (or something similar).

I have a feeling that will turn out to be Ms. Goldfarb. As I posted above, I suspect they are secretly married and that he is enormously "henpecked" and she gives him orders and makes his life very unhappy. It's just my guess of course. But I can see how that would resolve several loose ends.

I know that I'm repeating most of this. But it will be so exciting if it turns out to be true. Of course the odds that it is true about about a Bazillion to 1. Oh well, here's hoping!

[AzureOwl]

9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Why didn't Mr. Wrench kill Varga's lackey? At least break his limbs.

Because as Paul said last episode, Mr. Wrench is "on a better path". 

Notice that they didn't kill anyone when they stole the truck either.  

Edited June 16, 2017 by AzureOwl
Because it's "on" an better path, not "in".

[SunnyBeBe]

20 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'll say it again, Noah Hawley or whoever writes this thing has some weird fixation on toilets. It's creepy and it's disturbing. I don't know what artistic purpose it serves to gross us out by showing us Varga sitting on the toilet eating rocky road ice cream and zooming in for an extreme close-up of his brown, decaying teeth. It's sort of like hitting us over the head with a ten ton weight what a slime this guy is. We already get it. We don't need to see him eating on the toilet and we don't need to see close-ups of his disgusting teeth chewing anything, thank you very much.

The scenes with Nikki and Mr. Wrench were certainly entertaining, but they would have made ten times more sense if we hadn't seen last week's episode which threw into question whether those two characters are even alive anymore. At the end of the day I guess I'm just going to have to pretend that whole bowling alley scene never happened because at this point it doesn't really fit as part of the overall story. It needed some sort of follow-up showing Nikki and/or Mr. Wrench waking up in a puddle of blood in the middle of the forest, showing the whole bowling alley scene to have been a dream, or an out of the body experience. Without a scene like that it doesn't make any sense to just jump to where they were this week.

And that's part of the problem with this show. While I'm enjoying this season far more than the previous two (thanks to the absence of tiresome mob characters mostly) it still thinks it's earned the right to go anywhere it wants. But to me, there's still too much of it that feels self-important and pretentious. It's gotten a lot better this season but there are still some missteps along the way the writers can't seem to curb. 

For what it's worth I had already drawn the parallel between the "I can help" robot and Gloria before this episode aired. 

Well said.  I agree completely.

 It does makes sense, as several other  posters pointed out to me, that Nikki is dead.  It would explain why her face appeared so different in this last episode. I just thought she got a new makeup artist. lol  However, if she is dead, the writers really took the fun out of it, because she and her partner are running around working just like live folks.  I didn't know that dead people paint their toenails.  lol  And are Varga and his cohort the only ones who "SEE DEAD PEOPLE?"  Them being dead would also explain how Nikki's partner got into the room to stop the guy with the rife.  And if they are already dead, why would it matter if they got shot?  They would just keep going, since they aren't alive anyway, right?  Also,, why would Nikki need money if she's dead?  Are we to believe that only dead people, with super powers can get to Varga?  To me, the story is much better if Nikki is NOT dead.  

While I normally respect those responsible for this series, I have found myself questioning their decisions this season.  What some consider creative or brilliant, I see as obnoxious and contrived.  The gross scenes seem to be the ideas of adolescent boys who laugh at fart jokes.  The surreal parts seem designed by someone who was trying too hard to be avant-garde. If I'm given a reason to believe nonsensical things, I will, but, so far, this just seems like a huge investment for something that I have to keep reminding myself that I like.   

Honestly, I keep telling myself that I like this show.  I'll reserve judgment until the finale.   

Edited June 16, 2017 by SunnyBeBe