Last week, we finally got the link between the film and the series .
We finally know what happened to the money Steve Buscemi’s character, “Carl Showalter” stashed away on that frozen highway before meeting his grizzly end at the hand of his partner. In a wood-chipper.
A younger Stavros Milos, apparently trying to get a new start with his wife and child and broke, finds Showalter’s stash buried under the snow with the ice scraper the only indication marker.
This, he believes, is a sign from God.
And Malvo is using that thought process to convince Stavros that he has betrayed a promise he made to God.
These two episodes are pretty interesting. We have Lester having problems with the thugs from Fargo, N.D. and now they are onto Malvo’s trail. But Lester still has Molly on his back, too.
Molly, getting a pseudo-confession from Lester as he is ill from his hand wound, is now going beyond the rules. She is in fact breaking the rules. It seems to her that the ends justify the means. I think this may actually harm the investigation down the road.
And Gus is having an existential crisis with the investigation. He wants to help, but also fears for his family too.
We have five more to go. It will be interesting what’s left to come.
Observations in Episode 4.
* Glad the ice scrapper was more than a nod to the film. Stavros kept it after he found the loot.
* The link to the film was done very well. Didn’t even use footage to explain when Showalter hid the cash. Left it up the the audience to deduce. Well played.
* Thornton’s Minnesotan accent was hilarious.
Observations from Episode 5.
* Malvo’s issue with “The Jungle Book.” “The kid was raised by wolves, then befriends a bear and cougar? I don’t think so.”
* Gus’ neighbor is pretty deep. Also, he’s so far the only character that I think is smarter, or on the same intelligence level, as Malvo.
* Lester’s wife says he’s the only one she knows who could accidentally shoot himself with an unloaded gun.
* Molly searched the dryer, and the hammer is missing.
* Gus is now in Malvo’s sights. This can’t be good.
The JOE-DOWN 
My niece looked up the movie Fargo on Wikpedia and we know the movie was fiction.We love this series on FX called Fargo that took place in 2006 in Bemijdi Mn. Before each episode explanations of this being a true story are displayed on the screen. Enjoying this series very much and my bet is that it is definately based on actual murders that took place in 2006. I would appreciate your reply as we have a $5 bet that it is based on a true story!! Your reviews are great! Thanks for your time, Linda (Clinton Twp.Mich)
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Thank you! From what I have read and deduced, the film and the series plots are fictional. According to snopes.com: “The 1996 movie Fargo begins: “This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.”
Great opening. And not a word of truth to it.
Fargo’s creators, the Coen brothers, are known for their playfulness, the inclusion of “little touches” that add to a film. Given the Coens’ reputation for this, you’d think any responsible film reviewer would have made at least a stab at confirming this bold claim before blithely passing it along as fact. (Had they done any checking, they would have quickly discovered that nothing so much as vaguely resembling that level of carnage had occurred in Minnesota. Not in 1987. Not ever.) As a result of those reviews, an even greater number ended up believing what the Coen brothers had to have thought no one but the incredibly gullible would fall for. Their little leg-pull went over big time.”
So, the disclaimer is just a little artistic joke. I’m sure glad we here in Bemidji have not had a crime wave like it’s depicted in the series!
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