Fargo: Season 2 Episode 9 "The Castle" Review

"It's just a flying' saucer, Ed.  We gotta go!"
-Peggy Blumquist



The 9th episode of the second season of Fargo picks up with Hanzee Dent (Zahn McClarnon) returning to the gas station where he got Ed and Peggy Blumquist's (Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst) location.  He murders the gas station owner before he can call the cops, steals his car, and drives off.

Meanwhile, Ed and Peggy are interrogated by the police.  The local South Dakota police take charge of the situation and when they learn that Ed has a meeting with Mike Milligan (Bokeem Woodbine) scheduled for the next morning at the Motor Motel, they decide to have Ed wear a wire during the meeting to incriminate Kansas City.  Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson) objects strongly, and is forced to leave by the South Dakota police.  After making a stop at the gas station, Lou discovers the body of the owner and figures out what kind of car Hanzee is driving.  He tries to inform the police, but they force him out of the state.  Lou receives word of Constance Heck's (Elizabeth Marvel) murder and returns to South Dakota to investigate.

Back in Luverne, Betsy Solverson (Cristin Milioti) collapses from her illness and is rushed to the hospital.

Ed and Peggy are brought to the Motor Motel by the South Dakota police.  Hank Larsson (Ted Danson), Ben Schmidt (Keir O'Donnell), and Chief Gibson (Terry Kinney) from Fargo join them.  Ben is given guard duty over Ed and Peggy and they all ditch their police uniforms to stay undercover, but Hanzee is watching them from nearby.  He phones the Gerhardt's and lies to them, saying that the Kansas City Mafia is hold up in the motel and they have Dodd Gerhardt (Jeffery Donovan) as their prisoner.  

Bear and Floyd Gerhardt (Angus Sampson and Jean Smart) lead a small army of Gerhardt's to the motel.  Lou sees them pass by him, and also hurries to the hotel.  The Gerhardt's launch a raid on the motel which leads to a massive shootout which leaves the South Dakotan police and Gibson all wiped out.  When the Gerhardt's realize Hanzee lied to them, he springs into action and stabs Floyd to death before killing the rest of the Gerhardt attack force.  He even shoots Hank, wounding him, before setting his sights on Ed and Peggy.  Lou arrives and gets into a brutal fight with Bear.  Everything is interrupted when a U.F.O. appears above them.  Lou seizes the opportunity to shoot and kill Bear, while Peggy and Ed knock out Ben and injure Hanzee.  The two escape, but Hanzee chases after them.  As the U.F.O. disappears, Lou stabilizes Hank before going after Ed, Peggy, and Hanzee.

Mike Milligan and Gale Kitchen (Brad Mann) arrive at the motel and only find carnage.  As they hear the police approaching, they flee the area.


What Works:

This was the episode this entire season was building towards.  The shootout at the Motor Motel is epic and delivers in every way.  Floyd and Bear's realization of Hanzee's betrayal is great, and I love Zahn McClarnon's performance as he kills Floyd.  You can tell he doesn't enjoy it, but knows it has to be done.  Watching Ed and Peggy outsmart Ben and Hanzee is also really fun.  And the return of the U.F.O. is pretty unexpected, but somehow works.  It's a fantastic climax to the season and really makes you wonder what could possibly happen in the final episode.

I really love Patrick Wilson's performance in this episode.  He knows how bad things are about to get, and he's seemingly the only character who knows what the correct choice is.  Unfortunately, he has no power in the situation and none of the South Dakotan or North Dakotan officers are willing to listen to him.  We feel Lou's rage and it's great to see him vindicated, even if it comes at a high price.

Ed and Peggy are both great in this episode and are used as the comic relief.  They pretty much don't give a f**k for this entire episode and their line delivery is excellent.  Peggy is best used as a ridiculous character, not someone we should empathize with, and it works very well here.


What Sucks:

I got nothing for you.


Verdict:

The entire second season of Fargo was building to this episode, and it delivers.  "The Castle" is probably my favorite episode of the season and maybe of the entire series to this point.  It delivers on every level and is extremely satisfying.  It is definitely in the conversation for greatest penultimate episode of a season in television history.

 10/10: Amazing  


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