Fargo continues unfolding its web of killing and interpersonal conflict with a tension-building episode that introduces two of my favorite actors to the mix. “The Land of Talking and Killing” is a slow burn.
RELATED: Missed the last episode? Catch up here!
In the aftermath of Donatello Fadda’s (Tommaso Ragno) death, Kansas City’s underworld is about to change.
Loy Cannon (Chris Rock) still has young Zero Fadda (Jameson Braccioforte) in his care, and heir apparent Josto Fadda (Jason Schwartzman) has Satchel Cannon (Rodney L Jones III), although there’s a distinct disparity in the treatment of the two boys. Zero sits at Loy’s side at the family dinner table, holding hands with his guardian during the pre-feast prayer on Thanksgiving and wearing a DIY turkey hat, while Satchel eats his staple peanut butter sandwich in his attic room, accompanied only by his protector, Rabbi Milligan (Ben Whishaw).
The Negro Syndicate recognizes the opportunity to play for more power before Josto ascends the throne in earnest, and they choose the Italians’ slaughterhouse as their mark. Doctor Senator (Glynn Turman) leads a troop in to depose the two men in charge of operations and wait to see what happens. The response is newly arrived Gaetano Fadda (Salvatore Esposito), Josta’s brother and a kill-first / ask-questions-later kind of guy who appears to pose a threat to Josta’s intentions, showing up with a crew of his own. Doctor delivers the line that Donatello made a deal with Loy before he died to turn over the slaughterhouse to them, and Gaetano says he’ll talk to his brother to determine what’s true. A temporary truce is reached, and Doctor and company retreat.
Josta may be vulnerable to his brother, because his attentions are divided. He has his men attempt a hit on the hospital administrator who turned his father away, and they both miss their mark and kill a wealthy socialite accidentally. This snafu results in a police investigation led by OCD-affected Odis Weff (Jack Huston, who was, IMO, the BEST part of Boardwalk Empire). Fortunately, Odis is in Josta’s pocket. Unfortunately, he still needs to deliver a patsy to satisfy the victims and his seniors in the police department. This creates a new responsibility for Josta, who also has to live with delaying his play for revenge until things die down.
And, as if the power plays at home and in the streets weren’t enough for revenge-minded Josta, wedding bells are in his future! (So Fargo!) He’s engaged to a politically ambitious alderman’s daughter, committed to bringing the alderman the votes and cash he needs to become mayor in exchange for the respectability the marriage will give him.
With all this on his mind, it isn’t surprising that Josta doesn’t recognize Nurse Oraetta Mayflower (Jessie Buckley) when she shows up at his father’s funeral. His lack of recognition is our first clue that he wasn’t directing her to kill his father. Our second is when we watch her preparing to offer her “angel of mercy” services to another ailing, elderly patient. Luckily for that fellow, she’s caught at the last moment and fired. She manages to fast-talk her boss into giving her a generous severance package and a glowing recommendation when she suggests the media might be interested in the trend of mysterious deaths he wants to lay at her door.
On her way home from her last day at that hospital, Oraetta sees Ethelrida (Emyri Crutchfield) doing homework on her porch. She pops over to chat with Ethelrida and offer her an afternoon housekeeping job in her apartment. She tells Ethelrida that she’s decided to take her on as a “special project,” mystifying the offended girl. Then she asks if Ethelrida likes pie, decides everyone does and goes home.
At home, Oraetta makes an apple pie, gorgeous in presentation and gory in the amount of blood she accidentally spills on the apples after cutting herself with the peeler. (Typical Fargo imagery right there!) She also adds a generous dose of Syrup of Ipecac, which any Oregon Trail alum will recognize immediately as something that makes you vomit. She trots across the street, knocks on the Smutnys’ door while they’re enjoying Thanksgiving dinner inside, and leaves the pie on the doorstep before retreating into the dark. Ethelrida’s dad, Thurman (Andrew Bird), opens the door to find nobody, spots the pie, and brings it inside with a shrug.
It’s unlikely that the Smutneys will suffer the effects of the tainted dessert, though, because just after Thurman closes the door, a gaggle of US Marshalls, led by one Dick “Deafy” Wickware (Timothy Olyphant — always a delight as a lawman), come crashing through the door. Why? Because Ethelrida’s mama’s sister, Zelmare Roulette (Karen Aldridge), and her jailhouse BFF, Swanee Capps (Kelsey Asbille), are inside enjoying a turkey dinner after having escaped from prison. Zelmare has come to help her sister deal with being in debt to loan shark Loy, but it looks like she’s brought a lot of trouble with her…
RELATED: Keep up with our Fargo Season Four recaps here!
- WANDAVISION Finale Recap: (S01E09) The Series Finale - March 5, 2021
- WANDAVISION Recap: (S01E08) Previously On - February 28, 2021
- WANDAVISION Recap: (S01E07) Breaking the Fourth Wall - February 19, 2021
