Fargo – Season 4, Episode 8

Well, well, well. Things have finally taken a turn for the interesting on Fargo, and I’m here for it! There were apparitions, backstabbing, and (unexpected) reunions. I won’t keep you hanging!

The scene opens with Josto’s soon to be wife interspliced with scenes of him and Oraetta in bed. Afterwards, Oraetta reflects on her tough upbringing, which totally alerts us all that she got her murderous ideas straight from her only mother! Josto, though, argues that his childhood was worse because he got traded over to the Irish and they did things to him that shouldn’t ever be done to little boys. Then he follows that up with an “I love you” to Oraetta who flips out on his confession. It should be noted that she was already on edge because just before Josto confessed some pretty personal things, she called to see how Dr. Harvard was doing. Turns out he made a full recovery. Yikes!

After Oraetta kicks Josto out of her house on the way to the hospital, she finds out the doctor has been moved out of state because of the multiple attempts on his life. She panics and rushes home to pack her things and get the hell out of there! It is during this time that she finds Ethelrida’s notebook, whose handwriting she compares to the anonymous letter. I’ve got a bad feeling for this girl’s future. Especially since she’s essentially seen the Grim Reaper! (More context later).

While Josto leaves Oraetta’s happy, he is soon very rattled when he comes across Gaetano at the bar. In retaliation for his betrayal, Gaetano slams Josto onto a table before knocking him unconscious. Although, once Josto comes to, Gaetano announces he’s had a change of heart, because Josto is conniving and Gaetano respects that. This totally backfires against what Loy was hoping would happen. Now that Gaetano and Josto have pledged their loyalty to each other, Loy announces that they have to rely on “Fargo.” We don’t get much more out of that statement until the end of the episode, but that doesn’t mean that Loy is done with problems. Deafy pays him a visit and eventually convinces him to give up Zelmare and Swanee. Loy’s wife also goes to pay the Smutny’s a visit. It seems they’ve managed to buy themselves some time, as long as Ethelrida doesn’t muddy things up with Loy’s son Lemuel.

Just before Deafy and about 30 police officers go to hunt down Zelmare and Swanee, Otis confides in him that he wants to be a real cop again. He says he joined the force to have control and to manage his ticks, but soon the street got to him and he feels powerless again. Deafy trusts him on this and takes him along for the train station showdown. And what a showdown it is! Both Swanee and Zelmare see the Grim Reaper, and while Zelmare makes it out alive for now, Swanee isn’t so lucky. Although, neither is Deafy because Otis shoots them both! What a traitor! I feel like it’s pretty telling that Deafy’s dead body is starring Otis down at the end.

At this point, we’re brought back to that Fargo reference, because a bunch of Fargo gangster show up an annihilate most of the Italians. It seems like they got everyone besides Josto and Gaetano. Sort of a cowardly way to win a war, but Loy sort of backed himself into a corner, and sometimes you have to play dirty to win. I imagine this war is far from over though. Like I said earlier, though, FINALLY, some exciting stuff is starting to happen! My biggest question is how many people are going to start seeing that reaper? Until next week!