TV

[For Fargo “Palindrome” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

FX Summary:
PalindromePeggy and Ed make a run for it.

The finale of Fargo, entitled “Palindrome,” refers to a word or phrase that reads the same way backward as forward, suggesting perhaps that the season could be viewed as such. We open on the still living Betsy, home in her own bed now as Noreen, the girl from the the butcher shop who reads Camus, watches over her. Noreen tells Betsy how Camus says knowing we’re going to die makes life absurd. But Betsy quickly dismisses this whole notion of life’s absurdity. She says that each of us are in this life with a job to do and life is simply about doing that job within the time frame we’re given. There’s a parallel here to the first episode because Betsy also notes that Camus likely didn’t have a six year old to consider. Whereas when we’re introduced to her character she dismisses that same responsibility saying her six year old “isn’t Pol Pot” when Lou asks if she’ll be OK putting Molly to bed by herself. Of course, both things are true. A child is the ultimate responsibility and, at the same time, when we take childcare one event at a time (putting Molly to bed) it is rather simple in itself. This is truly the lesson we’re granted through Betsy’s character. A mother on her deathbed learns to treasure each moment with her child as it could be the last one they share.

Then we see Peggy and Ed as they flee the Motor Motel while Hanzee shoots at them and Lou follows right behind all three. Hanzee shoots Ed. An event directly parallel to when Rye attacks Ed in Fargo: Episode One. Just like when Rye lunges at him and he’s forced to kill a Gerhardt to protect himself, this attack changes everything for Ed. His whole life turns on it. Because Ed was shot, he’s hobbled and leans on Peggy as they flee. So, when they soon find a gas station grocer, they lock themselves inside its meat locker to rest a bit, not realizing they can’t get out. Once inside and sitting down Ed tells Peggy he doesn’t think they would’ve lasted as a couple even if they escaped this mess. All he ever wanted was get back to their simple life with the butcher shop and make a family but Peggy always wanted another life. He tells her this and then dies before they’re rescued. This parallels the beginning of the season when Ed and Peggy face off over the money he wants to invest in the butcher shop while she wants to “actualize” herself and expand her horizons. They begin and end with the same opposite goals. Not exactly a match made in heaven, though it does seem that Ed is headed there now. While Peggy’s on her way to prison, certainly an adequate Fargo placeholder for hell.

Next Lou saves Peggy from the meat locker and puts her in the back of his squad car headed back to Minnesota. As he’s leaving the lame Fargo detective confesses to him that he doesn’t even know how to write this thing up for his police report and Lou tells him to just, “Start at the start and work your way to the end,” solid storytelling advice from a solid man of the law. This parallels Lou’s encounter in the first episode with the trucker who discovered the Waffle Hut crime scene. That guy didn’t know what to do either. But in the end it didn’t really matter because Lou’s on the case.

Next Mike and his Kitchen Brother bro drive up to the Gerhardt estate where they find it unlocked, empty, and feeling like home. They encounter the Gerhardt housekeeper, Wilma, preparing dinner in the kitchen, unaware, it seems, that all the Gerhardts are dead. Mike tells her no more schnitzel or strudel. It’s all American food on the menu now. Then the Gerhardts out-of-town friend drives up and starts helping himself to their good silver, muttering, “Everyone’s dead,” until Mike enters. He tells the thief about sovereignty and declares himself king, as of today. Mike says a new sovereign performs one act of kindness and one cruelty. Unfortunately for him, Mike already gave Wilma a new car and a pile of money. Thus, all he has left for today is cruelty. This reference to royalty parallels the first scene of Fargo: Episode One when Dodd talks to Rye about the Gerhardts as the royal family and how he needs to do his duty to the family. But Rye considers this an insult. Why can’t he be more that the role his Gerhardt family has given him? Meanwhile in this scene Hanzee looks on, a much more dutiful and capable family minion – but treated with disdain simply because he’s not family. Hanzee ends up feeling the same way about the Gerhardt family in the end as Rye did in the first episode. Even a life of crime can illustrate the circle of life.

Mike then goes to the home center to meet with head boss of the Kansas City organization, Saul. This is a perfect parallel to the beginning of the season when he gets the position as enforcer for the Gerhardt project. It was Saul who handed that job to him then. Turns out Mike’s moving into an office job now, though. “Buy a nice suit,” Saul tells him. Cut your hair and let the 70s go. Your work’s no longer about busting heads, it’s all about the mighty dollar now, Mike. You’re a bean counter accountant, Milligan – tiny office, blue typewriter, and all. This same blue typewriter appears in the first episode as well, when Rye gets the job of “talking to the judge” he stands right over it. If we draw direct conclusions from these parallels it appears that Mike may not long for this world, seeing as how Rye ended up dead soon after his blue typewriter encounter and given what we know about Hanzee’s vengeance capabilities.

Speaking of Hanzee, the next time we see him he’s on the road to a new identity – the proud owner of a freshly printed social security card. Thanks to his new name Hanzee’s now Lebanese and about to get plastic surgery for a new face as well. Hanzee says he’ll get revenge on Kansas City and kill them all “head-in-a-bag” dead. One thing’s for certain, he got away with all of his Hanzee crimes unscathed by law enforcement. Mike Milligan may not be prepared for what’s coming next down his bean-counter-office-job pipeline.

Lastly we see Lou and Hank home safe at last with Betsy looking lots better beside Lou on the couch. Hank asks if Lou’s going to put the UFO in his police report and they agree it’s probably best to leave it out. The UFO made parallel appearances at the beginning and end of Fargo: Season Two, the first time its mesmerizing light helped take out Rye Gerhardt and the second time that same light aided in the death of Bear Gerhardt. So, one could conclude that perhaps aliens aren’t big Gerhardt fans. Speaking of aliens, Betsy tells Hank how she saw his office (filled with alien-seeming symbols) when she fed his cats. Hank explains. He tells her how his war and work experiences with senseless violence taught him that conflict is really about miscommunication. What we need to fix all this horrible fighting among people is a common language, Hank says. So, all those etchings were his attempt to create a universal language of simple symbols – like we can all agree that a heart means love, for example. This brings to mind our introduction to Hank in Fargo: Episode One when he knows the intimate details of all the Waffle Hut local victims. This is a man who cares about people.

Then Betsy and Lou go to bed and wish each other good night, their love for each other illuminated by the moon shining through their bedroom window. This scene is perfectly parallel to their last scene in the first episode. Lou adds at the end of their good night tidings, “and all the ships at sea,” because the other characters on the show seem afloat on the wild waters of the unknown while Lou and Betsy are tucked in safe at port – home sweet home. But Lou wishes those others well in their sea adventures. He certainly fights to try and get them justice in every move he makes.

Thus we conclude the finale of season two with the same feeling we had at the end of the first season, longing. So, we must forge ahead and keep trucking along with our lives until graced with Fargo: Season Three. Greenlit last month, it’s certain to grip us wholly for yet another glorious trek into the extraordinary world of Fargo thanks to the vision and mastery of its creator Noah Hawley. Thank you for an exciting ride this season, Mr. Hawley and for the tidbit of info you dropped in a recent interview saying that season three will take place in the present day or more specifically, “It’s more contemporary … set a couple years after Season 1.” We’ll take any information we can get and chew on it until there’s nothing left, especially now that we all know Jon Snow’s alive. What else is there to think about?

–Katherine Recap

[For American Horror Story – Hotel “She Wants Revenge” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

FX Summary:
She Wants Revenge The Countess is reunited with her one true love; Donovan and Ramona take another stab at revenge.

American Horror Story shifts back to the Hotel Cortez and The Countess. She begins the episode poised at the entrance to the wing where Valentino was trapped all those years and says it’s time to construct something new and durable – steel and iron. The Countess starts this process by marrying Will Drake so she can finance the project with his money. Drake wants a flamboyant wedding while she wants simple and intimate – so small wedding it is. But her formerly loyal minion, Elizabeth Taylor, won’t help at all – still bitter that The Countess killed the love of her life. She says, “Buy your own damn flowers!” Then The countess drives to a motel for a rendezvous with Valentino. But before anything happens between them the scene shifts back to her at the Hotel Cortez with Donovan again now, screwing in only strategically placed sequin stars. She promises to love only Donovan… but mentions she’s getting married Wednesday. He gets a cranky look until she adds that she’ll be a rich widow on Thursday. Then they talk about making a fresh start and cleaning house, agreeing to make a list of all the people to “remove” ie; kill.

Then Iris stabs guests when Donovan walks in and flatters her that she’s certainly “come into her own” lately. Iris says she fears The Countess will figure out they’re in cahoots with Ramona to take her down and he says don’t worry. Donovan’s got The Countess right where he wants her, he claims. To this Iris knowingly asks if he’s hung up on The Countess again and Dononvan insists he’s in control.

Next it’s Wednesday and wedding time. Will Drake talks to his son about how The Countess is the one for him. But then Ms. Evers interrupts his delusions to warn Will that he shouldn’t marry her – it whall be his destruction. Turns out Ms. Evers feels like The Countess stole James March from her and never got over it. Meanwhile The Countess is pissed at March for what he did to her beloved Valentino – locking him away all those years. Now she’s turning the wing where he was kept into a vault-like chamber for her to hide within and watch the all hotel happenings with strategically placed video cameras. This is where she will live with her beloved Valentino by her side – that’s living the dream for The Countess.

Donovan brings a young stud to Ramona as a peace offering. He tells her they have to get rid of The Countess tonight. He’s already drugged her and she’s marrying Drake tomorrow so she’s certain to be distracted. They drain the young stud’s blood and talk about heartbreak and loneliness, despair… So, living in Los Angeles, basically. Ramona tells him how her last twenty years in LA passed like nothing happened. She was caring for her parents and not handling their deterioration particularly well. Turns out vampirism didn’t cure her father’s dementia. But Ramona is over all that now and and focused on how The Countess killed her lover. After telling him the story she and Donovan drink the young stud’s blood and toast to vengeance on the Countess.

Then we see Alex parked outside a house with a pizza delivery car out front. Inside she finds a pile of bloody corpses and that kid Max she “saved” with the virus along with all his vampire buddies. Alex tells them if they keep up their careless murderous ways they’re going to get caught. She suggests they all go to the Hotel Cortez where there are people like them who can help. But the kids are like hell no, that’s the last thing we need is for adults to tell us what to do. They have a point. It would really make the whole killing-their-parents thing moot.

Next Ramona and Donovan sneak up on The Countess while she’s sleeping. Ramona holds a big knife over her, all ready to get stabby, but it’s a setup. The Countess hisses at her, Donovan tazes Ramona’s neck and once again – she’s betrayed. Iris was right about Donovan, of course. A mother always knows. He’s too much of sucker for the love of the Countess. They lock Ramona into one of the iron cages.

The Countess and Valentino have breakfast and turns out Natascha has been out shopping all this time, thanks to The Countess’s black card. She wants Valentino all to herself and for them to turn the Hotel into a fortress against the modern world. It’s all part of her plan to recreate the love they had all those years ago when she was allegedly happy and in love. But then Natascha returns laden with shopping bags and The Countess changes her tune. She says Natascha has to come over tonight for girls fashion night and Valentino isn’t invited. Natascha’s imminent demise seems just around the corner at the Hotel Cortez – but at least she’ll be wearing the latest couture.

At the Will Drake and Countess wedding Elizabeth Taylor objects but can’t conjure a better reason than just because the bride’s a bitch, basically. The Countess says please ignore Liz, she drinks but the law requires a witness. Now that they’re married March visits Drake at the bar before taking him upstairs to “show him something.” There he introduces Will to The Countess’s monster child. Of course Will Drake, who cares deeply about aesthetics and little else insults the heinous creature. Then The (outraged) Countess knocks him upside the head. He wakes up in the cage room with Ramona still in the pink iron cage. The blue one stands open, awaiting Drake’s hot bod. Not knowing any better, Will frees her from the iron bars and then Ramona thanks him by feeding on his gorgeous face and neck. Ms. Evers stands over the bloody spectacle with arms folded and an I-told-you-so look on her face. All the while The Countess watches on remote video in her newly constructed vault-like chamber.

She’s been the most powerful force at the Hotel Cortez all along and seemingly remains unstoppable. So, what would a happy ending look like for American Horror Story – Hotel? Is it for The Countess to get her heart’s desire and spend the rest of her days with Valentino in a vault while the hotel continues on below, killing, torturing, and enveloping hostage after hostage? Or will John Lowe kill everyone, including The Countess? Then maybe Alex will become the new Countess and John the replacement James March as the Hotel sashays forth into a new era of deadly debauchery. Either way, it’s sure to be a glamorous, blood- soaked ride.

–Katherine Recap

[For Scream Queens“The Final Girl(s)” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

FOX Summary:
“The Final Girl(s)” Shocking confessions are made; the Red Devil is unmasked; the killer is revealed.

The finale of Scream Queens “The Final Girl(s)” comprises a giant, ridiculous but incredibly fun pretty girl sandwich. It’s hard to take the show seriously given all the screw ups (like Chanel’s injury in the previous episode) and silliness, so let’s not. It’s not a serious show. Scream Queens is more party than a story. There are wonderful things about this party; anybody can come (it’s on FOX and not a pay channel) and it’s packed with gorgeous peeps making wisecracks. That’s a fun show! Let’s just appreciate this and push aside the fact that most of the narrative made virtually no sense at all. Scream Queens doesn’t even take itself seriously and we could all learn a lesson from this level of lightening up. In the final episode Zayday makes a crack about how there were a few too many flippant racist jokes on the show just to remind us that getting offended wastes more energy than it’s worth – especially watching a show like this one.

The finale begins with Pete confessing to Grace that he’s a Red Devil but he’s only killed like eight to ten people while the Kappas and Chanels have killed over a hundred. Pete says he killed Roger… or maybe it was Dodger. He gets them messed up. Then Pete says he did it because two Red Devils cornered and forced him to join them or die. He quotes Nietzsche and says he killed Boone, who was the muscle of the operation and Gigi, who was the bitch. He tells a story of how Chanel humiliated him and thus he had to get revenge. Pete then says he did it all for Grace and they should run away together. Grace says he’s everything she’s been fighting against. But he adds that she has to stay with him so he can tell her who the other killer is – one of her sisters. Grace had been right all along the killer is Boone’s twin sister and the other baby from the bathtub.
Pete explains that he collected DNA samples from all the Kappas and found out who the killer is. Just as he’s about to name the Red Devil, she jumps out of his closet and kills him, stabbing him in the back and then attacking Grace too.

Soon after Dean Munsch enters her home to find it filled with lit candles and a come hither Wes stripped down to skivvies in her bed with a rose between his teeth. She’s totally thrilled, of course, and the fornication commences forthwith. Afterward they listen to Michael Bolton and Wes declares that it was the best sex of his life. She doesn’t take him seriously but he’s dead serious. Then he says maybe they were meant to be together and it’s unclear if it’s just the Bolton talking.

Meanwhile Grace and Zayday are checking the transcripts of the Chanels to find clues to the baby in the bathtub and they find one who must be the killer. Her social security number is 123-45-6789, her home address is Sesame Street, and she went to Sweet Valley High. They decide this is the bathtub baby girl and thus the killer. Grace and Z head out to confront her but it’s not clear yet to us which Chanel they’re talking about. Back at Kappa House they declare that the killer is Chanel No. 6, Hester. But then when they find her, Hester lays on the floor in a pool of blood with one of Chanel’s stiletto heels stabbed into in her eye socket. Hester then opens her other eye and points to Chanel No. 5 to shriek that she’s the killer.

In the next scene we fast forward into the future of Kappa. Here we see “The Final Girl(s)” Hester in a bedazzled eye patch – now the treasurer of Kappa. Grace and Zayday, who are clearly the leaders at Kappa now, introduce her to new pledges. She’s alive! Not only that, it turns out she was actually the killer all along. Through her voiceover we learn that Hester grew up in the asylum with Gigi and Boone and they all planned the revenge against Kappa long ago – twenty years of Red Devil strategizing. Hester was the brains of the operation, Boone the brawn, and Gigi the psycho with a dark side. But it’s pretty clear Hester is a psycho with a dark side too… after all, she did stab herself in the eye with a stiletto to get away with serial killing.

Hester has taken out all the Chanels at this point because somebody had to take all the blame for the Red Devil murders and it wasn’t going to be her, Hester explains. Then the scene shifts back to Kappa after the stiletto/eyeball incident and the Chanels discuss who the killer is, now presuming it can’t be Hester. During their talk she comes back with a recovering eyeball and excuses for everything, including paid actors playing her parents. Hester even convinced Chanel No. 5’s parents to disown her and say that a woman named Gigi gave her to them after a long stint in a mental institution. Totally believable – right? So, because Denise is the new Police Chief and just happens to be at Kappa right then, she’s ready to take Chanel No. 5 “downtown” for murder. But then Hester pipes in that Chanel No. 5 isn’t the only killer, Chanel No. 3 murders too. She points out that No 3 is Charles Manson’s daughter and regularly gets letters from him advising her to kill her sorority sisters. Hester also just happens to have a letter from No 3’s psychiatrist saying she has a split personality named Dirty Helen. No. 3 insists that she’s never been to a shrink but then Hester says it’s her split personality who goes and thus No. 3 remains unaware of her own Dirty Helen. Once Hester has everyone convinced of this weak logic it’s time to turn on Chanel No. 1 – Ms. Oberlin herself. We all know she’s an easy target after frying off the Kappa house cleaning lady’s face, throwing Hester down the stairs and threatening murder on a daily basis.

Thus Denise puts the three Chanels under arrest and a bunch of former male strippers collect them to the tune of the song Toy Soldiers as Denise declares that “You rich, dumb hos are goin’ dowwwwn towwwwn!” and points her finger in that direction. They’re denied bail and put away. After this hilarious scene Scream Queens carnks the comedy up even a notch further showing Chad and Denise finally ending their torrid long term affair. Denise has to end it not only to join the FBI but also because they’re just Chasing Waterfalls… and all the rest of that song too.

Dean Munsch writes a NY Times bestselling book called

New New Feminism

but it turns out she didn’t really write it. Munsch had a ghost writer and still has trouble remembering what the book is about other than that women are basically just better than men. This makes for some comedic situations when she’s giving speeches and doing TV interviews about her highly controversial book.

Then we see Grace, Zayday, and Hester polish the memorial to all those who were killed by the Red Devil killer and it has a hilarious inscription thanks to Chad Radwell’s brilliant writing talent. His parents paid for it so he literally gets the last word on the Red Devil’s victims. Grace and Zayday walk away so Hester is all alone at the memorial when Dean Munsch approaches. She tells Hester she knows she was the killer. Munsch says she would never forget that baby in the bathtub’s face. Hester says everyone got what they wanted in the end and the Chanels should have to pay because they’ve hurt so many people. Then the Dean declares that she’s going to turn Hester in. But Hester retorts that she’ll just turn the Dean in too; for covering up her mother’s death and killing her ex husband. Therefore the Dean backtracks and becomes easy breezy all of a sudden. She says, oh OK that’s cool. I guess we’ll forget this convo ever happened. Bye now. So, it’s settled.

In the end Wes and Dean Munsch are happy together and off on vacation in Napa. The Chanels were found guilty on all 47 counts and are sent to an asylum. Their judge says they have no regard for anyone but themselves and are, rude, narcissistic, and completely insane. The asylum is, of course, the same one where Hester was raised. All three made themselves at home and found happiness at the institution. There is no judgement, no popularity contest, and no reason to starve themselves anymore. The Chanels finally has a chance to eat. Then in the final moment of the finale Chanel No. 1 tucks herself happily into bed when she hears a metallic clang and pulls the covers up to her chin. It’s probably nothing…. but no. It’s not nothing. It’s the Red Devil and he’s holding a large knife over Chanel, ready to kill her.

Scream Queens was a fun but ridiculous ride. Meant more for the teenaged viewer, perhaps than a fossilized bag of crones such a fetchland.com. But there were many laughs despite the lack of continuity, gaping narrative holes, a lack of logical sense. We had fun, dammit! It was a great party and beautiful to boot. The jokes were plentiful and they used music skillfully, which is a lot to say for a teenager-focused show. It’s unclear if we’ll see a Scream Queens season two, especially given that this season was abbreviated by several episodes late in the game. But if the show does return, perhaps it will be refined from lessons learned in season one… or maybe it’ll remain like the teenagers it speaks to and portrays. Either way, we applaud you, Scream Queens for making us laugh even when we wanted to throttle you for not making sense.

Katherine Recap

[For Fargo “The Castle” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

FX Summary:
The Castle Peggy and Ed agree to follow through with their plan at the Motor Motel.

Fargo’s episode nine title “The Castle” likely refers to the Kafka novel of the same name. Not only is the novel a story about frustrations with bureaucracy but also futile efforts to reach an impossible goal. Both of these themes resonate in “The Castle” episode and who better to symbolize the dark surreal storytelling in Fargo than Franz Kafka? The writers show us that this episode refers to a novel by telling the story of the episode with a literal book, pages turning and all.

Episode nine opens on a bookcase. Our narrator selects and reads to us from the book

The History of True Crime in the Midwest

. The story begins as Hanzee shoots the gas station clerk who ratted him out before he dresses his wound in the gas station bathroom then takes the cashier’s car in pursuit of Peggy and Ed. Next we see a cadre of cops standing over the tied-to-chairs Blumquists in the cabin. Hank takes note that Peggy did a pretty great job compared to law enforcement thus far dealing with the Gerhardts. Then Ed tells them about his meeting with Mike Milligan at the Motor Motel set for the next morning at eight. The cops pow wow outside on the porch and the South Dakota troopers don’t want to get involved because they’re terrified of the Gerhardts and admit there’s bureaucratic corruption at hand as well. They don’t want to piss off their big house bosses. Why not let the Blumquists do their dirty work? Lou says this is BS and they call him “Gary Cooper,” an apt description for his particular brand of hot hero action. They tell Lou to vamoose and on his way out he advises Peggy and Ed not to take the deal and when they ignore him, leaves in a huff. He’ll see if his boss can handle it “on a bureaucratic level,” Lou says then drives off, leaving Hank to represent the sane side of law enforcement.

Meanwhile back inside the cabin the troopers tell Peggy and Ed if they wear a wire and get Milligan to admit culpability they’ll get a deal with the DA. Then, at the mention of his name, we see Mike talk to his boss on and share a plan to pick up Dodd Gerhardt the next morning in Sioux Falls at the Motor Motel. He pretends the killers his boss sent after his ass never came and offers to bring him Dodd in a sly counter move that’s bold but typical Milligan.

We revisit

The History of True Crime in the Midwest

before the next scene and then see Betsy fall to her kitchen linoleum just as Lou enters the gas station phone booth to call her. But the Solverson family phone echoes through an empty house because she’s on her way to the hospital now thanks to Molly’s babysitter. Lou then enters the gas station store to find the dead cashier and Hanzee’s wound care supplies in the bathroom. Lou calls the state troopers but the one who comes isn’t there to help. Instead he escorts Lou out of South Dakota where he won’t be able to meddle anymore with his damn doing-the-right-thing nonsense. Lou can’t catch a break among his own because he’s actually a thinking person and they’re cogs in a corrupt bureaucratic machine – the system of law enforcement. His desire for justice conflicts directly with their desire to go with the bureaucratic flow.

Freshly escorted out of South Dakota, Lou calls Hank with Hanzee’s status and current car (the cashier’s) only to once again be ignored by the troopers. They appreciate Lou’s giddyup and all on this thing but they know what they’re doing. Thank you very much. Then the troopers chide Hank for Lou’s talking out of turn in the Motor Motel parking lot while Hanzee watches from a nearby rooftop, shotgun ready. As usual, he’s way ahead of them.

Hanzee calls Floyd to lie and say Dodd’s still alive. He tells her Milligan has Dodd at the Motor Motel in Sioux Falls and that she should send twelve men to get Dodd out safely. Floyd says she’s done sending men on their own just to witness their failure at the job she needs done. This one Floyd’s going to handle as well. “Yes, ma’am,” says Hanzee. Meanwhile the troopers set the stage at the Motor Motel to prep for Mike Milligan’s arrival. Benjamin, the pathetic Fargo detective, stays in Peggy and Ed’s room while the rest of the cops drink and play cards in two nearby motel rooms. Hank, who has his own room, knocks on the Blumquist’s door a bit later and the Fargo detective keeps him out. The troopers, meanwhile, drink Miller Lite and play poker in their undercover outfits of wranglers and white tees. They turn off the police radio because the chief declares that, “from this point on we’re radio silent,” not the wisest move when awaiting a mafia and Gerhardt ambush. But common practice for these officers.

Just escorted out of South Dakota, Lou parks by the border as he gets a police radio call about Constance Heck, Peggy’s boss. They just found her strangled body in a Sioux Falls motel room. This gives Lou a wild hair that sends him right back into South Dakota. He drives much faster on his way back into the land where he’s most unwelcome. He goes to Constance’s motel room and imagines what might have transpired, all detective-like. Then back outside, Lou sees Lloyd and her caravan drive toward the Motor Motel and once again calls the South Dakota troopers’ radio to warn them… the very same radio they’ve just silenced.

Bear tells Floyd to stay in the car at the motel so she’ll be safe during the battle. When they arrive Hanzee gives the Gerhardt clan a strategic status update then stays behind with Floyd, who’s never looked better in a white turtleneck and bright red jacket against the night sky. The gun at her waist gives Floyd a physical stance of authority that’s only come through up to this point in the tenor of her voice. She’s a beautiful and powerful leader; yet poised for death.

The Gerhardt clan blasts through the Motor Motel and takes out the troopers with ease in a matter of minutes. But Peggy and Hank are prepared simply by virtue of their respective neuroses keeping them on guard. After the forewarned Fargo detective shoots the oncoming Gerhardts Peggy takes him down with a Gerhardt shotgun smacked upside his dumb head. Meanwhile out in the parking lot, Hanzee stabs the unsuspecting Floyd in the gut as Lou joins the fray and entangles with Bear one-on-one. Just as Lou’s about to lose to Bear’s stranglefest, a UFO floats down to the parking lot where they’re tangled on the cement. The bright alien light distracts Bear long enough for Lou to shoot and kill him. It renders the same trance effect on Hanzee who was just about to nail Peggy and Ed, thus freeing them for escape. Having provided this service to Peggy and Lou, the UFO lifts off and leaves.

Then the final Motor Motel showdown it’s just Hanzee and Lou left shooting each other when Lou hears Hank cry out, “Officer down!” and leaves the standoff to help him. Just then Mike drives up to the Motor Motel with the remaining Kitchen Brother and they see the bloodbath battle remains – Floyd flat out and bleeding on the parking lot pavement, etc. Mike says, “OK then,” and they drive away. Through his pained expression, the wounded Hank asks Lou about Peggy and Ed. He answers that they’re on the run now with Hanzee in hot pursuit. At this news Hank says Lou should go after them and that he’ll be OK. So, Lou leaves to join the hunt – once again on his own and fighting the uphill battle for justice.

Another theme throughout Kafka’s,

The Castle

is the notion of standing at the law’s door unable to enter – a perfect description of Lou’s position in this episode and really the whole of Fargo’s season two. He’s doing everything right as a police officer but it doesn’t matter. The law won’t let Lou inside. One of the controversies in translating

The Castle

is that the German title works as a homonym meaning both “castle” and “lock.” So, Kafka likely meant both words when he wrote the story. Certainly, Lou needs a key to free him from this fortress of ineptitude and ignorance in South Dakota. The UFO helped him at the critical moment when Lou faced death in the throttling hands of Bear Gerhardt. But what key will come along to finally unlock the justice system and let Lou actually do his job? Hopefully we find out in the upcoming finale. Our one consolation in the meantime – at least we know Lou Solverson survives the Milligan-Blumquist-Hanzee brand tempest that lies ahead. So stay tuned, it’s finally time for the final Solverson showdown.

–Katherine Recap

[For “I Live Here Now”or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

HBO Summary:
I Live Here Now Kevin comes clean about his connection to Evie’s disappearance; Miracle faces an unexpected threat.

In the final episode of season two, The Leftovers delivers a wild ride and satisfying ending that wraps up the narrative while still holding us in suspense for next season. The episode title, “I Live Here Now” is uttered by our hero, Kevin Garvey, in one of the last scenes. He’s talking about Miracle, of course, and we all feel like we know what it’s like to live there now. Difference is, we’re not quite as into it as Kevin. Now that he’s come back from the dead and rid himself of Patti, the guy can’t wait to get back home. This final episode encapsulates his trip and answers the remaining questions.

The finale begins at the moment when the Garveys leave the Murphy birthday barbecue and Evie gets in the car with her two friends right before they “disappear”. But this time we see what happens with the girls in the car as they shift abruptly from smiles and party music to tears and silence. Not just any silence… Guilty Remnant silence. Evie writes in and holds up a notebook with the word “Don’t” on it for the girls in the front seat. They park the car at the waterfall and leave it staged to look like a Departure event. Then the trio watch as Kevin throws himself into the water with the cinder block rope-tied to his foot. The girls turn away to leave the scene and an earthquake shifts the scene to the moment at the end of the last episode. Michael discovers Kevin, alive again in the woods after Virgil killed him. Kevin asks how long he was dead and Michael says eight hours. He asks if Patti is still with him and Kevin says “no.”

Then Kevin tells Michael how he saw Evie that night at the waterfall and says he needs to talk to his father. At the mention of John Murphy we see him at his dining table with the unopened gift from Evie in front of him. Annoyed, impatient Erika opens it for him and inside there’s a dead cricket. John says Evie found his cricket, smiling. Then Erika says no she didn’t because after Evie left that night the cricket was chirping like mad. John says, “Then why did she put this one in the box?” Erika says, “Because you wouldn’t let it go,” so, he replies, “Fuck you”. At that moment Miracle Rangers come to the door and tell him Kevin’s handprint matches the one found on the missing girls’ car. John trots over and pounds on the Garvey front door. He meets Laurie for the first time. Then Kevin comes home and John says they need to go for a ride and have a talk. The resonant Leftovers dread then flutters up into customary position now. Some shit’s about to go down and it’s not just John and Erika’s marriage.

We shift then to Nora who’s caring for baby Lily and Mary. They listen to a radio talk show and then there’s an earthquake. Suddenly Mary wakes up and starts talking. Nora takes her to Matt, still at the campground, who’s thrilled to see her and that she’s back. He says he can’t go back with her yet but that Mary has to go back to town. Then he tells her she can’t stay with him out here because she’s pregnant and it’s her turn to be thrilled. We see Tom and Meg at the campground now too. Meg asks if he’s scared for his family and Tom says there is no family. She says where’d you hear that. He says he thought that was the point and Meg says, No not the point at all. In fact, “Family is everything.” Then she tries to drive across the bridge until a Ranger stops her. He says no visitors because it’s October 14th – Departure Day. Meg tells him she’s got a van packed with plastic explosives and then drives over the bridge and stops in the middle. She gets out of the van as Rangers point guns at her and say she has to get down on the ground. So, Meg lies down on the bridge and they cuff her. Now the three missing girls from Miracle get out of the van, dressed as Guilty Remnants all in white. Meg’s big event is underway.

Next we see John and Kevin at the dog kennel, the holding space where they put his dog on that first day in Miracle. Kevin tells john he just remembered this morning seeing Evie staging her departure at the waterfall. At first John doesn’t want to believe any of it but Kevin tells him everything – dying, Virgil, and even Virgil’s confession about messing with John as a kid. John gets nervous and pissed and won’t believe. He says, “Evie loves her mother, brother and me. So why would she do this to us?” Kevin says maybe she didn’t love you. Then John shoots him right in the chest without hesitation and leaves. But then when John gets outside everybody in the campground/bridge area is reacting to what’s happening with Meg, the trio of girls, and the plastic explosives. So, John runs over there to see what’s up. He sees Evie and the other two missing girls dressed as Guilty Remnants. They just smoke and stand in front of the van. Then Evie holds up a sign that says, “One Hour.”

John cant get Evie’s attention. So, he goes to the church and tells Erika who goes straight to bridge and races through the guards to confront Evie who won’t acknowledge her. Evie refuses to even make eye contact with Erika. Then lots of the people in the campground strip down to their underwear and change into all white clothes. The scoreboard that sits high above the campground counts down the hour Evie announced on her sign with big scoreboard numbers. But at the end of the hour the van turns out to be empty, so it’s not a bombing after all. Then all the dressed-in-white Guilty Remnant campgrounders climb the stairs to break through the gate, overcome the Ranger Guards, and cross the bridge to join Evie and the other two girls. Erika says to Evie, “I don’t know why you’re doing this. I don’t understand,” to which Evie then writes on her notebook, “You understand,” and she walks away and across the bridge to Miracle with the crowd of Guilty Remnants. Erika stands transfixed on the bridge, brokenhearted.

Matt tells Mary they have to go back into town now. It’s their chance to get back in together. She agrees and they head toward the bridge. A woman who keeps harassing Nora that Lily is not her baby then snatches Lily from Nora and runs away, only to abandon the baby on the bridge where Lily’s nearly trampled before Nora can save her. Tom appears at Nora’s side to help her save baby Lily and brings her to safety, ironically inside the ominous but impotent van that’s still parked in the middle of the bridge. Meanwhile all the campground people who aren’t dressed in white are following the group of Guilty Remnants running across the bridge and into Miracle – finally going the one place in the world they really want to be.

Then Kevin wakes up in a hotel bathtub room again PISSED. “I’m not fucking doing this again,” but still he goes to the wardrobe and selects the cop uniform. The phone rings and they say they need him in the lobby because a cop was attacked. In the lobby Kevin sees the guy from the bridge who tied the noose around his neck. He tells the guy he needs to know how to get back and the guy says all he has to do is sing. Kevin says he won’t because it’s stupid. The guy retorts, “You pushed a little girl into a well but you’re not willing to sing,” so Kevin gets up on stage and spins the wheel to pick a song. He gets Simon and Garfunkel, Homeward Bound and the lyrics arouse all sorts of images and memories that make him cry as he sings. When his song ends Kevin closes his eyes and then wakes up in a pool of blood on the dog kennel floor. The dog he’d left on his first day at Miracle stares at him. So, he takes the dog and exits the kennel. It’s night now and there’s nobody at the campground anymore. When he calls to the dog it doesn’t come to him and instead takes off across the bridge – a parallel to Evie in the previous scene. Then Kevin goes inside the Miracle visitor center and it’s full of Guilty Remnants. He sees Meg and they ask each other what they’re doing here. He says, “I Live Here Now,” and then Meg starts singing the Miracle song that Evie sang early on in the season’s first episode. Evie harmonizes with her. It’s creepy. Kevin leaves, grabs a billy club on the way and heads into town where it’s bedlam – fires burn, people are boozin, and the formerly idyllic town square now feels like a pseudo riot, looter land.

Kevin crosses looter land and heads straight into the Jarden Medical Clinic where nobody’s working but he seems to know what he needs. He attempts self treatment when John comes in looking for Erika and sees him dying. “I killed you,” says John. “Nope,” says Kevin. Then John asks to see and Kevin shows him how the bullet went right through him. “You should’ve bled out,” John says, stating the obvious. Then he helps Kevin clean it. They both say they don’t understand what’s happening and laugh that giddy how-fucked-up-can-this-get? brand giggle. Then John helps Kevin get home. Outside their houses John asks, “What if there’s nobody home?” and Kevin says, “Then come over to my house,” so they’re officially friends again. Forgiveness reigns. Before he can even get to the front steps another earthquake fells Kevin to the ground but he endures, pulling himself up off the ground yet again. When he finally gets inside. There’s Jill, Laurie, Matt, Mary, Tom, Nora, and Lily all waiting for him. “You’re home,” Nora says. Kevin is happy to be home.

The words Meg said to Tom in the campground sum up the finale episode and even all of season two – Family is everything. That’s where all the meaning and emotion arises in this season of The Leftovers. People lost family in the Departure. Evie and Michael lost their father for most of their childhood while he was in prison. Matt lost Mary for years to catatonia. Kevin lost Laurie and Tom to the Guilty Remnant cult. He lost his father to mental illness. It’s all about family in The Leftovers and the losses keep coming – even in the finale. Just like in life, people die, dogs run away, and teenagers rebel. But in the end when Kevin comes home and finds his loved ones waiting he’s happy. After a long day of fighting, dying, and coming back to life a second time, that’s what it’s all about. Just like the Simon and Garfunkel song says.

–Katherine Recap

[For American Horror Story – Hotel “The Ten Commandments Killer” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

FX Summary:
The Ten Commandments Killer John closes in on the Ten Commandments Killer; Sally’s arrangement with March is revealed.

“The Ten Commandments Killer” reveals John Lowe’s innermost secrets, not just to us but also to Lowe. He finally knows why he’s drawn to the Hotel Cortez, the identity of the Ten Commandments Killer, and even his purpose in life. What more could a boozin’ blue-eyed dreamboat want? Anything but these three things.. if you’re John Lowe.

After the little girl, Wren, dies in the street John runs back to the Hotel Cortez and demands to know where the Ten Commandments Killer is. He’s in the hotel, John says and they’ve all been hiding and protecting him. Sally says she’ll take John to the killer and walks him to room 64, John’s room. Uh oh, we had a feeling… There are answers waiting on the other side of the door, she explains. In fact, room 64 used to be James March’s office space and it was right here where he died.

Sally says John will find what he’s looking for behind the armoire. He pushes the armoire away from the wall to find a door that opens into an eerie blue-lit room full of body parts encased in glass: the hand of a thief for thou shalt not steal and so on. A commandment is engraved on the appropriate plaque on the base of each glass vessel. Sally says March had been waiting for his successor and then finally found him… in John. Lowe’s been doing all the Ten Commandment killings in his boozy blackouts. He picked up where March left off ninety years ago. That’s why he was invited to the serial killer dinner on Halloween. Sally says, “It’s always been you,” and comforts the dazed John with a rocking hug as the truth sinks into his murderous mind. He’s been hunting himself all along.

Being the self destructive type, John can’t wait to confess. He runs to the morgue where his boss stands over Wren’s body. Lowe suddenly remembers everything and it turns out he’s been going to the Hotel Cortez for five years, not just the few weeks we knew about. He was drinking back then and sought a martini at midnight the first time he went to the Hotel. Sally sat near him at the bar but it was Donovan who hit on him first. John isn’t feeling friendly, though… or frisky. Then Donovan tells him he can get truly blasted upstairs and the bar is about to declare last call. Next we see The Countess and March eating a dinner thus interrupted by Donovan and John Lowe at their door. March rages because it’s his one night a month with the beloved Countess. Donovan explains that Lowe had a wretched day and needs to drink himself silly.

Do life and death have no meaning anymore to John? March asks. Lowe replies that being a homicide detective he knows more than anyone that life and death are the ONLY thing that have any meaning. March’s eyes light up as he recognizes a kindred spirit and he releases The Countess and Donovan so they can go bone the night away. He’s intrigued by Lowe and gives him Absinthe. John drinks heavily while March tells him he sees his jet black rage-filled aura. It’s dangerous to keep all that inside because it’ll give him cancer. And anyway, March senses that John’s having trouble keeping it in check. Lowe admits this is true – he feels his own righteous sense of justice, especially at work. If only he was judge jury and executioner. Later that night March tells The Countess John has “once in a generation rage” and he’s finally found the man worthy to continue his work. If she helps capture John for the task March will give her one of the Lowe children. Because The Countess adores impossibly blonde children, it’s a perfect trade.

Remembering it to his boss now Lowe admits that he’s been going to the Hotel Cortez regularly and living a double life. Because time was different at the Hotel he could easily get away with it. Being with James March it was as if no time passed at all. They would talk for hours and March showed him all the wonders of the Cortez, like his trophy room with dead people’s heads right beside the animals. At first Lowe was a bit judgmental about such gore but his frustrations about societal injustices at work sent him back to March again and again. It started to seem to Lowe that he must do the job of justice himself – as March did, playing judge, jury, and executioner. It was like a dream come true for John – get out his rage and finally finding justice all in one bloody package. On his first murderous venture John hunts a guy March claimed a pedophile even though there’s no evidence other than concocted pics and stories. John beats the guy to death and then attempts to hang himself in the stranger’s bathroom but fails because Sally was there. Turns out Sally was always there – in John’s arms.

Sally and John have been having a torrid affair all these five years. Her character is a perfect, if a bit blatant, representative for addiction. About her John says she’s a bottomless pit of need and that when he’s with her, he’s someone else. But he keeps going back to her anyway. Sounds like she’s pretty addictive. Lowe couldn’t kill himself because Sally called March to come save John from his own suicide. March was mad at her for not cutting John down herself. He reminds her that she owes him. They have an arrangement where he protects Sally from a vicious demon, the drill bit maggot looking thing, and in return she does March’s bidding. Apparently Sally conjured this Addiction Demon and it has to feed so she needs March to feed it for her or she’ll be consumed.

John wraps up his confession to his boss with the story of how March advises John that he’s found his true purpose in life, killing and venting his rage – thus using his pain to make the world a cleaner place. Then he shares his Ten Commandments Project with John and tells him to finish the work he couldn’t. When Lowe says he might get caught March tells him to make himself lead detective on the case so he can’t get nailed. John’s boss still doesn’t believe the confession at this point but Lowe doesn’t care, he’s too caught up in the rush of his rage and storytelling. John stabs his boss and says it’s because he was coveting his wife.. one of the Ten Commandments, yes. But when it comes to John actually discerning his boss’s feelings for Alex, this was probably just a guess, at best. It’s all wrapped up nicely for John’s murderous mind, though. He returns to the Hotel Cortez now fully aware of who he is and his purpose in life – a man who is finally whole in this way can’t be stopped from his mission.

This episode revealed a lot about John and Sally, alive and dead versions of twisted addictions. Connected as if they are stuck in a vice made entirely of the other person – locked in it. Instead of halting the narrative, though, these revelations throw us forward into the unknown terror of tomorrow. Now that John is aware how will that change his story? He can’t kill Alex now because she’s got The Countess’s vampire virus. Will he get caught? Or will John die and be eternally stuck in the Hotel Cortez forever like Sally? March always has him do the Ten Commandment murders offsite from the Hotel Cortez. What’s behind that? American Horror Story – Hotel has been consistent and clear in delivering the answers to past questions, so we’ll find out soon. March tells John that death is his art and Lowe has only two killings left to complete the Ten Commandment masterpiece. So, what then for John and March – a showdown? It’s not as if two serial killers are going to share and play nice when the job’s done. March has the advantage of experience but John’s actually alive. It’s a tough fight to call. One thing’s for certain, though, conflict is inevitable at the Hotel Cortez and it’s gonna be to the death.

–Katherine Recap

[For Scream Queens‘ “Black Friday” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

FOX Summary:
Black Friday The Red Devil has plans to disrupt the holiday the Chanels like the most; Black Friday.

“Black Friday” introduces Chanel’s philosophy of Christmas, namely making all of her friends question their importance in her life because of the cheap ass Black Friday gifts she gets them for Christmas. Truth is, though this whole show is about Chanel and that’s because SHE’S THE KILLER, DUDES. The evidence all clicked into place in this episode for finals and for reals but we here at Fetchland are not too shy to say we told you so long ago. You know we knew it, baby.

The episode then picks up where we left off after the Thanksgiving turkey turned out to be Gigi’s grey dead head last week. Kappa house is yet again a crime scene. The Chanels are prepped to go Black Friday shopping while Dean Munsch and Zayday are more in the mood to figure out who killed Gigi. But the Chanels won’t be stopped from fulfilling their patriotic shopping duty. They sharpen their shopping claws and flee to the mall like a trés chic wolfpack.

Meanwhile at the police station Grace, Pete, and Wes find out Chisolm just got fired and the rest of the police force is either also fired or on retail duty for the night. So no more investigating the Red Devil killer for now. But let’s get real for a minute. They never really were – remember? Too convinced of ghosts and apparitions doing the dastardly deeds to do any actual detective work. It’s no wonder the killer hasn’t been caught. So, the replacement cops are all at the mall along with the shopping Chanels who delight in the glories of retail until the mall’s closing and they’re locked inside. Suddenly their paradise is a dark danger zone with two Red Devils and not a brain cell or survival skill among them. In the scene which inevitably outs Chanel No. 1 as the killer, a Red Devil comes for her with a bright red crossbow and his arrow hits her right in the collar bone. The arrow sticks out clearly between her shoulder and neck. Denise, the new Chief of Police, and now working retail duty at the mall, interrupts and prevents further injury by scaring the killer away. The Red Devil duo escape as they always do.

This next part is where the rubber meets the road, peeps. Laid out before us is a classic Scream Queens scene. It’s representative of the show because people sit around talking and nothing anybody says makes any sense. What they say matters not, in fact. If we paid attention to the last episode or really any of them we likely already learned this lesson. The entire “Thanksgiving” episode was people accusing each other and explaining theories why every character could be the killer. Sure, anybody could. But they aren’t ALL the killer. Those explanations and theories essentially mean nothing – a Red Devil brand circle jerk. In this “Black Friday” episode the distraction factors are two. The first is all the obsessive attempts to kill Dean Munsch because they allegedly think she’s the killer now. It’s ridiculous to the point of absurdity. Primary example – Grace suddenly thinks they should kill Dean Munsch and insists that they do so. Then in a few scenes she does a complete switch and says the opposite. The Kappas even kick her out for this and Zayday, who previously thought Grace was crazy for being so gung ho to kill Munsch, suddenly agrees with the Chanels about this decision to oust Grace from Kappa and kill the Dean. Yeah right. Sure. Then in the final scene Grace flips AGAIN and tells Pete she wants to sleep with him but only if he helps her kill Dean Munsch. This is all classic Scream Queens and may be them doing some sort of parody on how college students are full of it… who knows? But the outcome is that what these characters say is pretty much all nonsense. Ignore it. We’re not going to figure out the killer based on what anybody says ever because they say one thing and then the opposite a few scenes later. The key to the killer is in what we see. The details, baby.

That’s how we know the killer is Chanel. Remember how she was shot in the collarbone area at the mall? She had an arrow sticking out of it for a significant amount of time. BUT the next time we see Chanel she’s got her arm is in a preposterous furry sling. It’s as if we’re supposed to not remember that her arm was completely unharmed. Her collarbone is completely fine, suddenly. Gee whiz. That’s slightly suspicious. Another suspicious event from the Thanksgiving episode was how she stormed out on Chad and then he shows up at her Kappa Thanksgiving meal soon after. This makes it seem like they’re in cahoots. Their connection definitely goes beyond what they pretend, at the very least.

Next we see distarction factor number two – Pete. First we see Pete and Chad engaged in a classic Scream Queens awkward convo as Chad reads aloud Boone’s dead gay will where he just happens to leave everything to Pete. Chad accuses Pete of being Boone’s secret lover but then it turns out Boone was a different kind of deep throat – his informant/insider and thus, a journalistic treasure to Pete. Then Chad invites Pete to join the Dicki Dollar Scholars because any secret gay lover of Boone’s is a friend of his. Pete declines saying frats are elitist crap and then Chad tells him to choose his weapon. Turns out that anyone who turns down a invitation to the frat has to duel the dollar scholar who invited him. Chad then explains that to turn down the duel, which Pete obviously does, then entitles the scholar to flat out kill him. Hey, rules are rules, bro. Chad promises to kill Pete later when he’s least expecting it.

Pete then gets a mysterious call and says that yes he feels guilty…. because it’s not who he is. He opens his closet and gazes at the Red Devil costume hanging there, facing him and ready to wear. Then Grace comes to Pete’s dorm room and she’s feeling frisky but he’s on edge and tells her he’s actually not a great guy. Pete says can’t sleep with her because he doesn’t want her first time to be with a murderer. Cliffhanger alert! But we at Fetchland think that this is merely a diversion – number two to be precise. You can’t trust what anybody says on this show, in fact the more somebody talks the less you should listen. Watch what they do. Look at the clues right in front of you. Words are just words and on Scream Queens the words matter little and mean next to nothing. Chanel is the killer. But this episode is noteworthy for another reason – no characters died. Yes, a cop got an arrow in the chest at the mall but he wasn’t a known Scream Queens Character. Getting soft, Red Devil? We like it better when you live up to your full name, Red Devil Killer.

Katherine Recap

[For Fargo “Loplop!” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

FX Summary:
Loplop Hanzee searches for Peggy and Ed; Dodd ends up in unfamiliar territory.

This episode’s title refers to the artist Max Ernst’s alter ego – a bird character named Loplop. What Ernst called a superior of birds. Ernst had been a gunner in the first World War and as an artist in peacetime, he struggled between his wartime destroyer identity and the creator he was becoming. Thus, Loplop can be seen a manifestation of Ernst’s confusion – two sides of himself in conflict. In this episode Hanzee and Peggy play out this same parallel as the Loplop of Fargo. Peggy is suddenly free as a bird and finally “actualizing herself” while Hanzee struggles with the spoils of war and his Native American identity. He’s a decorated Vietnam vet just trying to get a job done but daily life meets him with brutality and racism from all sides. A concord develops between Peggy and Hanzee in “Loplop” where, though they are nowhere near each other for most of it, she begins to fill his silences with her words while Hanzee’s actions becomes Peggy’s way of being. They are like a yin and yang, circling itself. In the beginning of the episode Peggy is the stalked one and at the end Hanzee has switched from hunter to hunted.

The episode begins with a slow pan through Peggy and Ed’s basement, a crime scene crossed with an outtake from Hoarders. Peggy sits on the stairs with Dodd tied to a chair nearby. Peggy imagines she’s talking to a man (Max Ernst probably) who asks her questions about whether she’s actualized. Does she know the difference between thinking and being? She needs to just sit and be because looking for meaning will only frustrate her. From this Peggy takes away Don’t think about the person I want to be, just be that person. Which satisfies her and for the first time in Fargo, we see a truly happy Peggy and not just the “positive thinker.” From that moment forth Peggy is freed from the trappings of her mind. Ed comes to get her and they take Dodd, tied up in the trunk, on a road trip to Ed’s cabin in the woods. Once there Peggy shocks trying-to-escape Dodd with his electric cattle prod and then they tie him to a cabin chair. Ed finds a payphone at the gas station to call the Gerhardts about Dodd.

On the phone with a Gerhardt lackey, Ed explains he’s the Butcher from Luverne and that he has Dodd but nobody of value comes to the phone. Dumbstruck Ed says he’ll call back later. Back at the cabin Dodd whines and wiggles while Peggy stirs beans on the stove. She tells him to be civil and he says go to hell so she stabs him until he can be polite. Then Peggy feeds him beans like a baby in a highchair. Ed comes home and sees the stab stains bleeding on Dodd’s chest so he chides Peggy to stab him less. If anybody else was in that chair we’d probably agree. But it’s Dodd. So, go ahead and stay stabby, Peggy.

Hanzee goes to a bar on the Blumquist’s trail and gets a glass of water with spit clearly floating on top. So, he asks for tequila – poured right in front of him. The bartender serves up some more racism but Hanzee remains stoic, even telling him about how he served in Vietnam, earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Once outside three douchebag locals approach spewing more racist crap so Hanzee shoots them. Then he goes back in the bar and shoots the barkeep too. When the cops show up right away outside the bar, Hanzee pulls out a shotgun and blasts them too. Looks like he’s done with stoicism for the day.

Ed keeps calling the Gerhardts with no luck. Meanwhile Peggy watches a Ronald Reagan movie on TV, so enraptured that she fails to notice Dodd wiggling out of his ropes. Meanwhile Ed’s calls aren’t going well with the Gerhardt clan. He sees an article in the paper about the Gerhardt war with the Kansas City mob and gets an idea. Ed calls Mike Milligan to offer Dodd in exchange for getting the Gerhardts off his back. This thrills Mike and they set up a meeting for the next day. On the front page of Ed’s paper Ed we also see a picture of Hanzee and a headline about his shootout at the bar earlier and the manhunt for him. Right on cue, Hanzee drives up to the gas station and asks the cashier about Ed. The guy tells him Ed is down by the lake but then immediately regrets it when he sees the front page of the paper and Hanzee’s manhunt mug shot. The cashier then calls the police. So, now we know Hanzee heads toward an ambush.

Back at the cabin the now-free Dodd has set up a booby trap for Ed that catches him as he enters and leaves him hung from a ceiling beam by the neck. Dodd then lectures the struggling, dying Butcher of Luverne about his Peggy problems while Ed writhes – hands grasping at the rope around his neck trying to stay alive in a hangman’s noose. His face turns scarlet. Then Peggy crawls out from under the bed and stabs Dodd through the foot. She follows through with a fireplace poker to the back of the head. Peggy is a warrior. She frees the now unconscious Ed by chopping the rope. Ed’s “Peggy problem” saved his ass today. Together they hogtie Dodd and then Hanzee arrives. Loplop is face to face, creator and destroyer in one room.

Dodd tells Hanzee to shoot the Blumquists but Hanzee doesn’t listen. Instead Hanzee propositions Peggy for a haircut. Dodd calls Hanzee a half-breed. Hanzee ignore him and tells Pegy he wants a professional looking haircut, short and clean. Then Dodd says Hanzee needs to shut up and shoot them, calling him a mongrel. Hanzee reacts with a shot straight through Dodd’s temple. Then he sits down for Peggy to cut his hair. She gets him set and stands behind him ready to start cutting as Hanzee says he wants it professional because he’s “tired of this life.” But then suddenly Hanzee spies Hank and Lou stalking them outside and stands to shoot them through the window. Peggy drives the scissors into Hanzee’s back as he shoots. Then his gun runs out of bullets so Hanzee flees out the front door as Hank and Lou enter the back. Inside they find just Peggy and Ed, hands raised in defeat.

With “Lolop” the antagonism of the creator/destroyer dynamic plays out fully. At episode end, the hair stylist/artist/creator stabs the war torn destroyer in the back. The two can’t co-exist peacefully for long, especially not in a world like Fargo. It took a standoff with this much gusto to take out a larger-than-life character like Dodd. Peggy’s journey is the coolest things about this episode. All she ever wanted was a personal evolution, what she called “actualizing,” and in “Loplop” Peggy makes it happen. She saves Ed. She stabs dangerous men. Yes, the cops do end up catching the Blumquists in the end but the most important thing for Peggy is that she found herself before they found her. Peggy found out she’s a warrior. Hanzee, meanwhile went from a badass to a man at rock bottom who thinks a haircut could change the direction of his life.

–Katherine Recap

We were promised war at the end of the last episode and the third episode brings Sunny and M.K. to The Widow’s doorstep as Quinn leads his Clippers into battle. While Clippers fight elsewhere to take control of her oil fields, Quinn wants to take the battle directly to the enemy and marches into her house. Sunny takes down a variety of Bowler-wearing Clippers in the Widow’s service while her (girl assassins) whittle the number of Clippers down to size. That is all undercard action though as the main event features a sword fight between The Widow, who is buying time for her girl’s to escape, and Quinn.

Sparks literally fly as the two dance throughout The Widow’s great room matching each other blow for blow until Quinn finally manages to gain the upper hand. He is about to strike her dead when he is crippled by a headache, brought on by his tumor, and drops his sword. Sunny rushes in and in his haste to make sure his Baron is safe, The Widow manages to make her escape through a secret passage that had been opened by Tilda as she led the girls away from the fracas.

While Tilda was herding the girls through the passage, which was in The Widow’s study, she sees M.K. huddled behind a desk. He had been told to stay outside by Sunny with the other Colts but he snuck in to find anything he could about Azra. He had found a book on The Widow’s desk when the girls came running in. Tilda does not alert anyone to M.K.s presence but gives him a harsh look that says “you are really going to need to dazzle me if you expect me to go to the Clipper prom with you!”

Ryder is still unconscious from the Nomad ambush while his mother Lydia and his father’s eighth bride-to-be Jade (who is also Ryder’s secret lover) hover over him. Jade tries to play off her concern for Ryder as just impending family obligations. They are interrupted by the return of Quinn and what is left of his Clipper forces. Lydia and Quinn bicker over The Widow’s escape but really they are bickering about Ryder’s failure to recover from his assault. Something is wrong and there is no doctor that she can can call on since Quinn killed him last episode to ensure nobody would know about his brain tumor. Quinn just walks away from her and beds Jade while Lydia sits in the next room holding her dying son’s hand.

M.K. and Sunny look on as dead Clippers are carried back into The Fort when M.K. shows his mentor the book he stole from The Widow. Sunny is fed up with M.K.’s rebellious nature and M.K. is frustrated that Sunny won’t teach him how to fight. Sunny relents and takes him to see the wheelchair-bound Waldo. If M.K. can manage to strike Waldo then Sunny will train him however M.K. wishes but if he cannot then M.K. needs to… well you know how this works out. Despite being in a wheelchair the former Regent repeatedly flips, throws, and humiliates M.K. Sunny explains that you cannot underestimate any opponent.

Jade tells Quinn that she knows someone who can help Ryder but it is not going to be something Lydia is comfortable. Quinn says she will be fine with anything if it means that Ryder will recover. Jade goes straight to Veil, a childhood playmate, and asks her to help. Veil refuses, not wanting to get drawn into the politics of The Fort. Jade pleads with her and Veil, seeing the love for Ryder in her friend’s eyes agrees.

She explains that Ryder has suffered a head trauma and his brain is swelling. Lydia does not want a “cog doctor” working on her son — especially when she see the large drill bit that Veil is prepared to use to reduce that swelling. Faced with the possibility of Ryder being dead by nightfall, Lydia not only acquiesces but helps with the procedure. It is successful but it catches the attention of The Baron, who Veil knows killed her parents. Baron expresses his condolences and vows to catch the scum that killed them. He also tells her that he knows about her and Sunny’s relationship.

Ryder awakens and his father demands to know who set him up. He says it was Angelica, a girl from The Tick Tock Club. Quinn sends Sunny and M.K. to bring her back alive. Meanwhile that is exactly what The Widow is scared of as she and her girls arrive at a burned out mansion that will serve their hideout. She fears it is only a matter of time before Quinn sends someone after Angelica and she dispatches Tilda to go retrieve her before that can happen.

While Sunny is inside the club Tilda sees him as she approaches the club and punches M.K. They argue about who is worse Quinn or her mother while Sunny is inside fighting with Angelica who puts up much more of a fight than anyone else Sunny has faced in three episodes. Rather than let herself be taken by Sunny she hurls herself head first off the balcony to splatter right in front of M.K. and Tilda. M.K. tells her to run before she is spotted by Sunny.

Sunny and M.K. go to see Veil to patch up the wounds that Angelica inflicted upon him and Sunny realizes that the walls are closing in on him. Veil tells him that Quinn knows about their relationship and both M.K. and Veil begin to fill in the details of each other. Most important to M.K. are all the books in her office which means she can read the book that may contain clues about Azra.

Lydia scolds Ryder for not having the will of his father. She is aware that he attempted to kill The Widow and that it will bring a great cost to The Fort. She also tells him that he does not have what it takes to be his father’s heir and leaves him on his own. She will no longer fight for him. He is on his own. It turns out that by seizing The Widow’s oil fields Quinn has violated the Foundation Treaty and the other barons have demanded a parlay. Sunny suspects that it more likely an execution and Quinn agrees. He needs to forge an alliance with Jacobee, who “hates me less than he hates the others” and asks Sunny to approach Jacobee’s regent Zephyr.

Zephyr and Sunny are old flames and she tries to rekindle things with him but realizes from Sunny’s response that he is in love with someone else. She scoffs at the idea that he believes someone’s love can save him. She also scoffs at the idea of Quinn trying to forge an alliance with Jacobee and suggests that if Sunny were willing to clip Quinn that the other Barons would recognize his act. Sunny firmly rejects all her offers and she agrees to take the proposal back to Jacobee but does not expect it to be a fruitful discussion.

With Sunny out of The Fort, M.K. retrieves his book and goes to visit Veil, who practices out her mothering skills on the young boy with a bowl of hot food. He asks her to read the book but she does not recognize the language it is written in. They are interrupted by an unexpected visit from Quinn. M.K. slips out of sight but is able to overhear as The Baron asks Veil to save him like she saved his son.

[For “Ten Thirteen”or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

HBO Summary:
Ten Thirteen Meg suffers a personal loss and heads out on a pilgrimage to Miracle; Tom seeks to reunite with Meg.

We’ve only seen Meg once before in Season Two but it was notably the most memorable scene thus far, which, considering that she only spoke six words in it, speaks volumes about the impact of her character. In that previous episode, Meg mounted tied-up Tom in the back of a van and then nearly set his gasoline-soaked bod ablaze before uttering those six words. In this episode Meg’s a cokehead and she’s always on the move. Seemingly unable to sit still, Meg takes many journeys in “Ten Thirteen” and throughout keeps sharing her mantra about how she’s about to change everything. It’s clear by the end of the episode that all these small journeys add up to one big power trip for coked-up Meg. The coke is only a symbol, of course. And because this is The Leftovers, it resonates through even the music that plays but resounds loudest in Meg’s ginormous ego, the classic cokehead signpost. Of course she’s going to solve all the problems of the world – along with every other coked-up fiend out there.

To kick off her second visit to Season Two we’re introduced to Meg as she snorts coke in a restaurant bathroom out to lunch with her mother on October 13th, the day before the Departure. But when she returns to the table from the bathroom her mother is laid out on the floor as waiters attempt to resuscitate her. Dead.

Then we see Meg with her fiancé on the way to Miracle as tourists two years after her mother’s death… and the Departure. Jarden had only been “Miracle” for a few months at that point, a newfound tourist attraction. Thus we get to see many of the mysteries of Miracle from a tourist perspective, the cracks in the road, manhole covers, Cecilia in her wedding dress, etc. all from the vantage point of a golf cart with talkative know-it-all headphones. Turns out Meg wants to visit the town prophet – the same guy John Murphy visited in Episode One. She wants to know what her mother was about to tell her before she left to go to the bathroom at that fateful lunch. Prophet tells her that no matter what he says she’s gonna be disappointed and then he tells her the anyway because she insists. Meg then lies to her fiancé and says the Prophet wasn’t the real deal. But not only was he real, he was right. Meg she cries later, thinking about it and clearly disappointed. While she cries Evie Murphy walks up to offer her a baby carrot because, “You can’t cry while you eat one. It’s impossible.” They sit side by side on the bench and Meg tells her the same knock knock joke that Evie told her father in Episode One. Before goodbye, Evie tells her she’s sorry Meg didn’t find whatever she was looking for in Miracle, “nobody ever does.”

The scene then shifts to Meg and her Guilty Remnant group stopping a school bus in the street. They drag out the driver and Meg enters the bus to pull the pin out of a grenade and place it on the floor then leaves a hoard of screaming children inside the locked bus. Meg’s next stop is an empty mansion where she sits before a trio of pissy Remnants. They aren’t happy about the school bus incident because of the kids. She says it’s no biggie because the grenade never went off. Meg tells them the Guilty Remnants need to step it up because people are forgetting about the Departure. They retort that they’re hearing rumors she’s planning her own action – a forbidden move. Meg lies and says she won’t. Then they tell her about Tom and say he’s taking away membership. They tell her to take care of him. She shows up at one of Tom’s gatherings and sits down to listen right as he offers healing hugs. Meg watches as he takes away the crowds pain one by one with hugs then approaches and hugs him along with the others. But Meg whispers in his ear that she can “do this for real.” Those Remnants always know when someone’s full of BS – gotta give them that.

Afterward Tom’s shaken and Laurie’s pissed at him for not showing up to their next event where she had to give everyone their money back for the absence of Tom’s healing hugs. He yells at her that they’re stealing people’s money. She says it’s working, people are getting better but Tom replies that it’s not working on him. They fight dirty. He leaves and goes to sleep on a playground with a bottle of whiskey for comfort. The next morning Tom goes to a Guilty Remnant workspace and screams, “Where the fuck is Meg?” After which he gets kicked in the stomach a few times before Meg appears. Tom says he wants her to “do it for real” and take his pain away. She says he’s just looking for a family and he says if he was looking for that he’d go to Miracle, Texas to see his Dad and sister. This delights Meg who then says she just happens to be headed there and in the next scene they drive there together. The Melle Mel 1983 song White Lines, which opens and closes the episode also plays as they drive to Miracle. It’s a true funk classic about cocaine. Originally the song was written about the glories of coke but then certain lyrics were added (including “don’t do it”) so that it blended with the mainstream just-say-no stance of the day. It’s Meg’s theme song. All about the wild ride of ruling over others with her inflated ego and such certainty that she doesn’t even need cocaine to get that rush anymore. Cult Leader/Cokehead – careers with virtually interchangeable benefits packages.

In the car on the way to Miracle Tom says he knows why she poured gasoline on him and said the six words but “why did she fuck him?” Meg pulls the car over without answering him. They stop off for a drink at a honky tonk. At the bar they talk about how they both lost their fathers when they were babies and drink while Tom looks increasingly uncomfortable and Meg stays at ease. He asks her what’s happening and then she kisses him. They dance and it’s clear that Tom’s getting hopeful she might take some of his pain away soon, even if it’s just via a journey to bonertown. But then Meg says she fucked him to get him pregnant and abruptly ends Tom’s his hope for bone privileges. They’re back out on the road soon after.

She drives into a Guilty Remnant cul de sac where some of her followers tell Meg there’s a “situation.” Apparently an interloper saw something but it’s just a biker dude who got off on the wrong path and doesn’t even know what he saw. Meg orders them to stone him anyway. We know from her earlier conversation with the pissy trio that the Guilty Remnants stone people regularly as a form of punishment so this is really happening. They take the interloper outside and stone him off camera. Tom doesn’t help, though Meg suggested it would make him feel useful. Later in the barn he hears yet again that Meg is going to “change everything”, from one of the Remnants – a broken record of a phrase when it comes to Meg. Then we see Meg drive out to the campgrounds outside of Miracle. She walks near the bridge and while Meg’s gazing at it Matt Jameson recognizes her. He’s surprised she’s talking and thus congratulates her on leaving The Guilty Remnant. Meg acts like that’s the case. She says Matt and her came to Miracle for the same reason, to be safe. “People in Miracle aren’t suffering,” she says, “So, they don’t need the Guilty Remnant.” Matt knows she’s lying now and says so. He knows it’s the anniversary of her mother’s death, October 13th. Ironically then, Matt apologizes to Meg for being her living reminder. This is often the declared Guilty Remnant goal – to serve as living reminders for the Departure. Meg gives him a creepy cult smile then and asks him what he’s waiting for… Miracle is right there and he’s not doing anything to get inside. What’s he waiting for? Then she tells Matt she knows. He’s waiting for her. Ominous in its simplicity and her certainty. Matt looks terrified.

The episode ends with a big reveal back at the Guilty Remnant cul de sac/farm. Tom explores in the dark night with just the crickets and snores to keep him company. He breaks open a locked van and inside finds Evie, dressed as a Guilty Remnant, surrounded by other Remnants, and writing on a notepad. Tom asks who she is and Evie writes, “It doesn’t matter,” then shuts the van door in his face. So, with the conclusion of “Ten Thirteen” we know Meg’s deal and Evie’s location. In fact, the other two girls can be seen nearby when Evie opens the van door. Mystery solved on the missing teens …only to be replaced forthwith the mystery of Meg’s plan. We know it involves the bridge into Miracle and it’s likely happening the very next day. We know that the Remnants believe it will Change Everything. The writers have done an incredible job building tension toward this event without giving us so much as a hint for what’s about to happen. Cliffhanger accomplished.

–Katherine Recap