Fargo the TV Series

Season 1

Introduction

Fargo is an American dark comedy-crime drama television series created and written by Noah Hawley. The show is inspired by the 1996 film of the same name written and directed by the Coen brothers, who serve as executive producers on the series. It premiered on April 15, 2014, on FX. The series stars Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, and Martin Freeman.

Hawley confirmed that, if the series is renewed for a second season, it will be a new story featuring different characters.[

Series Premise

In January 2006, Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) passes through Bemidji, Minnesota and influences put-upon insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) with his malice and violence. Meanwhile, Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) and Duluth police officer Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) team up to solve a series of murders they believe may be linked to Malvo and Nygaard.

Cast• Main cast• Billy Bob Thornton as Lorne

Malvo• Allison Tolman as Deputy

Molly Solverson• Colin Hanks as Officer Gus

Grimly• Martin Freeman as Lester

Nygaard• Recurring cast• Bob Odenkirk as Police

Chief Bill Oswalt• Adam Goldberg as Mr.

Numbers• Russell Harvard as Mr.

Wrench

• Oliver Platt as Stavros Milos

• Glenn Howerton as Don Chumph

• Jordan Peele as Webb Pepper

• Keegan-Michael Key as Bill Budge

• Joey King as Greta Grimly

• Keith Carradine as Lou Solverson

• Kate Walsh as Gina Hess

• Atticus Mitchell as Mickey Hess

• Liam Green as Moe Hess

• Julie Ann Emery as Ida Thurman

• Tom Musgrave as Bo Munk

• Rachel Blanchard as Kitty Nygaard

• Joshua Close as ChazzNygaard

• Kelly Holden Bashar as Pearl Nygaard

• Susan Park as Linda Park

• Gary Valentine as Deputy Knudsen

S1E1 – The Crocodile’s DilemmaLorne Malvo crashes a car on a wintry rural highway outside Bemidji, Minnesota. A nearly naked man jumps from the popped trunk and bolts into the woods. In town, Lester Nygaard runs into Sam Hess, a former high school bully who intimidates Nygaard, causing him to accidentally break his nose. At the hospital, Nygaard meets Malvo, who was slightly injured in the crash. Nygaard tells Malvo about Hess, and Malvo casually suggests murdering him, an idea that Nygaard neither approves nor rejects. Shortly afterward, Malvo kills Hess, and later tells Nygaard that he never said, "No". Meanwhile, Chief Vern Thurman and Deputy Molly Solverson investigate the car wreck and find the nearly-naked man frozen to death; they also investigate Hess's murder and learn that Nygaard was overheard discussing Hess with Malvo. Thurman arrives at Nygaard's house to question him, unaware that Nygaard has just killed his wife, Pearl, in a fit of rage after years of her psychological abuse. Malvo, whom Nygaard had summoned to help, arrives and shoots Thurman, but not before the latter radioed for backup after discovering Pearl's body. Malvodisappears, and Lester intentionally knocks himself out to make the killings look like a home invasion. Later, in Duluth, Officer Gus Grimly pulls Malvo over for speeding. Malvo presents Grimly with two choices: press the issue (and face death), or allow Malvo to leave (and live). Malvo drives away as Grimly confusedly gets back into his patrol car and does not report the incident.

S1E2 – The Rooster Prince

Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench arrive in Bemidji searching for Hess's killer. Max Gold, Hess's attorney, directs them to a strip club with a description of Malvo. After abducting the wrong man, Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench drop him into an ice fishing hole. Meanwhile, Bill Oswalt is promoted as the new police chief, and he and Deputy Solverson immediately clash over suspects. She suspects Nygaard is connected to the driver in the car accident as well as the murders of Sam Hess, Pearl Nygaard, and Thurman. Oswalt believes a lone drifter was responsible. In Duluth, Stavros Milos, the "Supermarket King" of Minnesota, hires Malvo to uncover who is blackmailing him. News about the Bemidji murders reaches the Duluth Police Department, and Officer Grimly realizes the car he pulled over could have been tied to it.

S1E3 – A Muddy Road

Deputy Solverson learns that the frozen man found in the woods had been abducted from his workplace in St. Paul, probably due to gambling debts. A still image taken from the security cameras shows the kidnapper's partially obscured face. When Nygaard calls on Gina Hess, Sam's widow, regarding Sam's life insurance policy, Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench are watching the Hess house from outside. They later visit Nygaard's office, intimidating him for information, but leave when Solverson unexpectedly arrives. Solversonlets Nygaard glimpse Malvo's photo, and his reaction convinces her that he recognizes him. Meanwhile, Malvo informs Don Chumph, Mrs. Milos' fitness instructor, that he knows Chumph is the blackmailer. Malvo takes over the blackmail scheme and begins exploiting Milos' extreme religious beliefs. He kills Milos' dog, replaces his pain medication with adderall, and sabotages the plumbing system, causing pig's blood to flow out of the shower head. Officer Grimly finally admits to his Lieutenant that he let Malvo off for speeding, then he visits the Bemidji police department and talks to Solversonabout the murders.

S1E4 – Eating the Blame

In 1987, the Milos family car runs out of gas along a deserted highway in winter. Heavily in debt, Stavros Milos prays for help. Stepping outside the car, he finds a satchel of money buried in the snow.[8] Nineteen years later, Chumph, disguised as a plumber, tells Milos his plumbing appears normal but implies that blood flowing out is similar to a biblical plague. Officer Grimly spots Malvo standing near Milos'house and arrests him. Grimly calls Deputy Solverson, who wants to go to Duluth, but Chief Oswalt overrides her and goes instead. Malvo produces documentation identifying himself as Frank Peterson, a Lutheran minister from Baudette with a solid alibi. Solverson calls Grimly after learning Malvo's name, but Malvo (as Peterson) has just been released. Before Malvo leaves, Grimly calls out, "Lorne Malvo," to show Malvo he knows his real identity. Later, Malvo and Chumphrelease hundreds of crickets into Milos' supermarket, simulating a plague of locusts, to further intimidate Milos. Meanwhile, Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench kidnap Nygaard, but he escapes. Fleeing, Nygaard encounters and punches a police officer to get arrested and be taken to safety. Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench later stage a bar fight to also get arrested, and are put in Nygaard's cell.

S1E5 – The Six Ungraspables

In jail, Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench forcefully obtain Malvo's name from Nygaard. They are released, but Nygaard is taken to the hospital with a severe infection. A stray shotgun pellet struck his hand when Chief Thurman was shot, and Nygaard had been concealing the wound. Deputy Solverson realizes it proves Nygaard was in the room when Thurman was killed. With her evidence, she convinces Chief Oswalt that the recent events are related. With Milos close to paying the blackmail demand, Malvo locks Chumph in Chumph's kitchen pantry overnight to prevent him from ruining the scheme. After Malvo drives Milos home, Malvo spots Grimly parked near the house and follows him home. Malvo is confronted by Grimly's neighbor, whom Malvo threatens before driving away.

S1E6 – Buridan’s Ass

Malvo has Chumph call Milos, who is ready to make the ransom drop. Malvo then knocks out Chumph and duct tapes him to an exercise bench in Chumph's entryway. Malvo also tapes an unloaded shotgun to Chumph's hands, then proceeds to fire randomly into the neighborhood with a rifle. Malvo leaves before police storm the house, killing Chumph. In Duluth, Deputy Solverson and Officer Grimly are discussing the recent murders, when nearby gunshots are reported. They rush to the scene and find a car wreck that Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench had staged to trap Malvo. A shootout ensues in a snowy whiteout. Malvo ambushes Mr. Numbers, forcing him to reveal who hired him and Mr. Wrench to kill him, then Malvo slits Numbers' throat. Solverson and Grimly get separated in the whiteout, and Grimly, blinded, hears shots and accidentally shoots Solverson. Meanwhile, Milos returns to where he found the satchel filled with cash 19 years earlier and buries the blackmail money in the snow. He believes God has now forgiven him for having taken the satchel, but while driving back, he discovers that his bodyguard and son, Dmitri, have been killed in a freak auto accident. In Bemidji, Nygaard sneaks out of the hospital and plants the murder weapon and other incriminating evidence in his brother Chazz's gun cabinet. He also places an unloaded handgun in his nephew Gordo's backpack, then returns undetected to his hospital room.

S1E7 – Who Shaves the Barber?

At the hospital, Officer Grimly anguishes over accidentally wounding Deputy Solverson. The unloaded handgun Nygaard placed in Gordo's backpack is discovered at the boy's school, prompting police to search the Nygaard home. They find the incriminating evidence Nygaard planted in Chazz Nygaard's gun safe. Nygaardconcocts a new story for police saying Chazz killed Pearl Nygaard during a heated lovers' quarrel. Nygaard claims he was present when Chazz shot Chief Thurman, thus explaining his hand wound. Nygaard says he covered for his hot-headed brother because he feared retaliation. Nygaard is released from jail, while Chazz is incarcerated. Solverson questions Mr. Wrench, who is hospitalized under guard, and informs him that Mr. Numbers is dead. Wrench, who is deaf, refuses to cooperate. Meanwhile, Malvo goes on a shooting rampage in Fargo, North Dakota, murdering 22 people associated with the parties responsible for sending the hit men (Numbers and Wrench) after him. Nygaard seduces the money-grubbing widow Hess with promises of "greasing the palms" of the insurance agents handling her late husband's policy without mentioning it was cancelled for non-payment. Returning to Bemidji, Solverson is dismayed to learn that Chazz Nygaard was arrested for murder.

S1E8 – The Heap

Following Chazz Nygaard's arrest, Lester Nygaard consoles his sister-in-law, Kitty, who believes her husband is guilty. Shortly afterward, Lester tosses out Pearl's belongings, beginning a new life. Later, Gina Hess, accompanied by her sons, angrily storms into Lester's office, demanding payment from Sam's cancelled insurance policy and accusing Lester of duping her for sex. Lester sternly rebuffs her and her two boys, impressing his co-worker Linda Park with his new-found assertiveness. Meanwhile, Solverson returns to work and unsuccessfully attempts to reopen the Lester Nygaard investigation. At the Duluth hospital, Malvo kills a police guard then tells Mr. Wrench that he killed Mr. Numbers. Malvo gives Mr. Wrench the handcuff key and invites him to look him up later, if he "still feels raw" about Mr. Numbers' murder. In Fargo, FBI Agents Pepper and Budge, assigned to surveillance during Malvo's 22-homicide rampage, are demoted to filing clerks. A year later, Grimly, now a mailman, is happily married to Solverson, who is pregnant. In Las Vegas, Nygaard, who has married Linda, receives an award for salesman of the year. While at the hotel bar, Nygaard spots Malvo, who now sports grey hair and a goatee rather than brown hair and a full beard.

S1E9 – A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage

Nygaard confronts Malvo at the bar, then follows him and his companions into the elevator, demanding Malvo acknowledge him. Instead, Malvo kills his "co-worker", Burt Canton, Canton's wife, and his new fiancée, Jenna. Malvo tells Lester that he has been impersonating a dentist in Kansas City, Missouri to assassinate Canton's brother, who was under witness protection. Nygaard strikes Malvo's head with the award then rushes back to his hotel room and awakens Linda, insisting they immediately fly home. Soon afterward, the Las Vegas Police Department contacts Bemidji police reporting that Nygaard may be a witness. Deputy Solversoninterviews Lester at his new house, but he denies seeing anything. In Fargo, Agents Budge and Pepper act on a new tip regarding the rampage shooter and travel to Bemidji to meet with Solverson. Impressed by her evidence, they ignore Chief Oswalt's plea to drop the investigation and compliment Solverson. While delivering mail, Grimly notices Malvo driving by in a red BMW without initially recognizing his altered appearance. In Bemidji, Malvo stops by Lou's diner attempting to locate Nygaard. Lou, suspicious, shares little information. Meanwhile, Nygaard, wanting to get away, quickly arranges a trip to Acapulco with Linda. They stop by his office to retrieve their passports and cash, but Nygaard, fearing Malvo could be inside, has Linda put on his hooded orange coat and sends her into the office. He sees Malvoshoot Linda. As Malvo leaves, he glances at Nygaard's car parked across the street, but Nygaard is hiding.

S1E10 – Morton’s Fork

Immediately following Linda's murder, Nygaard walks to Lou's Coffee Shop and orders dinner for two, pretending to wait for her. He sneaks outside to a pay phone and, disguising his voice, reports gunshots to police, then goes back in. After Linda's body is discovered, Nygaard is questioned at the police station and later released. Meanwhile, Lou informs Grimly that Malvo may be back in Bemidji. While rushing to the police station to see Solverson, Grimly spots the red BMW in a secluded driveway and suspects it could be Malvo's. He investigates and sees Malvo exit a cabin and drive away. In town, Malvo visits a car dealership ostensibly to test drive a car, telling the salesman it looks like an "undercover vehicle". Oswalt informs Solverson that he is resigning and wants her to take over as Chief. Agents Pepper and Budge drive Nygaard home, unaware that Malvo is following them. Nygaard refuses to allow them in the house, so Pepper and Budge remain on watch outside. When a car pulls into the driveway, Pepper and Budge, suspicious, pull out their guns and approach. Inside is the car salesman with his hands duct taped to the wheel. Malvoambushes Pepper and Budge, killing them. While Nygaard is frantically calling 911, Malvo breaks in and enters the upstairs bedroom. He steps on a bear trap that Nygaard hid under a pile of clothing. Nygaard charges out, shooting at Malvo but misses. Malvo returns fire, also missing, then escapes to his hideout to treat his badly fractured leg. Grimly surprises Malvo and fatally shoots him. Later, Grimly shows Solverson a briefcase containing Malvo's tape recordings, including Nygaard's phone call about killing Pearl. Two weeks later, police track Nygaard to Glacier National Park in Montana and pursue him on snowmobiles. Nygaard crashes before running onto thin ice, then falls through and drowns. Solverson receives a call at home regarding Nygaard's death. Grimly says that he is receiving a citation for bravery, saying she deserves the credit. She assures him it is his moment.

Credits

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