Fargo - 1x04, “Eating The Blame” - Review

We're now four episodes deep and I can say, without a doubt, that Fargo has become my favorite TV series of 2014. The scripts are tight, well-paced, dark and often hilarious, and the cast is damn-near untouchable. While last week's episode saw Colin Hanks’ Gus Grimley help Molly (Allison Tolman) get closer to nabbing the elusive Lorne Malvo, “Eating The Blame” has Billy Bob Thornton’s treacherous villain once again regaining the upper-hand. Meanwhile, Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench (Adam Goldberg and Russell Harvard) continue their pursuit of Lester (Martin Freeman) and an opening-sequence flashback provides huge insight into how this series may connect to the 1996 film which inspired it. Plus, there’s no dead dogs this week, so you can keep your hands away from your eyes the whole time - and this week, you’re really going to want to pay attention.

The first scene of the episode takes place in 1987, and while some fans seem to have guessed the film tie-in (perhaps from series promos) I don’t want to spoil it here. It certainly seems to indicate that, rather than a mere universe tie-in, Fargo the series may serve as a direct sequel to the film. Much of episode four focuses on Stavros Milos and the aftermath of the literal blood bath that Malvo provided him with at the end of last week; Milos and his men want to know who’s behind the black-mailing and how they were able to tamper with his water systems. Cue an undercover Don Chumph (the always entertaining Glenn Howerton), recently made an goon of Malvo's, who enters the picture to help continue the plague-like tormenting of our grocery store guru. You can probably figure out what they’re up to about mid-way through the episode, but the plan is brilliantly executed nonetheless, and the end result is unsettling as expected.

While Don does the dirty work, Malvo’s side of the plot may take a bit longer to unravel. Much of his time this week is spent in custody after being spotted and taken in by Gus. But to think that a character as off-the-bat-brilliant as Malvo could be done in so quickly would be a mistake - not only does he pull himself out of a seemingly bottomless hole with the sheriffs, he also manages to get yet another leg up on poor Grimley. Colin Hanks is hands-down the most underrated member of the main cast - Thornton and Martin are as great as you’d expect, but it’s Hanks’ conflicted and morally-stalwart cop that provides the series with its only real protagonist to root for (I enjoy Tollman, but Molly has yet to really connect with me aside from some great comedic moments).

Last but certainly not least we get to the man who set most of this commotion into action - Lester Nygaard. After being dodged last week, Mr. Wrench and Mr. Numbers (I can’t get over how awesome their names are) decide they need to get Lester to admit to what they believe he’s responsible for; killing Sam Hess in order to collect the insurance for himself and Hess’ wife (Kate Walsh, who sadly doesn’t appear this week). Long story short? That taser that Lester picked up last week is certainly going to come in handy - and just when you think you’ve seen all the good stuff, the last few seconds of this episode will leave you wishing you had episode 5 cued up.

So, any guesses as to how the series might align itself with the film tonight? What else are you most looking forward to? Hit the comments and let us know, plus check out some final highlights from tonight's episode below. Be sure to check back after the episode airs to share your thoughts and tomorrow you can check out a SpoilerTV Exclusive piece on Colin Hanks’ call to the press last week.

Stuff You’ll Love:
- Lorne and Don. I can’t say I’d have ever imagined Billy Bob Thornton and Glenn Howerton working together, but their current relationship on the series is among the most exciting. Howerton’s Chumph seems like he may genuinely be just dumb enough not to realize how evil Malvo is.
- The ending. If you’re a fan of Veronica Mars (not that these two shows have much cross-over), tonights ending might be clear you just a few moments before everyone else. Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench take a page out of Logan’s playbook from the season 3 rapist arc-finale, “Spit & Eggs”.
- The movie tie-in. It’s something I’ve been waiting for, as before this episode it had yet to be made clear whether the series was inspired by or following the film.

Fargo airs Tuesday nights at 10/9c on FX.
"Eating The Blame" premieres tonight. I'll be talking to Oliver Platt on Friday, so feel free to follow me on Twitter and send any questions, plus get more updates on Fargo and all my SpoilerTV work.