Buridan's Ass (Fargo)

"Buridan's Ass" is the sixth episode of the FX television series Fargo. It was written by show creator Noah Hawley and was directed by Colin Bucksey.

The episode received critical acclaim, and was seen by 1.80 million viewers.

Plot

Lorne Malvo has Don Chumph place the call to Stavros, who has the money ready for the drop. Malvo knocks Chumph unconscious and duct tapes him to an exercise bench in the entry way of his house. He also duct tapes an unloaded shotgun to his hands and proceeds to fire randomly into the neighborhood with another gun. Malvo quickly exits out the backdoor before police arrive. They are duped into firing upon and then storming the house, killing Chumph who is struggling wildly to get free of his bonds. Molly is visiting Grimly in Duluth to discuss the recent murders when gunshots are reported. At the scene they find a car wreck that Numbers and Wrench staged to trap Malvo. A shootout ensues in a snowy whiteout. Malvo escapes the ambush and captures and tortures Numbers to tell him who sent them. Numbers replies, "Fargo" before Malvo fatally slits his throat. Molly and Grimly get separated and Gus accidentally shoots her. Meanwhile, Stavros goes back to the roadside where he originally found the briefcase of cash, and buries the blackmail money there, believing God has been punishing him. Feeling God's forgiveness, Stavros calls his bodyguard to bring his son, Dmitri, home from the remote hideout he was staying at. The stormy weather clears, but not before fish fall out of the sky in a freak occurrence caused by the storm, causing the bodyguard to flip the car, killing himself and Dmitri, a scene that Stavros happens upon on his drive home. Back in Bemidji, Lester manages to sneak out of the hospital, stealing a car. He takes the murder weapon, some photos of his wife, and a pair of her panties from his house, hides everything in his brother Chazz's hidden gun cabinet, and places one of his brother's unloaded guns in his nephew Gordo's backpack, to ensure the police will search Chazz's house. As he leaves the house, Gordo sees him, but does not react. Lester then returns undetected to his hospital room, where a satisfied smile slowly creeps across his face.

Production

The episode title refers to the paradox in logic known as Buridan's ass.^[1]

Reception

Ratings

The episode was first aired in the US on FX on May 20, 2014 and obtained 1.80 million viewers.^[2] The show was aired in the UK on Channel 4 on May 25, 2014 and was seen by 0.95 million viewers.^[3]

Critical reception

The episode received critical acclaim. The A.V. Club writers Zack Handlen and Todd VanDerWerff gave the episode an A rating, complimenting Allison Tolman's performance and comparing Lester to Walter White from Breaking Bad.^[1]

Another positive review came from IGN writer Roth Cornet, who gave the episode a 9.3/10 "amazing" rating and said "Lester Nygaard continued his descent into a moral wasteland, Gus Grimly's ineptitude may have yielded tragic and deadly consequences, and Lorne Malvo escaped death in what was one of the most emotionally dark and visually pretty episodes of Fargo to date."^[4]

Accolades

At the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, Colin Bucksey won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special for this episode.^[5]

References

External links

• "Buridan's Ass" at TV.com
• "Buridan's Ass" at the Internet Movie Database