Eating the Blame

"Eating the Blame" is the fourth episode of the FX television series Fargo. It was written by show creator Noah Hawley and was directed by Randall Einhorn. The episode establishes the link between the series and the 1996 film of the same name.^[1]

The episode was well received by critics, and was seen by 1.70 million viewers.

Plot

In a flashback to 1987, the Milos family runs out of gas along a deserted highway in winter. Stranded and heavily in debt, Stavros Milos prays for help. Stepping outside the car, he finds a briefcase of money buried in the snow and takes it as a sign from God. Nineteen years later, Chumph, disguised as a plumber, tells Stavros that everything appears normal in his pipes, and suggests the shower of blood is similar to a biblical plague. Stavros grabs Chumph from his neck and tells him off. Chumph tells him he is crazy and leaves. Yet, Stavros can be seen worried about what Chumph said. Outside, Malvo was watching from a distance. Gus Grimly spots Malvo by Stavros' house and arrests him. He informs Molly, and when she requests to go to Duluth, Oswalt refuses her and goes instead. Malvo produces identification as "Frank Peterson," a Lutheran minister from Baudette and has an alibi. Molly learns Malvo's name and calls Grimly, but Malvo (as Peterson) has already been released. Malvo and Chumph release hundreds of crickets into Stavros's supermarket, simulating a plague of locusts, to further entice Stavros into paying the blackmail money. Meanwhile, Nygaard is abducted by Numbers and Wrench who intend to kill him but he escapes. Fleeing, he finds a police officer issuing a ticket for a car parked on the side of the road. Nygaard punches him to get arrested. Numbers and Wrench witness this and later stage a bar fight to get arrested, and end up in the same cell with Lester.

Production

The episode title refers to the Zen Buddhist kōan of the same name.^[2] Show creator Noah Hawley, who also wrote this episode, places the series and the film in the same fictional universe: Stavros finds money buried in the snow alongside the highway which had been part of a ransom in the film.^[1][3]

Reception

Ratings

The episode was first aired in the US on FX on May 6, 2014 and obtained 1.70 million viewers.^[4] The show was aired in the UK on Channel 4 on May 11, 2014 and was seen by 1.3 million viewers.^[5]

Critical reception

The critical response to the fourth episode of Fargo was very positive. The A.V. Club writers Todd VanDerWerff and Zack Handlen gave the episode an A- rating.^[6]

Another positive review came from IGN's Roth Cornet, who gave the episode an 8.9/10 "great" rating and said "The fourth episode of Fargo gave us lots to chew on. What's great about this series is that it raises legitimately interesting questions about human nature, but it does so in an entirely entertaining package. It seems possible that we're watching Lester make a slow evolution from prey to predator, but Lorne Malvo - at present - remains the unequivocal alpha."^[7]

References

External links

• "Eating the Blame" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Eating the Blame" at TV.com