Morton's Fork (Fargo)
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"Morton's Fork" is the tenth and final episode of the first season of the FX
anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
'' Fargo''. The episode aired on June 17, 2014 in the United States on FX. It was written by series creator and showrunner
Noah Hawley Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
and directed by
Matt Shakman Matt Shakman is an American film, television, and theatre director, and former child actor. He produced and directed ''WandaVision'' and has directed episodes of ''The Great'', ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', '' Fargo'' and ''Game of Thro ...
. The title refers to a
dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but disti ...
of the same name, posed in the episode by FBI agents Pepper (
Keegan-Michael Key Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series ''Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) and co-starred in USA Netw ...
) and Budge (
Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. Peele's breakout role came in 2003, when he was hired as a cast membe ...
). As each season of ''Fargo'' follows a different story and characters, the season finale is the conclusion of all storylines developed thus far. In "Morton's Fork",
Lester Nygaard Lester Nygaard is a fictional character in the first season of the FX television series '' Fargo'' and is portrayed by Martin Freeman, who received critical acclaim for his performance, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Glo ...
(
Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most no ...
) desperately tries to escape
Lorne Malvo Lorne Malvo is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Fargo (season 1), first season of the FX (TV channel), FX television series ''Fargo (TV series), Fargo''. He is portrayed by Billy Bob Thornton, who received critical acclaim for ...
(
Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...
), who is hunting him, while also trying to stop the police and Deputy
Molly Solverson Molly Solverson is a fictional character in the FX television series '' Fargo''. One of the main characters of the first season, she is portrayed by Allison Tolman, who received critical acclaim for her performance, and was nominated for a Prim ...
(
Allison Tolman Allison Cara Tolman is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Molly Solverson in the first season of the FX television series '' Fargo'', earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Early life and education Tolman has two older ...
) from uncovering his involvement in murders past and present. The episode was acclaimed by critics, and was seen by 1.98 million viewers.


Plot

The episode opens up showing the aftermath of a snowmobile crash. From the snowmobile, a trail of footprints are seen in the snow leading to a hole in the frozen lake. Back in the parking lot outside
Lester Nygaard Lester Nygaard is a fictional character in the first season of the FX television series '' Fargo'' and is portrayed by Martin Freeman, who received critical acclaim for his performance, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Glo ...
's workplace, Lester watches as
Lorne Malvo Lorne Malvo is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Fargo (season 1), first season of the FX (TV channel), FX television series ''Fargo (TV series), Fargo''. He is portrayed by Billy Bob Thornton, who received critical acclaim for ...
exits the building after having killed his second wife Linda. Once Lorne leaves the scene, Lester goes into the office in order to get the money from the safe. Before leaving, he covers up the crime scene in order to make it look like he was never there. Lester enters Lou's diner, telling Lou that Linda went to his office and should arrive soon. Lester indicates that he is going to the bathroom but instead leaves the diner through the back door. Outside, Lester enters a phone booth and makes an anonymous call to Bemidji's police station to report shots being fired at an intersection near Lester's office, before sneaking back through into the diner. Speaking with Lester, Lou recalls his conversation with "a fella" (Malvo) who was looking for Lester. As police cars rush past the diner, Lester realizes that he had left the airplane tickets to Acapulco in the jacket he gave to Linda before she went into the office. At home,
Molly Solverson Molly Solverson is a fictional character in the FX television series '' Fargo''. One of the main characters of the first season, she is portrayed by Allison Tolman, who received critical acclaim for her performance, and was nominated for a Prim ...
receives word that another of Lester's wives has been murdered. Molly goes to the crime scene where she meets Lester. Lester tries but fails to retrieve the tickets from the jacket. The police bring Lester back to the station, where he refuses to answer any questions. Lester is allowed to return home the next morning, but must be accompanied by FBI agents Pepper and Budge. Malvo goes to a used car lot and chats up one of the salesmen (the same young husband that Lester failed to sell life insurance to a year earlier) about one car that resembles an undercover police car, convincing him to allow the two to go for a test drive. Malvo later sees Lester being taken home by the FBI agents, and follows in his own car. During his trip home, Lester is asked about and solves the riddle of the fox, the rabbit and the cabbage. Once they return Lester home, the two FBI agents remain outside. Forced by Malvo, the salesman drives his car up to Lester's house, attracting the attention of the agents; Malvo takes advantage of their distraction to murder both of them. The driver begs to be let go (“I have a little girl.”). Lester peers out the window and sees a trail of blood, which leads to the pile of logs where Malvo has disposed of the bodies, and runs upstairs to hide. Malvo enters Lester's house, and follows Lester’s voice to his bedroom. Malvo's foot is caught in a bear trap left by Lester hidden underneath a pile of clothing on the floor. They fire at each other, but it appears they both miss. Malvo strikes Lester in the face with Lester's award, bloodying his face and mirroring the injury inflicted on Lester by Sam Hess a year earlier. Lester's gun jams, and Malvo escapes severely injured. Lester runs outside, following Malvo’s trail of blood, and both cars are gone (suggesting that the car salesman was allowed to escape). Malvo retreats to his cabin to treat his injury, not knowing that Grimly has already found it. Grimly tells Malvo that he has solved his riddle posed a year earlier and kills the unarmed Malvo by shooting him five times. When the police arrive, they find Malvo's trove of audiotapes, including the one containing Lester's confession to the murder of his first wife. Two weeks later, Lester, now the subject of a manhunt after his murder of Pearl has been revealed, is shown on a snowmobile in Glacier National Park in Montana. Lester is recognized by law enforcement officers and tries to escape, only to crash his snowmobile. Desperate, he continues on foot, only to fall through the thin ice, meeting his end, and revealing that the scene shown at the beginning of the episode depicted Lester's fate. At home, Molly receives the news of Lester. Gus tells her that he's receiving a citation for bravery, but he feels that she deserves it. Molly reassures her husband that this is his moment.


Production

The episode's score features the Norwegian folk song "The Lost Sheep" ("Den bortkomne sauen" in Norwegian), which was the main theme of the
original film Original Film is an American film and television production company founded by Neal H. Moritz. Notable films the company has produced include the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. History Original Film was started out in the early 1990s by Neal H ...
.


Reception


Ratings

The episode was first aired in the US on FX on June 17, 2014 and obtained 1.98 million viewers.


Critical reception

The episode was acclaimed by critics. It currently holds a perfect 100% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
. ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' writers Zack Handlen and Emily VanDerWerff gave the episode a ''B+'' rating. Another positive review came from
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
writer Roth Cornet, who gave the episode a ''9.5/10'' "amazing" rating.


References


External links

* {{Fargo 2014 American television episodes Fargo (TV series) episodes Television episodes directed by Matt Shakman Television episodes written by Noah Hawley