Fargo – Happy

By: Kelly Kearney

In the penultimate episode war comes to Kansas City… FINALLY! As the fighting hits an all-time high, Loy Cannon reaches out to a man named Happy to ask him for help in beating the Faddas. Elsewhere, his rival brothers are cleaning house. They’ve killed dozens of Cannon’s men and won’t stop until all of their enemies are dead and they take control of the city.

Bodies Dropping Faster Than Bullets

Blood flows through the streets of Kansas City or so the papers say. The war between the two mob families is coming to a climax and the bodies are dropping faster than the Smutny funeral home can embalm them. Twenty-seven of Loy’s men are among the dead, tipping the favor to the Fadda brothers in the battle. It is not long before we learn the New York family, the ones who call all the mob shots, has demanded a cease fire. Gaetano (Salvatore Esposito) agrees as this fight is no longer about business but about his brother who has turned the war personal. He tells Josto (Jason Schwartzman) they should listen to New York since things are heating up too quickly and they need to turn the violence down a notch or else they risk the territory they’ve been usurping from Cannon. Of course, the killing can not end until all who betrayed them are dealt with and that includes Odis Weff (Jack Huston) who seems to have turned over a new leaf. After the shootout at the train station, Weff makes the decision to trade in his black hat for a white one and return to a life of law enforcement as a good cop, not a dirty one. His first order of business is to rid the streets of the mob. So, he arrests the Fadda brothers, regardless of the fact he worked for them. When he slaps the cuffs on Josto the boss is not happy to see that one of their own turned on him and blows Odis a kiss goodbye that’s more of a promise of “until we meet again” and that can’t be good. Thankfully, Weff and the boys in blue kicked their door in before they could act out their plans to kill him. Unfortunately for the nervous cop the Faddas have money and connections and it will not be long before they post bail and come gunning for Weff.

Next we get an update on Loy (Chris Rock) who has been hiding out in a hotel as his street army continues to be slaughtered. As Buel (J. Nicole Brooks) cuts his hair he starts talking out loud to her about his plans of which include a man named Happy, someone Leon said could be of use. Is Leon trustworthy? That remains to be seen. The man who was always asking the boss to give him more responsibility ended up with Loy giving him that belt beat down. So, trusting him could prove to be fatal, but Loy is running out of options so calls a meeting with Happy.

Happy Traitors

When we do meet Happy (Edwin Lee Gibson) right away we can tell he is a little off. He arrives to the meeting with Loy and is accompanied by a man who stands behind him holding photos of his dead relatives. It isn’t clear why he does this and he gives no definitive answer when Loy mentions it. He is just an odd guy; one who has ties to Buel Cannon who was friendly with his mother. What is instantly clear is that Happy is not feeling his namesake over the punishment Loy doled out to Leon. He talks about promises broken and trust too, but when Buel mentions their familial connection Happy has a change of heart. Thanks to Mrs. Cannon it seems Happy agrees to help Loy in the war against the Faddas. He will send some of his men to help for two weeks, but that is all he can offer. Once he leaves Buel and Loy discuss Happy’s offer. Mrs. Cannon seems to think all they would need is two weeks to clean the city’s house of the Faddas, but Loy isn’t so sure. He should have listened to his gut because Happy isn’t trustworthy at all. After he sensed a weakness in Loy we watch Happy head over to the Faddas (fresh out of jail) and, along with Leon (Jeremie Harris), looks for a better deal than the one Loy offered him. Happy finds what he was looking for when Josto says he will use Leon to take out Loy, leaving his territory up for grabs. The Faddas will get territory but offers to split the trucking routes with Happy. Leon seems to be all in on this idea. In fact, he says his only regret will be not killing Cannon twice! I guess when your boss takes a belt to your backside it leaves a mark that runs deeper than any bruise could.

Everything seems to be working out in Faddas favor until his overtly bigoted soon-to-be father- in-law, Milvin (Eric Slater), shows up to tell him the engagement is over. The brash and insulting man has his political eyes towards the election and a mob war was not part of his success plans. After insulting Josto’s Italian heritage, Gaetano has had enough and punches the man hard in the face.  Battered, he leaves and Josto is touched that his brother would defend his honor like that. It was not that long ago that the two brothers were plotting each other’s demise.

Their brotherly bonding continues when they go to stake out Odis Weff’s apartment. Since their arrest the brothers have bumped him up on their kill list and now they wait for their target to arrive home. From inside the car the two brothers talk about everything from comparing the sizes of their manhood to why Gaetano was sent away as a child. Gaetano opens up to Josto as we learn he was sent to Italy at age eleven years old after he fell in love with an older girl. His love’s father was against the relationship and after learning the 11 year old slept with his daughter, the man tried to kill him. At that point Gaetano grabbed a piece of broken glass and stabbed the father in the eye, blinding him and enraging their father. His behavior put the family business at risk, so he was sent away to grow up in Italy.

The Curse of the Roach 

Since the series began with Ethelrida (Emyri Crutchfield) it is only fitting that we circle back to her. We find the teen in the local library scanning through old news articles looking for obituaries. We are not sure what she is looking for but more on that later. Next we see the teen sitting with her mother and asking her about their family curse. What we learn from Dibrell (Anji White) paints a clear picture of why that ghost (Guy Van Swearingen) has been hanging around Fargo. Dibrell tells her daughter a story about her great- great grandfather who was brought to this country on a slave ship. The captain of that ship was named Theodore Roach, but Dibrell refers to him as “the devil himself.” Roach lacked empathy for the slaves on the ship, many of whom were drowning on the lower decks. He showed them no mercy, only contempt, and laughed as they struggled to breath as the water ebbed and flowed from the ship. Luckily, Ethelrida’s great-great grandfather survived the ordeal and when he had the chance he strangled Roach to death. Now the family is haunted by his ghost, the one they call “The Roach” and he is passed down from generation to generation with no end to his hauntings in site. Ethelrida asks her mother if she has seen him and Dibrell says its more like she can smell him. He smells like a swamp, and that stench is familiar to Ethelrida, who admits she has smelled that before too. As Dibrell starts to mention Roach seems drawn to sunshine, Lemuel (Matthew Elam) walks out of the house an interrupts them. Dibrell leaves and Ethelrida takes that as her cue to ask her boy crush if she can have a meeting with his father. What is she up to? Lemuel wonders the same, but before she can explain Oraetta (Jesse Buckley) shows up in a mood. She immediately accuses Ethelrida of stealing her (Don Fadda’s) ring and threatens to call the police. Ethelrida calls her bluff and mentions the nurse’s serial killer closet full of trinkets. This infuriates Oraetta who tries to grab Ethelrida. Lemuel steps in before the red head can get her hands around the girl’s throat. He orders the crazed nurse to leave, but before she does she asks Ethelrida, “What does it feel like to be so sure you’re right and know nobody cares? I’ll see you in your dreams.”  Dreams? More like nightmares! Realizing she can’t get to Ethelrida while her suitor (not boyfriend, he makes clear) is protecting her, Oraetta walks away but her threat hangs in the air like a thick and suffocating cloud. It isn’t long before the killer nurse tries to turn her threat into a reality. Later that night Oraetta breaks into the Smutny home and heads up to Ethelrida’s bedroom. As the teenager sleeps Nurse Mayflower pulls out a giant syringe, presumably filled with poison. Just as she’s about to jab Ethelrida it seems Oraetta senses someone, or something, is watching her. It’s The Roach protecting Ethelrida! Quite the turn of events for the ghostly slave ship captain! Oraetta screams and takes off through the house only to end up at home where the police are waiting for her with handcuffs! It seems Dr. Harvard woke from his coma and spilled the tea on who poisoned his cookies. That plus her kill closet is enough to send her to jail for a long time. As they take her out of the house and to jail, we see the entire Smutny family in their robes watching the whole scene from their porch.

The Birth of Mike Milligan

After the ordeal with Nurse Kills for fun, we get a quick check in with Satchel (Rodney L. Jones III). He is still walking the desolate rural Kansas roads with his loyal dog Rabbit. After stealing a bottle of milk off a porch a pair of truck driving redneck racists start to harass and threaten him. In this moment we see Satchel go from the shy Cannon boy to the tough as nails Mike Milligan we met in Season 2! Over these two and their threats, Satchel pulls out the gun Rabbi gave him and tells the men that this is his world now. They do what he says! Fearing this kid is going to shoot them, the two take off in their truck leaving Satchel and Rabbit back on the road to places unknown.

There is Peace in Death 

Back to good cop Odis Weff, who returns home from his shift to find his home, but most importantly his wife’s collection of Hummels destroyed. He knows this is a bad sign of Fadda threats to come, so he takes off to his car to more than likely leave town. Little does he know the Fadda brothers are waiting for him. So, when he climbs into his car Gaetano gets out of his. As he sees the Sardinian approach, Odis knows this is his end and seems at peace with it. Gaetano shoots Weff through the driver’s side window. And as he envisions his wife, the life drains from Odis’ smiling face. His death is a welcomed end to a life filled with loss and OCD ticks. His smile gives Gaetano pause. The moment is broken when Josto yells from the car to hurry up and as his brother turns to walk back to the car he trips and the gun goes off! Gaetano accidently shoots himself in the head! When Josto gets out to see if his brother is ok, Gaetano’s brains gruesomely pour out of his obliterated skull. Josto is in shock but not stunned enough to high tail it out of the deadly scene.

Ethelrida Makes Loy an Offer He Can’t Refuse

With so many of the characters dead or on the run, it seems like the war and this story are coming to an end. As the episode wraps up we have one final scene that seems to be setting up the finale. It’s of Ethelrida dressed in business clothes and sitting with Loy Cannon. Apparently her suitor came through! Immediately upon meeting him Ethelrida manages to impress Loy when she recognizes a painting he has on display. Her knowledge is so astonishing that makes him more open to listen to her and the idea she presents him. She cuts to the chase and tells Loy she wants her family’s home back. Looking over the finances she estimated her family has done enough to pay him back for the money her aunt stole. He isn’t keen on granting her this wish and explains, “That’s not how these things work.” She takes that as her cue and pulls out the ring she stole from Oraetta’s house and tells him about the killer nurse who poisons her patients and steals their belongings. She swiped the ring from the nurse’s home and at the time had no idea who owned it. After her research at the library she figured it out. Loy isn’t sure what any of this has to do with him, but she assures him he will once he hears who owns it. In fact, he is going to want to thank her because the news is going to help him with his war. Loy swears to her that if she can help him win she can have whatever she wants. With that, the deal is set and Ethelrida pulls out an article she found in the library of an obituary for Don Fadda. In the photo the former head of the Fadda family is wearing the ring. Loy takes the ring and the article and looks to Ethelrida with a smile. It seems the youngest Smutny just saved her family’s business and Loy’s business. The Cannons are about to win this war!