Fargo – Season 4 Episode 10 Recap & Review

Happy

After last week’s detour in Kansas, episode 10 of Fargo Season 4 returns with Josto, Gaetano and the other Italians walking purposefully through the streets. A slick montage featuring numerous newspaper articles pop up; crime bosses are killed, dead bodies line the streets and the police follow this gory breadcrumb trail all the way to Josto’s crew. They’re hastily rounded out and taken down to the police station.

Loy pays his condolences to Leon while sweet talking an African American called Lionel “Happy” Halloway. On behalf of the family they ask for help but there’s clearly no love lost between Loy and him.

Loy’s the clear underdog in this war too and believes that Happy could be the catalyst to help put the Italians in their place, especially with the fighting reaching fever pitch. In order for Happy to agree to this though, he tells Loy to make things right with Happy’s cousin, Leon, beforehand. It helps that Buel’s impassioned speech pushes him to this conclusion and for now Loy is given two weeks to sort this.

Weff returns to the police station and is greeted by rapturous applause. It quickly dies down though when he receives a call from Josto, trying in vain to blackmail him into working with him. When Weff hangs up, Josto sees red and wants to go after the cop.

The rest of the gang however, are more focused on the war. Given how many people have died so far, Gaetano reassures his brother and tells him not to make this personal. Josto however, vows that Weff will not live after betraying them.

Ethelrida continues to investigate the past, specifically looking through newspaper obituaries. Sitting on the porch with her Mum, they discuss Aunt Zelmare before she asks outright whether their family is cursed. Sighing, Dibrell tells a story about her great-great-grandfather and it’s a pretty haunting tale.

They’re soon interrupted by an arriving Lemuel though who Ethelrida talks to about his Father, Loy. Only, Oraetta also shows up and strongly requests Ethelrida head over to hers. When she refuses, Oraetta’s façade drops and she demand the ring she took back.

Ethelrida however has her number and takes the nurse’s threats on the chin, throwing back insults of her own. Eventually Oraetta leaves after ominously saying, “I’ll see you in your dreams.”

Leon and Happy visit Josto and try to organize a coup. Leon wants to take over all of Loy’s territories, including the slaughterhouses that were so fiercely debated earlier in the season. As they get talking, with Josto commenting how rough this deal is, Josto’s father-in-law shows and tells him the wedding is off.

Josto is public enemy number 1 and right now is not a good time to do this. Josto is incredulous, teasing the man and telling him if he was smarter he could have changed the terms of his deal. When he mentions “Josto’s kind” though, it’s enough for Gaetano to get involved and punch him square in the nose.

Loy catches wind of the meeting too, courtesy of Opal showing and delivering the bad news. Leon and Happy visiting Josto does not pose well for his future prospects and Loy realizes that this “aint my best day.” Although him saying this is in reference to a different instance, it can very easily be used in this context too.

While Satchel continues to walk by the side of the road, Weff struggles to deal with his anxiety. It’s just as well too, given Josto and his crew are lurking around looking to make an example of him. Smartly, he gets a lift home from his fellow officers while the Italian brothers discuss the past outside his apartment.

Gaetano talks to his brother about the horrifying ordeal he went through in the past. Specifically he talks about moments he was orphaned off when the war broke out. Before then though, he was strangled by the father of his first love when he was 11. It’s a pretty harrowing story but one that Josto comforts his brother with, telling him “We’re here now” and embracing his kin.

Weff heads inside his apartment and finds the place completely trashed. Finding a sketch on the table, he realizes that his time is coming to an end and bolts across the road away to safety. Or so he thinks.

Josto and Gaetano happen to be watching from the car opposite and make their move when Weff gets in his car. Switching on the headlights, Weff struggles with his keys as Gaetano stalks ever closer to him. Realizing his time is up, Gaetano shoots the cop in cold blood. Only, on the way back to the car Gaetano trips up the curb and shoots himself in the head.

Oraetta’s promise holds significant weight as she shows up in Ethelrida’s room in the middle of the night. Armed with a syringe, she stands over the girl… until Roach’s ghost suddenly appears and spooks her. Oraetta runs all the way back home and straight into the grateful clutches of the police who stand waiting for her.

Dr Harvard has now woken up and revealed all, including Oraetta’s attempt to kill him. HQ have plans to bring her in and before she can even grab her purse, she’s thrown in the back of a car and taken away. As she leaves, Ethelrida watches her go.

The next day, Ethelrida heads up to visit Loy. Armed with a ring and a lot of intelligence, she tries to make a deal with him. Given the 27 men that Loy’s lost, she mentions the funeral rites for the men equally $8700. She also mentions Oraetta’s poisoning too, going on to brandish the ring that she took from her apartment.

It turns out that ring actually belonged to Donatello Fadda. In exchange for helping bring their business back from the brink and clearing the debt, she’s going to help him win the war.

As Loy swears on their new arrangement, Ethelrida shows him the newspaper article confirming she’s legit and the two exchange a wry smile.

The Episode Review

After last week’s misfire, Fargo comes out all guns blazing – literally. The opening montage is a great way of showing how the war has escalated and as we hit a stalemate between the two sides, both Josto and Loy are wary over how many good men they’ve lost so far.

Seeing how Oraetta and Ethelrida fit into the larger picture is a nice touch and all of this is backed up by a consistent feeling of dread hanging over a lot of the episode. Weff’s demise is probably the most obvious example of this ticking timebomb but this is also something that’s been coming for a while.

With the ring in Loy’s possession, it looks like the war is finally swinging in his favour and this poses a particular problem for Josto – especially after losing his brother Gaetano. Ironically, this is something that would have been a cause for celebration several episodes ago but now looking like a nightmarish scenario for the crime boss, who’s left reeling.

Next week’s finale certainly looks to be an intriguing prospect and given the ending to this one – you certainly won’t want to miss it!