BWW Recap: See 'The Myth of Sisyphus' in Action on FARGO

In tonight's episode of FARGO, the (futile) search for Rye continues. The fate of every group lies on finding and turning Rye to their cause, except no one knows he's dead. The title of the show, "The Myth of Sisyphus," can either been seen to be describing the greek myth of Sisyphus, who was doomed for all eternity to push a bolder up a hill every day, only for it to fall back down at night and for him to start again, or to describe the Albert Camus novel of the same name. Either way, it obviously relates to the fact that the entire storyline as of now is chasing a man who is, well, ground meat.

My favorite part about the show is that most of the characters are clueless, except Betsy. Undergoing chemo and battling cancer, Betsy is still the only one really figuring things out. She doesn't know it, but her hypothesis about the crime scene is completely right, and if Lou and Hank listen to her hunch, they will be on their way to finding who killed Rye--which admittedly isn't very good for Peggy and Ed.

As of right now, I still pity Ed and Peggy. Killing Rye wasn't not planned, and even though going to the police would've been the smart decision, I understand the lengths they are both going through to protect their livelihood. That being said, there is just something about Peggy that is off, and whatever it is will definitely be blowing up in their faces soon. this is especially true since Peggy's boss had seen her car, and could connect the damage to the crime--if Betsy's theory works out. Whereas Lester from season one made a bad decision on impulse and kept trying to keep it covered it up, Peggy's decision to not go to the police right away, and instead lock up Rye and continue her life in the methodical way points at something darker and more twisted within her. And with Ed at her side willing to do anything for her, who knows what kind of trouble she can cause in the future, especially if her life and freedom are at stick. I think the "Life Spring" retreat could bring out this trouble, too, but only time will tell.

The Gerhardt's are dealing with a lot: from Rye being missing, to the Kansas City guys trying to take over, and now Lou sniffing around, Floyd has a lot to handle. It doesn't help that Dodd is quickly rising to oppose her. Even with all this drama, I find myself bored with the Gerhardt's. Their story is cliché and reminds me of the storyline from season one with Milos and the supermarket, which I also found slow. This could just me my own personal opinion, but of all the storylines in this season, I find theirs to be the least exciting. Even with Dodd and Ohanzee burying Skip, the typewriter salesman, alive, I still hope from more excitement from them.

Lou had the most character growth in terms of interest for me in this episode. Coming off that insanely anxiety-ridden scene in the butcher's shop from episode 2, Lou had two more interesting stand-offs in this episode. The first was with the Gerhardt family, where Lou finally showed some personality (and sass), while trying to question Floyd about Rye, who is implicated in the triple homicide at the Waffle Hut. Lou did a great job holding his own against the family and their men, and he even showed up Dodd, which I loved. Not long after confronting the Gerhardts, Lou found himself in the Typewriter shop, where he unexpectedly runs into Mike Milligan and the Kitchen Boys. Mike and Lou have a great exchange before Milligan and his boys leave. Even though Milligan was only in the episode for small amount of time, each scene he was in stood out immensely compared to the others. He just brings a charisma and strangeness that no other character has.

Lou is treading in a lot of hot water, and it's becoming much more understandable why he ends up the owner of a diner. Between triple homicides, rival gangs, and a couple who murdered his suspect, there is no way he'll be able to solve this murder without tripping over a lot of very angry and unpredictable heels.

I was interested in Dodd's daughter, Simone, in this episode. She is stuck under the control of Dodd, who isn't a very reasonable man, yet she's still trying to prove herself as worthy. Simone and Dodd's relationship isn't great, with that uncomfortable scene at the car being evidence of that, and I can only expect her to end up being someone who causes a lot of trouble for Dodd. I think her character is very strong, and I hope she has more to do with the over-arching storyline.

Two themes made another appearance in this episode as well: aliens and America. While Lou waits in line at the gas station, a crazy man starts rambling on about alien sightings, which to Lou means nothing but mindless talk, but to the viewer, it's another sign of a bigger piece of this story, even if I have no idea where it's heading. Also, with the show taking place in the 70s at the height of a lot of turmoil in America, this season has constantly made a point to reference the themes of our country and the hidden destruction of it. From Milligan quoting Nixon's famous "I am not a crook" line to Skip's American flag tie sticking out of the dirt, this season is using what's happening to the characters to resemble the state of the country. These two themes will become more important as the season progresses, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the pieces fit together.

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Let me know your thoughts on this episode of FARGO in the comments below, or tweet me at @kaitmilligan! Make sure to come back next Monday as I recap another epsiode!

Photos Courtesy of the Fargo FX Twitter

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