BWW Recap: 'The Castle' Collapses on FARGO

Anxiety. That is how I felt for over half of episode 9 of FARGO, "The Castle." There is so much to discuss, but I can't begin this recap without talking about the UFO! The entire season there have been very small glimpses into there being an alien undertone, but we never had any direction for it. In this episode is the most glaringly obvious indication of it: a giant UFO hovers over the carnage at the motel, distracting Bear long enough for Lou to kill him. However, other than it appearing, there is no explanation to it. It just hovers for 30 seconds and then disappears. I wish I had some interesting observation about the symbolism of the UFO, but I honestly have no idea where showrunner Noah Hawley is going with this. I'm just hoping for an explanation in the finale.

This episode is the breaking point for Lou. For the first time in the season you can see his desperation in wanting this mess to end. He begs the Dakota Police Department to put the Blumquists in custody, but he isn't successful. Lou is tired of the bloodshed, and he just wants the violence to stop. However, he can't let the case go. Two times Lou had the chance to go home, but he couldn't leave without helping. Unfortunately, his persistence in the case has made him lose sight of what is at home: his sick wife. Even worse, right before one of his phone calls home, Betsy fainted, and Lou doesn't even know. This is the turning point for Lou, he has lost himself so much in this case, that he will potentially miss out on his wife's last few moments. It makes sense why Lou owns a diner in the first season, because after this case, he must realize that he can't keep missing out on his family's life for work. I just hope he comes to his senses in time to say goodbye to his wife.

The Blumquists are accepting their fate, and really taking charge. Pointed out by Hank multiple times, they seem to be the only people succeeding in their endeavors. Ed and Peggy have become a force to be reckoned with. Even Hanzee knows they have to be stopped, or else his actions will be made known. Peggy and Ed are very clever, and they've passed the point of no return, so they're willing to do anything. Peggy, who still claims to be "realized," has been paramount to their success. Whereas Ed will clean up messes, Peggy will prevent them. Peggy saw the shadows and alerted Ed and the cop protecting them, so that they wouldn't be victims of the Gerhardt slaughter. She also is no nonsense: when Hanzee is about to finish them off, Ed is distracted by the UFO, and Peggy is unfazed, telling him, "It's just a flying saucer, Ed, we need to go," and making him run. If not for her, Hanzee would've caught them. Going into the finale, Ed and Peggy are on the run with both Lou and Hanzee on their trail. I honestly hope they find away to escape to California and never be heard from again, because after everything they've been through and how far they've come without being arrested, they deserve a happy ending.

Speaking of Hanzee, I really do pity his situation. As it was pointed out, he has been in the Gerhardt family since Otto took him off the streets when he eight. He is treated like a lesser human, made to drink out of the hose, constantly berated by Dodd, and always sent to clean up the Gerhardt's messes. Hanzee got tired of his life, and wanted a new start, however that moment of realization was ruined when Lou and Hank closed in on him and he realized he'll never be free of his life. Hanzee's decision to betray the Gerhardt's by telling them it was Kansas City who had Dodd instead of who actually had him--the police--was a savage one, but the Gerhardt's deserved it.

The massacre that occurred at the end of the episode was brutal. Watching the Gerhardt's and the cops face off was bloody and pointless. Hawley has been teasing "The Massacre at Sioux Falls" since season one, and now we've finally seen it. It was even more fitting that he opened the episode with Martin Freeman (our Lester Nygard from Season One) narrating the event from a book called "The Big Book of True Crime in the Midwest." The Gerhardt's don't even realize they are taking out cops--thanks to them being in plain clothes and having radio silence--so the entire outing is pointless. Floyd goes to oversee the "ambush," but unfortunately realizes too late she's been betrayed. Hanzee doesn't give her time to act, however, because he stabs her in the stomach almost immediately. With that act, the Gerhardt's are done, and they were taken out the way Joe Bulo expected them to be: because of family. Floyd's love for her kids and grandkids blinded her to the reality of her situation and made her vulnerable. This was made especially evident when she is on the phone with Hanzee and next to her you see the height chart of all of her children on the wall--a visual representation of what she is lost and what she is willing to die for. Kansas City was always going to win, not because they were better than the Gerhardts, but because they did not have any emotional attachment to their people.

Mike Milligan may be the undeserving King of Kansas City after tonight's events. Milligan planned to take Dodd and win control of the Gerhardt empire, but when he arrives at the motel, all he finds is Floyd dead on the ground. In my favorite part of the entire episode, Mike gets out of the car, sees Floyd, says "Okay then..." and immediately gets back in the car and drives away. His work is done for him: the Gerhardts are out, and Kansas City wins, and I'm assuming that Milligan will take the credit. However, with the Gerhardts out of the way, he is all that the police have left to take care of, so he better be careful.

Next week's episode is the finale, and I can't wait to see how everything wraps up! I will be live-recaping the finale, so make sure to head over at 10PM EST on MONDAY for the much anticipated ending of FARGO Season 2! See you then!

Photo courtesy of the Fargo FX Twitter