Well, that was a twist. Last we saw Gerhardt henchman Hanzee Dent, he was sneaking off into the woods after the failed lynch mob, following an escaping Ed Blumquist into the darkness. Although we didn't see the fallout of this cliffhanger last week, this Monday's episode of FX's Fargo , "Loplop" finally showed us what happened between Peggy zapping Dodd and Ed calling Mike Milligan to ransom the Gerhardt scion. Although Hanzee spent the entire episode on the Blumquist's trail, what happened when he caught up with them was far from expected. It wasn't hapless couple Peggy and Ed that met the business end of the henchman's gun — but rather his boss. That's right; Hanzee killed Dodd and now Fargo is officially heading for crazy town.
Hanzee's path to the Blumquist cabin was not an easy one. He arrived at Peggy and Ed's home too late to save Dodd from their bumbling clutches, but a hotel reservation stuck to the fridge led him to Sioux Falls. For poor Constance Heck, who was preparing for Peggy's arrival with candles and a chilled bottle of wine, the sight of Hanzee at her door was an unwelcome surprise. When Peggy called her friend to apologize for ditching the seminar, Hanzee intimidated Constance into attempting to discern Peggy's whereabouts. While she failed to get an address, Constance did manage to surmise a general location without arousing Peggy's suspicions.
Hanzee soon arrived at the same general store where Ed had been placing all of his calls to the Gerhardts and Mike Milligan, offering Dodd for ransom. He once again used his intimidating presence to get the owner to divulge the location of Ed's cabin. Although it was nice to see Hanzee leave the man alive, it was foolish on his part; the man recognized Hanzee's picture in the newspaper as a wanted fugitive — he had gunned down three men in a bar on his way to Sioux Falls for insulting his native heritage — and quickly called the police. (Constance's ultimate fate wasn't made clear, but we can hope she similarly made it out of her encounter with Hanzee alive.)
A quick drive down to the lake was all it took for Hanzee to spot Dodd's car parked outside a cabin. He burst in just as Peggy and Ed were in the middle of tying up their captive again following his ill-fated escape attempt. Unfortunately, Dodd's arrogance was his undoing. Rather than being grateful for being saved from certain death, he persisted in his bigotry, referring to Hanzee as a "half breed" and a "mongrel," provoking his own loyal henchman until years of resentments came bubbling to the surface... and Hanzee pulled out his pistol and shot Dodd through the forehead without even blinking.
Naturally, Lou Solverson and Hank Larsson decide to make their entrance soon after that. Just as Hanzee is about to receive a haircut from Peggy, the two cops show up at the cabin, guns drawn. In the middle of the ensuing shootout, Peggy stabbed her scissors into Hanzee's shoulders. Injured and out of ammo, the henchman stumbled out the front door just as Lou and Hank burst in the back.
Assuming he escapes, where will Hanzee go next? With Otto, Dodd, Rye, and Simone dead, and Charlie in jail, Floyd and Bear are the two sole remaining Gerhardts — and he's unlikely to be welcomed home by Floyd if she finds out he killed her eldest remaining son in cold blood. At least there was no love lost between Bear and Dodd; in fact, Bear seemed to the only Gerhardt who actually appreciated Hanzee's presence. Perhaps the gruff Gerhardt and the silent henchman will unite to make one last stand against Mike Milligan and the Kansas City mafia.
However things play out for Hanzee in the next two episodes, one thing is for sure: the ranks of the show's main cast are thinning out surprisingly quickly. Who will even be left standing by the time the climactic Sioux Falls Massacre finally rolls around
Images: Chris Large, (2) Michelle Fay/FX
