Solverson & Grimly Really Are A Good Team

The Fargo finale didn’t give me the ending I’d dreamed of (I really wanted Molly Solverson to tear Lorne Malvo and Lester Nygaard a new asshole. And I wanted Solverson and Lorne Malvo to throw parables at each other until Lorne Malvo cracked. Oh! And I wanted all of the good characters live happily ever after), but Tuesday night's ep was a pretty wonderful way to wrap up the Season 1 story. Did I wipe warm tears from my cheeks as the credits rolled? I'LL NEVER TELL.

So, how'd the season conclude?

SOLVERSON INTERROGATES LESTER

The interrogation scene between Lester and Solverson is mighty satisfying. You want to know why Solverson doesn’t like you, Lester? Because she’s onto you. She knows you’re the other glove. Let that sting, Lester. Let that sting.

LORNE MALVO KILLS AGENTS BUDGE AND PEPPER

It's a bummer.

SOLVERSON WILL BE THE NEW POLICE CHIEF

Oswalt tells Solverson he doesn't want to be the chief anymore. He tells her he isn't cut out for it. He used to think people were good, but that's changed. People scare him. Lester scares him. He says he spends nights "staring into the fire," and he wants to hand the reigns over to Solverson.

Ugh, Oswalt's frustrated me all season, but I feel bad for him. He's a good guy, just dim. Bitten off more than he can chew, he has. And whether it is motivated by fear, by jealously, or by instinct, he does the right thing in the end.

GRIMLY KILLS LORNE MALVO

Solverson and Lorne Malvo never meet. They never have the face-off I thirsted for. Sweet, sweet Gus Grimly sees to that. He knows that if there is anyone who could take down his his wife, it's Lorne Malvo.

So our sweet, sweet Grimly does something very brave: He may be afraid of spiders, but that doesn’t stop him from going into outer space, er, sneaking into Lorne Malvo’s cabin.

While Lester is the worst husband in the Fargo universe, Grimly is the best. He may not be as courageous as his wife, but he doesn’t think twice about risking his life for her. He wants to snuff out the tornado monster before it gets to Solverson. He’ll die trying.

But he doesn’t die. He succeeds.

Moments before Grimly comes out of his hiding spot, Lorne Malvo attempts to reset the mangled bone in his leg. He sits in pain and stares out the window. He sees a wolf. A WOLF. BECAUSE OF COURSE HE SEES A WOLF.

AND THEN GRIMLY APPEARS AND TELLS HIM HE FIGURED OUT THE RIDDLE. HE SHOOTS HIM SEVERAL TIMES. LORNE MALVO DIES. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Lorne the Wolf is dead.

SOLVERSON FINALLY OBTAINS THE EVIDENCE SHE'S NEEDED

Solverson listens to Lorne Malvo’s tapes. Specifically, the tape clearly labeled “LESTER NYGAARD.” It’s the phone call from the night Lester killed his first wife. Boom. She drops the mic, picks it up, and drops it again. She drops the mic for forty minutes. She's earned this celebration.

Two weeks later, Lester runs into a gaggle of cops while snowmobiling around Montana. They're looking for him. They chase after him. Lester sprints out onto thin ice. The cops tell him to stop. OF COURSE HE RUNS OUT ON THIN ICE. HE'S METAPHORICALLY BEEN RUNNING AROUND ON THIN ICE ALL SEASON. IT'S ABOUT TIME THE METAPHOR BECOMES LITERAL.

He falls through the ice. He probably dies.

(Did I laugh out loud? I'll never tell.)

THAT LAST EXCHANGE BETWEEN GRIMLY AND SOLVERSON

Weeks after killing Lorne the Wolf, Grimly tells Solverson and Greta that he'll be receiving a citation for bravery. “They really should be giving it to you,” he tells Solverson. And he means it. You know he means it. Because Grimly is an angel.

“No. This is your deal," Solverson says. "I get to be chief.”

A pair of angels. A great team.

This isn't the way she wanted things to play out. Innocent people died. Oswalt's in a rough place. She never met Lorne Malvo.

But hey, there's lots of silver lining to be had: Lester is gone. Lorne Malvo is gone. Her husband is a hero. She was right about Lester all along. She solved the case. She's going to be the chief of police. She has a beautiful family.

These might be the justest desserts we were ever going to get.

However, it would've been fun to watch her and Lorne Malvo attempt to out-riddle one another, eh?

Image: FX