History Recap / FargoS01E03AMuddyRoad

After being removed from the Hess case, Molly investigates the original car crash and the frozen man in the woods, and learns he was dragged from his workplace in Saint Paul by Malvo, allegedly because the man had a massive gambling debt. She obtains a still from the building's security cameras showing the abduction, but Malvo's face is partially obscured. Lester returns to work and calls on Gina Hess, Sam's widow, about his life insurance policy. She unexpectedly starts flirting with him in an attempt to get more money, unaware that Mr. Wrench and Mr. Numbers are watching from outside. Convinced he killed Hess, they later visit Lester's office and threaten him, but leave when Molly unexpectedly arrives. Molly claims that she is interested in a life insurance policy and "accidentally" shows Lester the abduction photo containing Malvo's face. Lester's reaction convinces her that he recognizes Malvo.

* ChristianityIsCatholic: Both {{Averted}} and PlayedStraight. Stavros Milos is Eastern Orthodox. However, he associates with Saint Lawrence of Rome, and has a stained glass image of St. Lawrence, which is far more Catholic than Orthodox. Also, a Latin litany chant can be heard towards the end of the episode, where one might have expected a chant in Greek.

* TooMuchInformation: Molly's giddy friend tells her about the time where her a spider planted eggs in her boyfriend's neck and they hatched during a night of intercourse. Molly later retells this story to Gus and his daughter, omitting the part about the sex.

* NoodleIncident: The Sioux Falls incident that would later serve as the climax of the show's [[Series/FargoSeasonTwo second season]] is first referenced here by Schmidt and later Lou.

'''Season 1, Episode 03:'''
!!A Muddy Road
!!!Written by Noah Hawley

* DeadAnimalWarning: Malvo kills Stavros' dog and leaves behind a CutAndPasteNote with the demand of an even bigger ransom.

* AgeCut: A MatchCut from young Milos in the flashback to present day old Milos.
* BriefcaseFullOfMoney: Milos finds one in a flashback.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Stavros Milos has been shown to be an asshole since his introduction in the last episode, but he genuinely loved his dog, and claims that his wife, as bitter as the two of them are, has a heart.

* SexForServices: Gina tries advancing on Lester in an effort to speed up her insurance payout, but her sons kill the mood before it goes anywhere.

In a quiet office building, a man sorts some papers at his desk. He looks down the hallway to see Malvo walking towards him and begins freaking out. Malvo grabs the man by the tie, drags him down the hall all the way into the building’s parking garage, cuts off his clothes, and shoves him into the trunk of his car. A little while later, the car wrecks and the trunk opens, allowing the man to escape into the woods in his underwear and eventually freeze to death.

Presently, Molly investigates the office building where Phil [=McCormick=] was abducted and finds that the security tape shows Malvo dragging him out of the elevator. Malvo, meanwhile, confronts the fitness instructor Don Chumph about his blackmail letter, curious as to where Milos got his money from. He informs Chumph that he’s taking over the blackmail and that they’ll need to get to work on another letter.

After running the plate number on the car he pulled over and discovering that it belonged to Lester Nygaard, Gus comes clean to Lieutenant Ben Schmidt about letting the driver go. Schmidt makes Gus call Bemidji to inform them of his screw up and absolve everyone else of his mistake.

Lester, still haunted by the incident, decides to come back in to work. His boss tasks him with running some papers over to Gina Hess to sign, and she lights up as soon as she realizes he’s from the insurance company. He starts with the paperwork, but when Gina realizes that he’s the man whose wife just got killed, she sits him down to have a whiskey. They talk for a while before Gina starts making advances on Lester, which Mickey and Moe notice from the window, and Wrench and Numbers also spy from behind the trees.

Malvo meets with a dealer to purchase some drugs, then heads to Milos’ house to switch his out with the ones he purchased. While there, Malvo murders his dog and leaves the newest ransom note by its body.

Lester, meanwhile, is tending to his hand wound in the office bathrooms and steps out to find Numbers and Wrench standing quietly by his desk. He gets a call about his car being found in Duluth before he moves on to dealing with the two men, who mention Sam Hess and start intimidating him. At this time, Molly shows up at the door and Lester lets her in, showing Numbers and Wrench out. Molly claims to want Lester’s help with some insurance advice, but she drops one of her files on the floor and reveals a security photo of Malvo. After Lester witnesses this, his tone completely changes and he rushes her out the door with a pamphlet.

Back at Milos’ office, Malvo is told about how the blackmailer has resorted to killing animals. Malvo requests to move into Milos' house until the whole thing blows over, which Milos grants, popping in a few of his pills over the course of their exchange.

Back at the station, Gus tells his daughter that he’s made a mistake and has to call Duluth and tell them that their suspect got away. She tells him that it would probably be better to do in person. Meanwhile, Molly informs Bill on the progress she’s made on the Phil [=McCormick=] case and tells him that she slipped the picture of their suspect to Lester and studied his reaction. Bill is pissed and tells her to focus on bringing in the suspect instead of pestering Lester.

Later, Gus shows up at the desk and asks to speak with someone about Lester Nygaard. Molly overhears his request and he shares with her how he let Malvo slip away. She shows him the security photo of Malvo and he identifies him as the driver. Gus’ daughter eventually comes in asking for a dollar for the vending machine, and Molly invites the two of them out to dinner at Lou’s, which they accept.

Later that night, Chazz is tending to his guns in the garage when he’s approached by Lester, who asks to try some of them out. Stavros, meanwhile, takes a shower at his home when Malvo switches the water to blood, reminiscent of the ten plagues of Egypt.

-->Written by Noah Hawley

Presently, Molly investigates the office building where Phil [=McCormick=] was dragged off the premises and finds that the security tape shows Malvo dragging him out of the elevator. Malvo, meanwhile, confronts the fitness instructor Don Chumph about his blackmail letter, curious as to where Milos got his money from. He informs Chumph that he’s taking over the blackmail and that they’ll need to get to work on another letter.

Lester, meanwhile is tending to his hand wound in the office bathrooms and steps out to find Numbers and Wrench standing quietly by his desk. He gets a call about his car being found in Duluth before he moves on to dealing with the two men, who mention Sam Hess and start intimidating him. At this time, Molly shows up at the door and Lester lets her in, showing Numbers and Wrench out the door. Molly claims to want Lester’s help with some insurance advice, but she drops one of her files on the floor and reveals a security photo of Malvo. After Lester witnesses this, his tone completely changes and he rushes her out the door with a pamphlet.

Back at Milos’ office, Malvo is told about how the blackmailer has resorted to killing animals. Malvo requests to move into Milos house until the whole thing blows over, which Milos grants, popping in a few of his pills over the course of their exchange.