‘Fargo’ recap: ‘We all get what we deserve’

Humans love morality tales.

They love morality tales so much that they raise their children on them, telling them all about boys who cry wolf and princesses who sleep on produce and the clear and present danger of spinning wheels. We tell our children stories to warn them about the world to come and to prepare them for the evils they may encounter when they enter it.

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Even Jesus had his parables, advising his followers to be good Samaritans, reassuring them with tales of lost sheep, and encouraging them to consider the mustard seed. If nothing else, Jesus understood that often, to best deliver a message to the masses, it’s worth dressing it up in story form.

Which is a particularly long-winded way to say that each week, watching “Fargo” feels like settling in for the latest chapter of a fairy tale, wherein the good are threatened, the evil are encroaching, and we are left to decide for ourselves what lesson we’re to take from it all.

Luckily, in season two of “Fargo,” the lesson is becoming increasingly clear and is perhaps best illustrated in the tale of two (eventual) presidents.

When the season starts, we see Democratic President Carter delivering his “crisis of confidence” speech, in which he encouraged Americans to examine their lives and see how they could help to aid the oppressive energy crisis the country was mired in.

In its time, Carter’s speech was poorly received, as Americans showed little interest in taking responsibility for an oil crisis they could barely understand.

Contrast this with the speech given by Ronald Reagan (played impeccably by Bruce Campbell) in “Gift of the Magi,” in which Reagan harks back to the “shining city on the hill” and the idea that America was special and that Americans needed only to embrace their greatness to make the country great again.

History has already dictated how this fundamental philosophical difference of opinions shakes out, with Carter serving just one term as president while Reagan served two.

It would seem that Americans were more interested in being special than they were in conserving energy.

This theme occurs again and again throughout this week’s episode of “Fargo” with individuals being presented with two options, reality and something decidedly more appealing, and shunning reality every time.

Somewhere inside, Floyd knows that Rye wasn’t killed by Kansas City, but she believes it because it’s easier to comprehend than an anomalous accident that ends with her son going through a meat grinder.

Some part of Peggy understands that things won’t be OK if she and Ed stay in Luverne, but she sells her car anyway, because believing that there’s a way for things to be OK again is far more palatable than running away.

Betsy is fatigued and nauseous, symptoms she attributes to the drug trial she’s participating in, which means, she pronounces, that she is surely receiving the drug and not the placebo. But on some level, Betsy must know that though it’s possible she’s suffering from side effects of a magical new drug, it’s probable she’s just losing her battle with cancer.

At a certain point, Lou turns to Ronald Reagan while they’re both washing their hands in the men’s room and asks the governor to assure him that the world at large is capable of getting out of the mess they’re in. Lou worries that the evil in the world has manifested inside of Betsy like poison and is looking for anything to convince him otherwise.

In response, Reagan says, “Son, there’s not a challenge on God’s Earth that can’t be overcome by an American. I truly believe that.” Lou nods before responding, “Yeah.” He pauses. “But how?”

At that, Reagan beats a hasty retreat.

Lou wants a fantasy to believe in, something to distract him from the reality of his crumbling world, but no such option is forthcoming. Perhaps this is what will ultimately save his life.

Bear and Dodd Gerhardt discuss as much on the porch when they talk about Rye’s death. Bear believes that Dodd doesn’t support their mother. Dodd implies that Bear prefers being under a woman’s thumb. Eventually, Bear sizes up his brother and hits him with a simple truth: “In the end, we all get what we deserve.”

On “Fargo,” that’s a reality that most everyone should fear.

Follow me on Twitter at @midwestspitfire.