One of the most important objects in the Fargo movie is the infamous suitcase full of money; so what happens to it after the ending? Inspired by the film, Noah Hawley’s TV series of the same name answers this question with a fantastic homage to its predecessor. Though following a similar general plot, the series goes in its own direction, and even serves as a continuation of some events from the film. The Fargo TV series follows versions of familiar characters, like Molly Solverson (a stand-in for Marge Gunderson) and Lester Nygaard, counterpart to Jerry Lundegaard. New faces appear as well, including Lorne Malvo, a sinister villain, and the unsuspecting “Supermarket King of Minnesota,” Stavros Milos, who meets a tragic fate.
Of course, Hawley's series has a number of homages to its source material and often includes clever details linking the different seasons of Fargo, which take place across different time periods and in different locations, all typically in or around Minnesota or Fargo, North Dakota. While the first season mirrors the plot of the film, later seasons diverge, though they still often include nods to the Coen Brothers movie. Some of the details are as subtle as the naming of a building: The Showalter Block in season 1 references Carl Showalter from the film. Others, like the reappearance of Carl’s suitcase full of cash, are much more direct.
Carl Showalter comes into the possession of the suitcase in the film Fargo through a true comedy of errors. He and his partner Gaear Grimsrud are asked to stage a kidnapping with the promise that they will earn a cut of their demanded ransom. When things go worse than planned, Carl makes off with the ransom money and buries it in the snow, intending to keep the majority of it for himself. An argument between the two criminals ends in Carl’s death, and the suitcase remains buried, with its whereabouts unbeknownst to anyone and marked only by an icepick protruding from the ground. Stavros Milos later finds that suitcase full of money when his car runs out of gas as he drives his wife and child to a new life in Minnesota in Fargo season 1.
Stranded on the road in the middle of nowhere, his pleas for help are ignored by a passing truck, so Stavros prays, promising God his loyalty in exchange for a way out. It is then that he sees the red icepick Carl left to mark the location of his bounty in Fargo the film. Taking this as a sign, Stavros digs it up and is overjoyed to find the money. He returns to his wife with a renewed and fervent faith in God, using the money to build his supermarket empire.
Years later, when Stavros hires Lorne Malvo to help him track down a blackmailer, Malvo subjects the devout Stavros to several hair-raising incidents reminiscent of famous biblical plagues, including an infestation of locusts and a shower of blood. Terrified that he is being punished by God for taking the suitcase almost 20 years prior, Stavros stuffs it with cash and, instead of bringing it to the blackmailers as initially intended, returns to the spot where he found it and buries it again.
In the end, the money becomes part of a cyclical narrative - a key theme in both the Fargo movie and TV series. There is an overarching sense of futility: bad and sometimes senselessly, violent things are bound to happen, regardless of one's intent or moral character. Though Stavros is a demonstrably imperfect man, his punishment seems outsized. On his way home from burying the money, Stavros finds the bodies of his friend and son, killed in a freak car accident caused by fish raining down from the sky. This is the only ‘plague’ to befall Stavros that could be considered an actual act of God, the result of deeply strange weather conditions. His repentance, then, proves to mean nothing. It's a grim prospect, but one that Fargo communicates skillfully; despite all the strife it causes, the money has no real meaning, especially not one worth a human life.
Next: Is Fargo Season 4 Releasing On FX Or Hulu (Or Both?)
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