Question: After kidnapping Mrs Lundegaard, the kidnappers return to Brainerd where they get pulled over and it all falls apart. My question is... Why do they return to Brainerd? They end up keeping her in a cabin near the twin cities metro area. So they drive down to the cities from Brainerd, kidnap her, return to Brainerd where they're pulled over, and then return again to the cities to lie low in a cabin. So why make that initial return to Brainerd? They likely had the cabin arranged in advance.
KeyZOid
10th Dec 2020
Fargo (1996)
7th May 2014
Fargo (1996)
Question: Gaear gets the kidnapping job from his friend Shep. He can choose anybody he wants to help him do it. Why does he choose Carl, a person he obviously can't stand? They don't "fall out" - Gaear hates him from the get-go. And don't say that Gaear deliberately chose someone he disliked because he planned to kill him all along. Yeah, right... Planned to bring an axe to a gunfight. Great plan. Granted, it worked. But that was not planned. Anyway, Gaear is all ursine impulse, not organized forethought. So why Carl?
Answer: Gaear would choose who he thought was the best person to help him pull off the job, regardless of whether or not he likes him. He's not particularly intelligent, and Carl is the smarter of the two and that would be an asset. Gaear also appears to be very anti-social and it's doubtful he has any friends, or at least any that would participate in such a plot, and this may be the only person he knows of who will go along with it. His choice really has little to do with liking someone and everything to do with getting the job done. Gaear may very well have intended to kill him later to help eliminate any ties to the crime and to keep the money. It's easier to kill someone he doesn't like.
All good points! I might add Gaear was "mostly brawn." His limited intelligence ("dull normal" at best?) and lack of basic communication skills ["Where's pancakes house?"] would interfere with his ability to engage in constructive conversations with Jerry to arrange the kidnapping. He'd also have difficulty making a plan and following through on his own. Gaear wouldn't have any problem overpowering a person to be kidnapped, but needed someone like Carl to make the before and after plans.
9th May 2005
Fargo (1996)
Question: By the time Jerry gets arrested, his wife and her father are both dead. What will now happen to Jerry's son, now that his dad is in jail, and his mother and grandfather are both dead?
Answer: While there is nothing in the film that explains this, the most likely step taken by the authorities would have been to see whether Jerry and his wife had made out an will and who they would give legal custody of their son if anything happened to them. If there was no will then it's likely the closest family or relatives would be asked to take custody.
He probably still has Lundegaard Grandparent (s) and a grandmother from his mother's side - any of which could and would become his legal guardian (s).
He'll be a rich man. Grandfather said early in the movie that his daughter and her son would bever have to worry about money or words to that effect.
Answer: Early in the film, Jerry's father-in-law makes it a point to mention that his daughter and grandson will never have to worry, financially. It's implied Wade made the necessary arrangements to ensure Jerry's son would be provided for in the event something happened to his parents.
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Answer: I was confused and questioned why things occurred in certain places - Fargo vs. Brainerd vs. Minneapolis vs. The cabin's location, identified as Moose Lake near the end of the movie. Other than the beginning barroom meeting in Fargo between Jerry and Carl/Gaear, I didn't see the significance of Fargo. Jerry and his wife (kidnapping victim) lived in Minneapolis. The murders took place in Brainerd, and Chief of Police Margie eventually investigated some leads in Minneapolis. We don't know where the kidnappers planned on holding Mrs. Lundegaard. IF the kidnappers were from Fargo or even Brainerd, they may have been planning on taking her to one of their homes and were in the process of driving there when pulled over by Brainerd Police. No one was supposed to get hurt, but the murders occurred and their plan was no longer going as expected. Instead of continuing to a home, it may now have made more sense to "hide" somewhere to avoid getting caught. Moose Lake could have been chosen.
KeyZOid
This change in plans would mean they did NOT already have the cabin rented. Maybe Carl or Gaear owned it, but didn't initially intend to use it because they were not really committing a kidnapping and preferred to go home.
KeyZOid