A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage

"A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage"
Fargo episode
In an elevator, Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman, top left)'s new encounter with Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton, top right) results yet again in a bloodbath.
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 9
Directed by	Matt Shakman
Written by	Noah Hawley
Featured music	Jeff Russo
Production code	XFO01009
Original air date	June 10, 2014 (2014-06-10)
Running time	53 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Bob Odenkirk as Bill Oswalt Keith Carradine as Lou Solverson Keegan-Michael Key as FBI Agent Pepper Jordan Peele as FBI Agent Budge Joey King as Greta Grimly Susan Park as Linda Park Stephen Root as Burt Canton Helena Mattsson as Jemma Stalone Jennifer Copping as Louise Weezy Canton
Episode chronology
← Previous "The Heap" Next → "Morton's Fork"
Fargo (season 1) List of Fargo episodes

"A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage" is the ninth episode of the FX anthology series Fargo. It was written by series creator and showrunner Noah Hawley and directed by Matt Shakman. The episode title refers to a variation of the fox, goose and bag of beans puzzle.

The episode is set after the one-year ellipsis featured in the previous episode: Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) now has a completely new life as a dentist known as "Dr. Michael". However, his plans are compromised when Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) incidentally runs into him. Meanwhile, Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks), now a mailman, is happily married to Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman), whose theory that Lester was involved in the murders finds new supporters in FBI agents Pepper (Keegan-Michael Key) and Budge (Jordan Peele).

"A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage" received critical acclaim, and was seen by 1.90 million viewers.

Lorne Malvo is now posing as a dentist named "Dr. Michael" in Kansas City, Missouri. One night, Malvo, along with his fiancée, Jemma Stalone, throw a dinner party at his place, which is attended by his co-worker Dr. Burt and his wife, Louise. While Malvo and Burt have a chat over wine, Burt brings up his estranged brother, who he remains in contact with him, even though he isn't allowed to as the brother is currently under witness protection. Burt drunkenly suggests they go to Las Vegas to visit him and Malvo agrees. Later that night, Malvo sits alone in his room listening to one of his phone recordings on his cassette tapes, involving a man committing suicide after confessing to Malvo that Malvo ruined his life.