Eliana Willis

Season 4, Episode 10: ‘Happy’“You’re always losing until you win,” says Loy Cannon. “That’s why they call it ‘underdog’.”For the entire season, Loy has been playing a weak hand masterfully, and the Faddas have been playing a strong hand incompetently. Loy hasn’t had the manpower or firepower to move against the Faddas directly, and his race will always deny him institutional support. He doesn’t have the luxury to act impulsively like Josto and Gaetano. In fact, his most violent act on the show so far was to thrash Leon Bittle (Jeremie Harris) for suggesting that he should act more violently.He’s been doing everything possible to avoid an all-out war with the Faddas, choosing instead to foment tension between the brothers, manipulate others into fighting for him and seize whatever territory becomes available to him.Now the inevitable blood bath is finally playing out, and Loy is in a position of uncharacteristic vulnerability. He’s the underdog, having lost 27 men and counting in the war, and in his desperation, seeking a lifeline from Happy Halloway (Edwin Lee Gibson), whom he rightfully does not trust. Loy needs “muscle from the country” to keep him afloat for two weeks, which we later learn is also the timeline the Faddas envision for ending the war.Sensing weakness, Happy immediately turns around and offers a deal to Josto to install Leon, take over Loy’s territory and get a piece of trucking in exchange for betraying Loy. While Loy seems to anticipate this twist of the knife, there may not be much he can do about it.After pausing for a much-needed stand-alone episode far outside Kansas City last week, “Fargo” hustles frantically to make up for lost time. While the show misses the thematic and conceptual cohesion of its “Wizard of Oz” homage, there was hardly a wasted moment this week. Yes, there are a few monologues — Loy reflecting on Satchel’s birth, Gaetano talking about the girlfriend he had at 11, Ethelrida’s mother telling her about the family curse — but none of them stall momentum for the sake of navel-gazing, and most have immediate payoffs. For all its pretensions, the show still works most reliably as a relentless narrative machine.The season also starts to come full circle by returning to Ethelrida, who introduced us to the gangland of early ’50s Kansas City in the first episode and has popped up only periodically since. The Smutny family side of this story has been a little undernourished; they’re the one example of what it’s like to be a normal (or relatively normal) family caught up in all this lethal intrigue. All the Smutnys want is to make their home-based mortuary viable, but because of a bad loan and ill fortune, they’re at the mercy of the wicked. The one silver lining to all the violence exploding around them is that business is booming.Now finally, at long last, the conflict between Ethelrida and Oraetta gets pulled into the gang wars raging around them. Oraetta seemed to have the drop on Ethelrida after the anonymous letter to her boss at the hospital didn’t have the intended effect. But Ethelrida has the son of a mob kingpin on her side and a poise she inherited from her mother. Ethelrida is up front about all the discoveries she has made about Oraetta — the tokens, the “bottles of death,” the poison pies — but it’s not enough to shake the nurse, who has the confidence of a white woman who knows her story will be believed over a young Black woman’s. (“What’s it like to be so sure you’re right and know that nobody cares?”)The story about the Smutny family curse is too much even before an actual supernatural presence foils Oraetta’s attempt to kill Ethelrida in her sleep. “Fargo” already has enough quirks without cracking open the spectral dimension to tie up loose ends. It’s better off just allowing Ethelrida to use her powers of research to get the information she needs to save her family from peril. A few nimble twists of the microfilm reader leads to her to discover that a pinkie ring Oraetta lifted off a patient happened to belong to Donatello Fadda — a revelation that Loy can use to end the war. The “how” part is unclear.Two major characters won’t be around to find out. After wriggling out from under Deafy Wickware and the machinations of both mob outfits, Odis decides to act like an honest cop and arrest the Fadda brothers. (His captain is hilariously incredulous .) It immediately seals his fate. And after a season of watching Gaetano antagonize friends and enemies alike, his accidental death is a testament to his essential oafishness. He may have been able to snuff out Loy’s attempt to turn him against his brother, but he was always dumb lug, destined to die how he lived.The table is set for a finale stripped down to two major rivals, Loy and Josto, and a few others who might intervene. Will Happy’s alignment with the Faddas backfire now that Loy knows about it and Gaetano is dead? What will happen when Zelmare inevitably returns to the scene? And after a tornado last week and the ghost of a slave ship captain this week, what crazy deus ex machina will wrap things up?3 Cent Stamps:Not many Coen references to be found this episode, but the manner of Gaetano’s death does resemble a joke in Steven Soderbergh’s “Out of Sight,” in which another oaf with a gun trips trying to run up a flight of stairs and shoots himself in the head.“Antecedently on ‘Fargo’ … ” There are so many simple ways “Fargo” would be improved by dialing back on the quirk a little. Using “Previously on” is fine.The scene in which Satchel defies the two white men harassing him on the road gives more credence to the popular fan theory that Loy’s youngest son will grow up to be Mike Milligan, the stylish hit man played by Bokeem Woodbine in the second season.OK, one very minor Coen detail: The way the camera whooshes toward the Smutnys’ front door as Oraetta breaks in at night is reminiscent of a signature move by Barry Sonnenfeld, who shot the first three Coen films. It also recalls the camerawork in “Evil Dead II,” which was directed by the Coen buddy Sam Raimi. More

After Bob Woodward’s “Wired” focused too much on the comic’s death, this documentary looks fondly at the star’s life. But his comic genius deserves more. More

Jeffrey Lowe, the man who took over the animal park at the center of the popular Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” was accused on Thursday of violating the Endangered Species Act and Animal Welfare Act, prosecutors said.On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced that it had filed a 110-page civil complaint against Mr. Lowe and his wife, Lauren Lowe and the park, the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Okla.The complaint accuses the couple of violating the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act by exhibiting animals without a license and jeopardizing the health of their animals. The complaint asked the court to require the couple to relinquish some of their animals to the government.Mr. Lowe’s lawyer, James M. Wirth, said in a statement that the couple were “consistently caring and kind stewards of animals in their care,” and that the government had constructed a “fictional interpretation” of the Animal Welfare Act.“The government claims that because Mr. and Mrs. Lowe allowed a documentary crew onto their property, they were unlawfully exhibiting wildlife,” he said. “By the government’s contrived standard, anyone who takes a selfie of an endangered species in a zoo is an unlawful exhibitor in violation of federal law.”Mr. Lowe is the latest figure from the documentary, about feuding exotic-animal owners and animal-rights activists, to face accusations of wrongdoing by the government. The previous owner of the park, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was convicted last year of trying to hire a hit man to kill an animal-rights activist who criticized him.Another park owner featured in the documentary, Bhagavan Antle, who is known as Doc, was charged in October with two felony counts related to wildlife trafficking and 13 additional misdemeanors.Until August, Mr. Lowe and his wife operated the Oklahoma animal park that used to be owned by Mr. Maldonado-Passage, who is better known as Joe Exotic.The 16.4-acre facility had several animals protected by the Endangered Species Act, including tigers, lions, a grizzly bear and ring-tailed lemurs, the complaint said.In June, after a seven-year legal battle, a judge gave the park to Carole Baskin, the animal-rights activist who sparred with exotic tiger keepers in the documentary. Ms. Baskin’s husband, Howard Baskin, said in a statement Friday that they hope that the Justice Department is successful in removing the animals.“The numerous very serious citations by U.S.D.A., in our opinion, clearly demonstrate that the Lowes should not be allowed to have animals,” he said, referring to the assertions by Department of Agriculture investigators.The complaint filed by the Justice Department against Jeffrey Lowe and his business for violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act contains photographs documenting “inadequate and inhumane treatment of animals.”In June and July, inspectors from the U.S.D.A.’s Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service said they found some of the animals “in poor health and living in substandard conditions at the Wynnewood facility,” a violation of the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act.In the complaint the Lowes were also accused of not providing “timely and adequate veterinary care,” causing some of the animals to “suffer from easily treatable conditions.” Some of these cases resulted in “untimely” death, the complaint said.The inspectors found that the animals had not been provided with a sufficient amount of food, and that they were underweight and suffering from nutritional deficiencies. Inspectors also said they found big cat carcasses that were partially burned and decomposing, and a broken refrigerator truck with rotting meat, the complaint said.“The Lowes’ failure to provide basic veterinary care, appropriate food and safe living conditions for the animals does not meet standards required by both the Animal Welfare Act and the Endangered Species Act,” said Jonathan D. Brightbill, the principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.The complaint also accused the Lowes of routinely separating big cat cubs from their mothers for “playtime” events with park guests, potentially bringing “long-lasting harm” to the cubs.In one example, inspectors said they saw a lethargic and thin lion cub that had discharge coming out of her nose and eyes, and sores on her ears. They said the cub, named Nala, was later found to be suffering from an upper respiratory infection, dehydration, malnutrition and a urinary tract infection. Nala was transferred to a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado in September, the complaint said.In August, the U.S.D.A. suspended Mr. Lowe’s Animal Welfare Act exhibitor license and attempted to permanently revoke his license.Days later, Mr. Lowe voluntarily terminated his own license, court documents said. The Lowes later moved their animals to a 33-acre property in Thackerville, Okla. They have said that their new facility there will be named the “Tiger King Park” and will operate as a film set for television shows. The Lowes do not have a license to exhibit animals, according to the complaint. More

Kiernan Shipka knows a thing or two about growing up onscreen: The actress was 6 when she first appeared on “Mad Men” as Sally Draper, the role that first brought her acclaim, and had turned 15 by the time the series ended in 2015.Now 21, as of this month — her first legal drink stateside was a Campari spritz — Shipka has realized, even after seven seasons as Don Draper’s daughter, she still had a bit of onscreen growing left to go. Shipka has spent the past several years as the teenage witch at the heart of Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” which will wrap up with its fourth season, premiering Dec. 31.“I’ve been playing that character since I was 18, and 18 to late 20, those are big years,” she said. “It’s super formative of your adulthood in a lot of ways. All my friends were going to college, and then I was going off to do this other thing. It was kind of emotional to feel like I was letting her go.”Ahead of the final season, Shipka discussed 10 of her favorite things, cultural and otherwise, in a phone interview from her home in Los Angeles. (Coffee and cheese were both strong honorable mentions: “The backbone of my happiness,” Shipka said, “is probably dairy products.”) These are edited excerpts from the conversation.1. Phoebe BridgersOne of my favorite artists — ugh, she’s so good — is Phoebe Bridgers. She just came out with a new album a little bit earlier in the year, and it is such a stunning piece of work. I grew up in the same circles as her; she went to school with a lot of my friends in L.A. And now the fact that everyone loves her and she’s this incredible, fully assumed artist, it makes me so happy to see. There’s a song on her latest album — it’s the last song, called “I Know The End” — and it’s truly such a work of art. Honestly, if you want to feel like your life is a TV show and this is the finale episode of season one, that’s the perfect song to listen to.2. Scuba DivingI have done maybe 10 dives now; I’m still pretty new. The first time you just want to make sure you’re not going to die or explode. But once I got the hang of it, it became my favorite thing ever. I’m really bad at meditating; I’ve tried and tried and tried and I just can’t do it — I have the app on my phone staring at me at all times. But when you’re diving, you have to focus on your breath very closely, because that’s pretty much informing your buoyancy, so it becomes this super meditative experience. You have this very calm, meticulous cadence to your breath, and you’re in a beautiful place.3. Ottessa MoshfeghI think that she’s probably my favorite author of the moment. I read “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” for a book club, and it’s just so brilliantly worded and funny and heartbreaking. It’s wonderful. And then the book she wrote before that, “Eileen,” really keeps you on your toes. It’s a little bit more of a thriller, and my goodness, it’s so fabulous.4. EuchreI’ve been playing this card game called Euchre, which is like a modified, low-key version of bridge. I truly wish it was more of a mainstream thing — it is just a really nice way to connect with people. If you’re lucky enough to bond with three other people in your life right now, playing Euchre is the way to go.5. Mini TrampolinesWhen I was filming “Sabrina” in Vancouver, I found that the only way I would get any sort of movement was if I brought this mini trampoline to set. Me and my family have accumulated a couple mini trampolines around the house, and it’s become really normalized in our world. But every time a new person sees the trampoline, they’re like, “Why is there a trampoline in your kitchen?” I love jumping on them when I’m watching TV, if I’m just hanging, when I’m bored, if I need to get a little boost going — I find that a little midday bounce really does the trick.6. ‘The Sopranos’I feel like this is a lot of people during quarantine, but I watched the series for the first time. I have now become fully obsessed. I follow every “Sopranos”-related Instagram account that there is, every “Sopranos” meme account — these “Sopranos” Reddit conversations just bring me so much joy. I’ve seen every analysis of the finale on YouTube. I was locked down with my family and my best friend, and my best friend watched it with us — he got me this pair of Tony Soprano sweatpants and Tony Soprano slides. They’ve got Tony’s face on it, a little Prozac pill, the Bada Bing sign. By the end, I just felt like I wanted to make ziti.7. My White SupergasI think I’ve worn the same shoes all year — these are my every day, every night shoes. I’m 5-foot-3, so I like the platform without having to actually wear a heel. I wear with dresses, jeans, sweats — I think it goes with just about everything.8. MargaritasI know I’ve been 21 for like three days. However, I was legal in Vancouver starting at 19 years old, and I spent two years up there, so I have had plenty of margaritas in my short time as a legal drinker. It’s a drink I always go back to. I think there’s a nice novelty in other drinks, but there’s something about the tequila, salt, citrus, light sweetness. Rain or shine, that’s my favorite drink.9. New YorkThe first time I went to New York to promote “Mad Men,” when I was 10, I could not contain my excitement. Honestly, I don’t think there’s a better experience than looking out that plane window and seeing Manhattan. There’s just so many layers of life and memories in that city for me; I really miss it. I really enjoy the Lower East Side, and I know New Yorkers aren’t very excited by Times Square, but I think that there’s a novelty to it — there’s such a cinematic element to that portion of New York. Also, Russ & Daughters for bagels has my heart and soul.10. Tino the Mannequin HeadMy mom got me these mannequin heads that I could do makeup on when I was a kid, just for fun. And for some reason, this one stuck around in the basement for years. When I was maybe 14 or 15, my friends dug it up — they were like, “What is this? It’s haunted for sure.” We’ve given it a life of its own: His name is Tino, and he’s a fixture, I would say, in my friend group. And it does give off really weird cursed vibes. More

“Remind me, is it a good sign when your lawyer starts melting?” Stephen Colbert joked after Rudy Giuliani appeared to sweat hair dye during a news conference. More