"The Law of Inevitability" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American anthology black comedy–crime drama television series Fargo. It is the 27th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producers Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi and directed by Mike Barker. It originally aired on FX on May 31, 2017.
The season is set primarily in 2010, in three Minnesota towns: St. Cloud, Eden Valley, and Eden Prairie. It follows the lives of a couple, Ray Stussy and Nikki Swango, who, after unsuccessfully trying to rob Ray's wealthy older brother Emmit, become involved in a double murder case. One of the victims is an old man with a mysterious past whose stepdaughter, Gloria Burgle, is a policewoman. Meanwhile, Emmit tries to cut his ties with a shady organization he borrowed money from a year before, but the company, represented by V. M. Varga, has other plans. In the episode, Nikki is arrested for Ray's murder, while Emmit and Sy's friendship starts falling apart.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.03 million household viewers and gained a 0.3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received extremely positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances, character development and directing. Mr. Wrench's return, however, divided critics; some found it refreshing and interesting, while others deemed it unnecessary and not fitting within the season's context.
Plot
Gloria (Carrie Coon) and Winnie (Olivia Sandoval) find Ray (Ewan McGregor) dead in his apartment. The police later arrests Nikki (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) at her motel room after she failed to escape through a window. She is taken to the St. Cloud's police station, where she is informed by Chief Dammik (Shea Whigham) of Ray's death and her suspected role in his death. Nikki refuses to cooperate and requests a lawyer, but is clearly affected by Ray's death.
Winnie is ordered to return to traffic duty, while Dammik tells Gloria to stop trying to pursue the case as it has fallen out of jurisdiction. In Eden Valley, Gloria's partner, Donny (Mark Forward), finds Yuri (Goran Bogdan) stealing Ennis Stussy's file. Yuri threatens him and leaves the place with the file. Emmit (McGregor) meets with Sy (Michael Stuhlbarg) and Ruby Goldfarb (Mary McDonnell) for dinner. However, his trauma at Ray's death almost ruins it. The dinner is also interrupted when Winnie talks with Emmit to inform him of Ray's death. Emmit acts very defensive and suggests Nikki was involved. Sy takes Emmy out of the restaurant, while Winnie decides to question Ruby.
Sy drives Emmit home, suggesting that they should get rid of Varga (David Thewlis) by selling Stussy Lots. Emmit gets even more defensive, accusing Sy of working with Ray, which he denies. Emmit is not convinced and leaves without further talking with Sy. Sy then sees that Varga has been staring at them, inside from Emmit's house. When Varga questions Emmit on how he feels, Emmit says "free", but clearly remains devastated. Sy returns home to his wife, where he cries, stating "the world is wrong".
Gloria attempts to interrogate Nikki, but the department policies prevent her from filing the form necessary to do so without the Chief's approval. At her cell, Nikki is approached by a police officer, who turns out to be a hitman named Golem (DJ Qualls) working for Varga. Gloria enters the room and holds him off, but the man manages to escape while she is reprimanded by the officers and Dimmik for entering without a form. To make things worse, security footage is sabotaged. While questioned by the police, Nikki only says that the police need to follow the money. For violating probation, Nikki is placed in a prison bus. In the bus, she is placed next to Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard). As the bus takes its route, the driver gets distracted when Yuri appears on the road, causing it to crash. Nikki loses consciousness while Yuri and his men work to make their way through the bus.
Production
Development
In May 2017, it was reported that the seventh episode of the season would be titled "The Law of Inevitability", and was to be directed by Mike Barker and written by series creator Noah Hawley, and co-executive producers Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi. This was Hawley's 20th writing credit, Wolpert's fourth writing credit, Nedivi's fourth writing credit, and Barker's first directing credit.