For avid TV watchers, there are few times when a series can successfully surprise, jolt and pull you into its story. FX's "Fargo" skillfully accomplishes it. If there's one thing fans didn't expect, it was the ruthless, cold-blooded killing of Simone Gerhardt (Rachel Keller). The teenager's death was a shocking revelation of the anger Bear (Angus Sampson) harbours toward his brother and her dad, Dodd (Jeffrey Donovan).

Bear's decision to kill his own niece was perhaps motivated by the fact that his brother was missing, and maybe killed. This assumption, however, is quickly proved wrong. At the end of Episode 7, the Gerhardts receive a call from Ed Blomquist (Jesse Plemons) revealing that he has Dodd. Of course we will watch the crime family scramble to find the eldest son of the Gerhardts in Episode 8, but it is a little more difficult to predict if Ed will survive the rest of the show.

Since Season 2 premiered, the butcher of Luverne has often been at odds with his own guilty conscience unlike his wife Peggy (Kirsten Dunst), for whom survival defines all her actions. In contrast, Ed is often naïve, simple and lackadaisical. It's difficult to believe the butcher has a devious idea to overcome the existential threat posed by the Gerhardts. Nevertheless, his call implies he has a plan to get the crime family out of his life and marriage. But we doubt if this plan will work.

The crime family is almost coming apart at the seams, with most of them either dead or in jail, but their motivation to kill Ed has never been stronger. That is, excluding Hanzee's desire to end Ed and Peggy's life. 

"Fargo" Season 2 Episode 8 titled "Loplop" airs on Monday, 30 November at 10 pm on FX.