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"You're making a mistake."
―Lorne Malvo[src]


Lorne Malvo is a main character and the Main Antagonist in Fargo Season 1.

Before his demise, Malvo was a manipulative contract killer and conman based out of Reno, Nevada, who eventually stumbled into Lester Nygaard at the hospital after Lester received a facial injury caused by Sam Hess.

Malvo is the only character that directly opposes the rest of the main characters, serving as the main antagonist in the entirety of the first season. He serves as the main antagonist to Lester Nygaard and Gus Grimly, and as the secondary antagonist to Molly Solverson.

Characteristics[]

Lorne is a manipulative and charismatic sociopath. He is largely defined by his belief that human beings are still very much like primal beasts. He has fully embraced this philosophy and rarely behaves as though he has the slightest inclination of right and wrong.

His lack of empathy and emotion while performing acts of murder form the basis of his personality. He is seen to hold almost no moral values, killing who he needs to; and who he is paid to; to get his job done. He is also willing to kill those whom are vital to his job or career to prove a point; as can be seen when he murders 3 people whilst in Las Vegas with Lester Nygaard. Most of all he holds a cold willingness to kill innocents, and to cause trouble in his daily life for his own amusement. This can be seen with his conversations with many of the inhabitants of Bemidji, Minnesota and Duluth.

It should also be noted that he is willing to admire those who prove themselves to him, notably in the instance where he gives Wes Wrench the chance to go after him in order to avenge Grady's death, mostly because Wrench and Numbers came closer to killing Malvo than anyone else.

Lorne also has a habit of taking personal detours when working on his assignments, as seen in his case of cassettes filled with recordings of those he has met and persuaded into committing crimes, ultimately keeping an audio record of their gradual unravellings for his own amusement.

Early life[]

Little is known about Lorne's early life, although he frequently tells anecdotes of the many people he's met and the situations he's been involved in. He also vaguely brings up the fact that he has worked with other hired criminals in the past and has a degree in Sociology, although most of what he says should be taken with a grain of salt as Malvo is talented in the art of deception.

Season 1[]

"The Crocodile's Dilemma"[]

On January 18, 2006, Lorne was driving a 1993 New Yorker down the highway at night outside Bemidji, Minnesota with a man in the trunk. While driving, he hit a deer, swerved off the road and crashed, and the man in the trunk escaped. Later that day in Bemidji, Lorne met Lester Nygaard, while waiting to get his head injury from the crash treated. After drinking a can of grape flavored Faygo given to him by Lester, Lorne struck up a conversation with Lester about Sam Hess, a man who caused Lester to break his nose earlier that day. He asked Lester if he wanted him to kill Sam Hess. Lester left for his appointment without answering.

S1e1

Lorne speaks with Lester

After he left the hospital he made his way to Sam's workplace to get a good look at his target, meanwhile taunting him and his two sons, Mickey and Moe. That night, Lorne called Mr. Rundle, his employer, about a client in need of his services in Duluth. Lorne told him he will be there in a day or two, making a detour to kill Hess.

Once he found Hess's room in The Lucky Penny, he threw a knife into Sam's head, killing him. He spent that night at Leroy's Motor Inn. There he convinced a boy to urinate in his boss, Loraine's gas tank as revenge for scolding him, then later reported him to her and watched silently from his window.

Lorne visits sam

Lorne at Hess & Sons'

Lorne is approached by Lester the following afternoon at Leroy's and asked if he killed Hess, he told Lester that he never said to not kill him, despite Lester's protests. Lorne advised Lester to learn to stand up for himself.

Later, Lorne called the Hess residence posing as Sam's attorney in order to trick Hess's oldest son, Mickey into thinking all of Sam's vast estate was given to Moe, his younger brother. This causes Mickey to beat Moe with a hockey stick, breaking his collarbone.

That night, Lester called Lorne at Leroy's and asks for his help. Lorne arrived to find Police Chief Vern Thurman about to arrest Lester. Sneaking up from behind he shoots Thurman with Lester's shotgun twice. He went into the basement to look around and finds the remains of Lester's wife, seemingly beaten to death with a blunt object, but disappeared as soon as back-up forces arrived.

Lorne made his way to Duluth to meet his next client. Once he arrived in town speeding, he is pulled over by Officer Gus Grimly. Hearing Grimly's daughter talking on a walkie-talkie inside the car, he asked how old she was and advised Grimly to let him go. Noticing him back off, Lorne rolled up his window and drove away.

"The Rooster Prince"[]

Lorne visits a post-office in Duluth, Minnesota to pick up a package that will tell him about his next client. He asks the teller for a package addressed to Duluth, confusing the teller. Lorne threatens him to look for the package, and he finds it. Opening it, he finds a book and a wallet. According to the ID card inside the wallet, he is "Frank Peterson", a minister.

He leaves and heads for Phoenix Farms, a supermarket owned by Stavros Milos. There, Stavros tells him to find the person who is blackmailing him and stop him. As Stavros is handing him the blackmail note, Stavros' son Dmitri barges in and tells a joke, and is immediately shooed away. Before Lorne leaves, he has Stavros sign the book that he got in the package.

Stavros meets lorne

Lorne meets Stavros

He later visits the Milos residence to find Helena Milos training with her personal trainer. The trainer shakes his hand, and gets tanning grease all over him. Lorne negotiates with Helena about the divorce settlement until Dmitri comes back home. Lorne tells him a cheesy joke, which he enjoys and wonders if his father might like it.

Later, Lorne returns to a motel room where he is playing the recording of his phone call with Lester that he made shortly after killing Pearl. Beside him is a box of cassette tapes from his past clients. Suddenly Wally, the head of security for Stavros who was at the meeting with Lorne and his boss, arrives. He tells Lorne to stop looking for the blackmailer and leave town, not wanting Lorne's "big-city connections" to take over. Lorne says nothing, and instead goes into the bathroom to take a dump while still making eye contact with him. Disgusted, Wally leaves.

"A Muddy Road"[]

The episode opens on the 18th of January, 2006, detailing what transpired the day that Lorne crashed in Bemidji. An office worker that Lorne is hired to kidnap and likely kill, Phil McCormick, is pictured working at his cubicle in Saint Paul, Minnesota. McCormick is visibly distraught, peering past his cubicle to see if anyone is watching him, looking once to find the walkway empty, and on the second time, to Lorne standing at the far end of the hall. McCormick attempts to reason with Lorne that he will pay back his debts, but is quickly overtaken by him, Lorne grabbing him by his necktie and dragging him out of the building with McCormick’s coworkers looking on in horror.

Lorne on camera

Lorne on security footage

It is shown that Lorne is caught on two security cameras when dragging McCormick out of the elevator into the parking lot, although his face is never directly focused into the frame. Lorne stuffs a disrobed McCormick into the trunk of his car and drives away until later in the night, he crashes, causing the trunk to open and allow McCormick to escape into the woods where he later freezes to death.

A-muddy-road-lorne-confronts-don-chumph-about-bronze-on-blackmail-note

Lorne confronts Don

Returning to the present day, Lorne visits Don Chumph’s fitness center and reveals that he knows that Don is the one blackmailing Stavros. Lorne asks Don why he is demanding such a specific amount of money, to which Don responds that he wanted to open a turkish bathhouse. Lorne further questions him by what he meant by “I know about the money”, wanting to know if Stavros had somehow gained a large sum of wealth by illicit means. Don admits that he doesn’t know the details of Stavros’s guilt but that he heard Helena bring up on multiple occasions the fact that Stavros’s story of gaining a loan from his uncle was a lie. Lorne acknowledges that Don is an idiot and informs him that he is now fully in charge of the blackmail scheme.

Later, Lorne meets up with a drug dealer to purchase a large quantity of adderall to replace Stavros’s medication with. When buying the drug, the dealer offers Malvo a zombie survival kit in the case that the world reverts back to “Dog-eats-dog”, to which Lorne admits that the world is already in such a state.

That afternoon, Lorne arrives on Stavros’s property to be met with Stavros’s dog, King, who he then stabs and leaves in front of the house. He then enters Stavros’s house and replaces his medication with the adderall he attained earlier that day. Although Stavros appears in the middle of him switching out the pills, Lorne leaves unnoticed before Stavros finds King’s corpse along with a new blackmail note, now demanding $1,000,000.

Lorne at stavros's

Lorne at Stavros's

Later that evening, Lorne stands in Stavros’s office and inspects his framed red ice pick along with his stained glass mural depicting Saint Lawrence. Stavros arrives with Semenchko, furious over his dog’s death and demands that Lorne pick up the pace of finding the blackmailer. Lorne questions Stavros’s religion after observing the stained glass and crucifix around his neck, Stavros revealing that he has an unorthodox relationship with God but that he is certainly of faith. Lorne convinces Stavros to allow him to move onto his property until he finds the blackmailer, much to Semenchko’s disapproval. Stavros makes it clear to Lorne that his patience is wearing thin, urging him to quicken his pace.

In the last scene of the episode later that night, Lorne is heard narrating Exodus 6:11, regarding the story of Moses and alluding to the punishments that God sent upon Egypt as Stavros is shown in the shower with the water pouring down onto him shifting into blood. Lorne is shown walking away from the house with a smile as Stavros’s screams can be heard in the background, before revealing empty canisters of pig’s blood stashed in the back of his truck.

"Eating the Blame"[]

After Lorne had put pigs’ blood into Stavros’s water system the night before, Don Chumph poses as a plumber hired by Stavros to inspect his plumbing for signs of foul play, to which Don claims to find no evidence of such. Lorne is seen by Don when he leaves the Milos residence, Lorne watching him from across the street.

FrankPeterson

Frank at the station

Not much later, Gus Grimly arrives on the property to investigate the death of Stavros’s dog when he sees and recognizes Lorne standing near the side of the road. When Gus pulls over to arrest him, Lorne runs his hands through his hair and adjusts his collar in order to alter his appearance. As Gus attempts to arrest him, Lorne calmly takes out a cell phone and makes a call, requesting a package for his persona, "Frank Peterson". After dropping the phone per the request of a visibly nervous Gus, Lorne is dumbfoundedly arrested without any resistance, having fully shifted into his Peterson act.

On the way to the station, Malvo repeatedly tells Gus that he is “making a mistake”, referring to the fact that Gus will be saying that phrase in the hours to come.

When the two make it to the Duluth Police Department, Lorne, still in his confused Peterson act, is brought to the front desk. The officer that Gus hands Peterson over to questions what great crime he could have committed for being arrested by someone on animal control duty. Gus tells him that Peterson is the one wanted for car thievery and theft as well as the triple homicide in Bemidji, surprising his coworker who takes Peterson into custody.

Frank calls don

Frank calls Don

While Gus waits for the police chief to confirm if Peterson is the suspect they have been after, Peterson is given a phone call with which he calls Don and asks him if he “has them”. Don, confused by who is the one on the other end of the receiver, admits that the pet store he is at only has a hundred of “them”, to which Lorne responds that there are three other pet stores around town he should stop by. Lorne, after being told his time on the phone is up, tells Don to come pick him up at the Duluth Police Station in two hours.

When Lieutenant Schmidt and Bemidji Police Chief, Bill Oswalt come in to interrogate Peterson, they are suspicious over his demeanor as a minister compared to what crimes Gus claims he is guilty of. Schmidt tells Peterson to cut the act, to which Peterson denies every accusation brought against him. When asked for an alibi, Peterson says that he was at his church for bingo night, giving a few names of the parishioners who were there. When further questioned on the subject of the crimes, Peterson tells the two that Gus suddenly pointed his pistol right at him on the side of the road before arresting him, causing him great anxiety.

Gus confronts frank

Gus confronts Frank

After making a few calls, Schmidt and Oswalt confirm that Peterson’s story checks out and they let him go, much to Gus’s disapproval. When Gus tells the Lieutenant that he’s making a mistake, Lorne turns towards him with a smile, having correctly predicted what would happen before walking out of the station. On his way out, Peterson is confronted by Gus, angry that he had managed to lie his whole way out of the situation. Gus reveals that he knows Peterson’s real name, “Lorne Malvo”, causing him to stop after he had previously dismissed Gus. Turning back to Gus, Frank responds with the fact that “the human eye can see more shades of green than any other color”. Gus is confused by the response before Peterson tells him that the answer to Gus’s question over why he would lie is the same as his own. Frank then leaves and gets into Don’s car filled with the chirping of insects, having reverted back to Lorne Malvo.

Later, Lorne releases the thousands of crickets into Phoenix Farms in order to further complete his book of Exodus upon Stavros, the crickets a reference to the locusts that befell upon Egypt. Don then calls Stavros, demanding that he deliver the $1,000,000 in cash the next morning as Lorne stands atop the roof of the supermarket, watching with a smile at the panic that ensues.

"The Six Ungraspables"[]

Lorne visits the drug dealer again, presumably following the release of the crickets on Phoenix Farms earlier in the day in order to buy a police-scanner as well as a walkie-talkie. He has a short conversation with the dealer, Lorne remarking that he doesn’t have friends and is unfamiliar with modern entertainment references.

Lorne and dealer

Lorne and Dealer

Afterwards, Lorne shows up at Don Chumph’s door so that he can use his phone although Don is hesitant at him appearing on his property, unsure if Malvo should even be coming into direct contact with him the night before they collect the blackmail money. Lorne disregards this and goes into Don’s kitchen before hooking up his tape recorder to the landline to record Stavros Milos, hoping that he specifies where his money originally came from. Stavros doesn’t clarify the fact, although he does tell Lorne that he is going to pay up after realizing the link between the blackmail and the book of Exodus, fearful for the death of his first born and only son. Hoping for reassurance, Stavros tells Lorne that he is sending Dimitri away with Semenchko and asks if he is crazy for being so worked up to which Lorne forebodingly replies that they are only as good as the promises they keep. After Lorne hangs up, Don asks if Stavros will pay , Lorne casually answering with a nod. Shocked at the fact, Don begins to obsessively ramble over the money, leading to Lorne bolting him into his own pantry closet so that he can’t get cold feet before they complete the plan.

Lorne drives stavros

Lorne drives Stavros

Later that night, Lorne picks Stavros up and takes him to Phoenix Farms in order for him to retrieve the money. On the way back to his residence, Lorne brings up the topic of the martyr from the stained glass mural in Stavros’s office, saying that the Romans killed Saint Lawrence because they were raised by wolves. That there are no saints in the animal kingdom, only what can be hunted and when the Romans saw such a saint like Lawrence, they hunted and killed him. Stavros is thoroughly disturbed by the monologue.

Lorne is confronted by neighbor

Neighbor confronts Lorne

Lorne spots Gus Grimly standing in the road soon before they pull up to the Milos residence, but Gus is blinded by his headlights and is unable to see that it is Malvo driving. When they arrive, Lorne is expecting to pick Stavros up later, but Stavros makes it clear that he is done and that Lorne must leave by the morning. Stavros pays him what he owes and leaves.

Later, Lorne comes up to Gus’s apartment and parks outside in hopes of listening in on anything coming through on his walkie talkie, although he only picks up a conversation from Greta. While listening, Gus’s neighbor appears and taps on Lorne’s window, confronting him. The neighbor inferences that Lorne is there for unsavory purposes, telling him to leave or else he’ll call the cops. Amused, Lorne attempts to reason with him before vaguely threatening the neighbor, advising him over the lacking security of the apartment buildings before driving off. The neighbor is left thoroughly disturbed.

"Buridan's Ass"[]

In the morning, Lorne lets Don out of the pantry closet he left him in overnight, informing Chumph that it’s time to make the final call to Stavros. Don is upset that Lorne broke the trust that they had built in their partnership, now wanting a 60% share of the blackmail money. Lorne ignores him, telling Don to get serious before handing him a paper to read from, specifying that he repeats it “word for word”. Don calls up an anxious Stavros and reads to him Lorne’s analogy of a boy born with nothing who’s hatred of those more fortunate than him attracts the darkness, embodied in wolves whispering vengeance. After asking Stavros if he understands the message, Don tells Stavros to meet him at noon in the Gustafson parking garage before hanging up the phone. Afterwards, Lorne asks Don to retrieve the duffel from the kitchen floor and then knocks him unconscious with a blender.

Lorne mocks don

Lorne mocks Don

Later, Don wakes up to the sound of Lorne’s police scanner picking up a conversation from the Duluth PD before realizing his mouth is duct taped as well as the rest of him to his aerobics machine. Lorne appears, informing Don that the 60-40 deal isn’t going to work for him before taping a shotgun into Don’s hands, pointed straight towards the front door. Lorne reveals his plan that if Stavros does call the cops, they will be too busy responding at Don's house to answer. A frantic Don attempts to shoot Lorne with the shotgun, finding it unloaded before Lorne fires a few rounds towards the neighbor's house, intending for them to call the police. After hearing the SWAT report go through on his police scanner, Lorne takes his things and leaves.

Lorne kills grady

Lorne kills Grady

Lorne heads to the Gustafson parking garage to pick up the blackmail money as a blizzard hits, listening through the police scanner as the police surround Don's house and open fire, eventually killing him. After turning the radio off, two cars surround him, causing him to crash before Grady Numbers and Wes Wrench appear with automatic rifles, shooting towards him. Lorne manages to escape in the whiteout of the blizzard and hides from the two. When the two men split up, Lorne slices his hand open and creates a trail of blood, luring Numbers away before stabbing him in the back. Lorne demands to know who sent them, Numbers refusing to comply before being finally telling him that it was Fargo, to which Lorne removes the knife and slices his throat. After leaving him to bleed out, Lorne takes Number's gun and flees further into the whiteout, spotting Molly Solverson who shoots Wrench before turning back to find Lorne gone.

"Who Shaves the Barber?"[]

Who-shaves-the-barber-malvo-in-mr-rundles-chair

Lorne at Rundle's

In Reno, Nevada, Lorne meets with his contractor, Mr. Rundle in order to find those responsible for putting the hit out for him in Fargo. He waits for Rundle in his office until he arrives, acknowledging the map on Rundle’s wall and asking why he has a pin in every state but Georgia, to which Rundle replies that it was due to his ex-wife, Georgia, despising him. Rundle asks Lorne if he intends to kill him, though Lorne instead reveals that he is there because of Wrench and Numbers attacking him back in Duluth and that it was Fargo who sent them. He then tells Rundle that he only has two questions. The first: Did Rundle put out the hit for him? And the second: Who does he need to see about this in Fargo? Rundle tells Lorne that he doesn’t deal in personal quarrels and that none of the clients have called in on Lorne’s behavior so it must be a personal affair, leaving Lorne unsatisfied with his answer. Lorne, having run out of patience, tells Rundle that he can either be shot dead or answer his question: Who does he talk to in Fargo? The scene cuts to Lorne walking out of the workplace before a feminine scream is heard from inside, leaving Rundle’s fate unknown.

Lorne in fargo 1

Lorne in Fargo, North Dakota

Later, In Fargo, North Dakota, Lorne enters the building where the Fargo Crime Syndicate is located and shoots up the building with a machine gun. Although he is hidden from view, Lorne presumably kills everyone present, screams and gunfire heard as he makes his way through the building until he reaches Moses Tripoli’s office and kills him. Lorne lastily kills Jergen, who he throws out of the top window down to the pavement below, alerting Agent Budge and Pepper who had been stationed outside.

The police are soon to show but Lorne escapes without effort, leaving through the back door. He watches the officers and locals begin to congregate outside the building before slipping into the crowd of citizens, disappearing from the scene.

"The Heap"[]

In Duluth, Wrench’s hospital room is being watched over by a guard who leaves to use the restroom before Lorne appears, sneaking up behind the police officer and strangling him to death with the loop of a belt. Lorne then goes into Wrench’s room and waits for him to wake up, reading off Wrench’s medical file. Malvo discovers that he’s deaf, telling Wrench once he’s awoken about the few people he’s worked with who had physical handicaps, but that he’s never met one who had no sense of hearing. Lorne then tells Wrench that he was the one who killed Numbers, to which Wrench attempts to attack him but is restrained by a set of handcuffs to his bed. Wrench attempts once more after Lorne further reveals he also killed off the remaining members of the Fargo Mob. Lorne stands to make leave, though he pauses to admit that Wrench and Numbers came the closest so far to kill him, giving Wrench the key to the handcuffs and the compromise that if Wrench still feels raw about the ordeal later on, he can come and find him.

Lorne admires wrench

Lorne admires Wrench

A year later, while sitting at the bar in Las Vegas, Nevada after an awards ceremony, Lester is having a drink before he recognizes Lorne sitting at a table across the room, Lorne now with white hair and accompanying a group of people. Lorne is seen from behind telling a story to the group, though his dialogue fades off into an ominous orchestra, with only the back of his head shown but his voice distinctly Malvo’s. The scene fades to black as the orchestra darkens into the credits.

"A Fox, A Rabbit, and A Cabbage"[]

A dentist is shown to be working on the inside of a man’s mouth, telling an anecdote of a time when he went five days without sleep to cram for a final back in dental school before he ends the appointment and takes off his mask, the dentist revealed to be Lorne now posing as “Dr. Michaelson” in Kansas City, Missouri. After sending the patient away, his coworker, Burt Canton, appears and reminds Michaelson of their golf plans for the following week, to which Mick replies in turn for him to stop by his dinner party that Sunday night.

At the dinner party, Mick picks through a few albums and puts on a Lemon Pipers record before his significant other, Jemma Stalone, appears, in awe of their apparent engagement. Mick compliments Jemma, the two flirting with one another until Burt and his wife, Louise arrive. Later, Mick and Burt are alone in the kitchen having a discussion about their significant others over a bottle of wine. During the talk, Burt brings up his estranged brother, remarking that he wishes Mick could meet him. He reveals that his brother is in witness protection after turning over state evidence against a crime syndicate set in Chicago, the two siblings having yet to see one another in over a year. Burt suggests that Mick and Jemma accompany him and his wife on a trip to Vegas where they will meet his brother. Mick agrees to the venture.

Lorne listens to tape

Mick listens to his tapes

Alone later that night, Mick sits and listens to one of his cassette tapes- a recording of one of his clients accusing Lorne of destroying his life. The tape comes to an end after police sirens are heard in the background before the man shoots himself. Mick pulls his earbuds out after the recording ends and leans back, staring blankly ahead.

Lesters sees mick

Lester approaches Mick

In Las Vegas, the two men and their partners sit in a bar while Mick entertains the group with a story about a Novocaine shot gone wrong. Burt reminds Mick not to bring his phone with him when they go to see his brother the next morning. Before Mick can specifically ask who’s after Burt’s brother, Lester approaches the table and attempts to engage him. Mick does not recognize him despite Lester’s continued insistence, Lester finally catching on and stepping back. The group, now thoroughly uncomfortable at the interaction, decide to leave for the elevator. Mick turns back to Lester for a moment and quietly threatens him to walk away.

As the group enters the elevator, Burt inquires who Lester was, though Mick brushes it off as being misidentified. Before the elevator closes, Lester manages to push past the door and joins the four. He demands that Mick recognize him, saying that the “new Lester” won’t let Mick dismiss his presence. Mick tells him to stop, staring him down. Shifting back to Malvo, he asks Lester: Is this what he wants? Lester is confused before Lorne repeats himself, wanting Lester to answer his questions. After a moment, Lester agrees before Lorne immediately reveals a pistol, shooting Burt, then Louise, and finally Jemma while maintaining eye contact with Lester during the process. Lorne tells Lester that their deaths are on him before revealing that he’s been working with Burt for six months in order to get the $100,00 bounty on his brother’s head which has now gone to waste. The elevator arrives on the basement level, Lorne telling Lester to help him dispose of the bodies before Lester hits him in the head and flees. Lorne watches him run away, simply saying that they will soon meet again.

Elevator

Lorne and Lester in elevator

Later, Lorne arrives in Bemidji searching for Lester. He first goes to his house before finding that he’s moved, though the new occupants of the house tell Malvo where Lester is currently working. Lorne brings up the fact that a murder took place in the household, leaving the new owners disturbed at the insinuation that it may be haunted. Lorne then makes his way to Nygaard Insurance, though it is closed. Unsuccessful with his first two attempts of finding Lester, Lorne stops at Lou's Coffee Shop and has a conversation with Lou Solverson after ordering a slice of apple pie and a coffee. Lorne asks if Lou has any information he could pass on regarding Lester, though Lou dismisses him and brings up a case he worked on earlier in his career as a police officer. They speak vaguely of the Sioux Falls case before Lorne leaves, having gained no new information on Lester.

Lorne speaks with lou

Lorne speaks with Lou

Later that night, Lorne stakes out at Lester’s office and waits for him to appear. Linda is sent in with Lester’s jacket on in order to retrieve their passports from the safe, but is shot in the back of the head by Lorne, mistaking her for Lester. Upon realizing his mistake, Lorne leaves out the front door and scans the parking lot for Lester. Seeing no one, he lights a cigarette and leaves.

"Morton's Fork"[]

In an isolated cabin later in the night, Lorne listens to his police scanner while fixing dinner. After hearing Molly report that she has Lester in custody and wants Agents Budge and Pepper to drop by, he gathers his supplies and heads towards the Bemidji Police Station.

Once there, he breaks into the agents’ car and steals a book from their glove compartment.

The next morning, Lorne leaves the cabin in a red BMW while unbeknownst to him, Gus watches from afar.

Outside of the station, Lorne uses the stolen book to pose as an FBI agent on the phone and gets the name of Budge and Pepper as well as cancelling their backup. Lorne then arrives at a used-car lot and inquires of the salesman about one of the cars that he describes as resembling an undercover vehicle. Although the salesman is hesitant at first to do a test drive so early in the day, he relents and gives Lorne the keys after calling shotgun. Lorne then gets on the highway and discreetly follows the Budge and Pepper's car.

Lorne at dealership

Lorne at car dealership

Lorne breaks into lesters

Lorne breaks into Lester's

After the agents escort Lester to his house and stand guard, Lorne’s vehicle pulls up alongside the residence. Although they believe it to be their backup at first, after a moment where no one exits the car, they draw their firearms. The two approach the car only to find that it’s the salesman driving with his hands taped to the wheel. The salesman apologizes before Lorne appears in the distance and shoots Budge and Pepper, killing them. He approaches the salesman who pleads for his life, but the scene cuts away, leaving his fate unknown.

Lorne then drags the agents’ corpses behind a pile of wood before breaking into Lester’s house and silently following Lester’s voice. He enters the bedroom and hears Lester frantically call the police through the door of the bathroom, though before he can make it, he steps on a bear trap that Lester had planted. Distracted, Lorne ducks for cover as Lester appears from the bathroom and takes a shot at Lorne- though he misses. Lorne throws an award from the floor at him which stuns him before he attempts another shot to find his gun drawn. Lester flees back into the bathroom as Lorne shoots at him, waiting a few moments before opening the door to find him gone. A trail of blood leads out the front door, with both Lorne and the agents’ cars gone.

Lorne's Death

Lorne's death

Lorne drives back to the cabin and tends to his leg wound. He notices a lone wolf standing outside through the window before Gus appears with his gun drawn. Gus tells him that he’s solved his riddle, to which Lorne mocks him before Gus shoots him three times in the chest. Believing that he’s dead, Gus approaches him only to find that Lorne is still alive. Lorne struggles to rise from his position, baring his bloody teeth at Gus before smiling. Gus then shoots two more bullets into his head which finally kills Malvo.

Later, Molly and Gus find tapes in the cabin and they listen to Lester’s recorded conversation on the phone confessing to his wife’s’ murder- finally proving his guilt.

Episode appearances[]

Season 1[]

Murders committed[]

Committed by Malvo[]

Connected to Malvo[]

  • Phil McCormick - Freezes to death after escaping a kidnapping by Lorne. (January 18 2006) (The Crocodile's Dilemma)
  • Don Chumph - Shot to death by Duluth Police Department in a shooting orchestrated by Lorne. (January 25 2006) (Buridan's Ass)
  • One Of His Clients - Commited suicide to avoid being arrested over a recorded phone call (A Fox, A Rabbit, and A Cabbage)

Trivia[]

  • Lorne keeps cassette tapes of all of his past clients.
  • Lorne is the first main character to die.
  • Says he has a degree in sociology

Season 1 characters
Main Lorne MalvoMolly SolversonGus GrimlyLester Nygaard
Recurring Ben SchmidtBill BudgeBill OswaltBo MunkBurt CantonChaz NygaardDon Chumph
Gina HessGrady NumbersGreta GrimlyIda ThurmanJemma StaloneKitty NygaardKnudsen
Linda ParkLou SolversonMax GoldPearl NygaardStavros MilosVern Thurman
Wally SemenchkoWebb PepperWes Wrench
All characters

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