After he whapped him twice with the blade, he got a biscuit, reemed the last bit of mustard out of the jar and put it on the biscuit and then ate it!
That is my only problem with the movie. I don't care how drunk I was, I know I wouldn't remain seated while a man stood over me with a large blade in his hand... especially after he had just asked me how to contact the police. I mean, honestly, which one of these guys was the mentally slow one? Both, it seems to me.
It is noteworthy that no one ever told Doyle why Karl had been institutionalized. Doyle just assumed that he had done something benign. Still, Doyle failed to take account of a red flag. Karl came into the bedroom at 4 am with a hammer - not because he was stupid, but because he was dangerous. And I just don't think that anybody would have kept sitting there while a grown man stood over them with a sharp blade in hand, glaring at them. BBT should have told Dwight Yoakam to at least try and stand up before the blade came down. That would have been more realistic. Just my opinion.
Yeah, everyone knew but Doyle. Karl told Frank right in the beginning, while they were carrying "warsh" home from the laundromat. Bill Cox (owner of the lawn equipment repair shop) was told by the sanitarium administrator (Jerry). Bill Cox told the other guys who worked there about Karl's "history". Karl told Linda that night she made him biscuits, after Doyle had freaked out after the "concert". And I'm pretty sure that Linda told Vaughn that night they were having dinner (without Doyle), but I would have to check that. Vaughn may not have known either. That is an important point about the movie. Doyle never regards Karl as a threat until a blade is headed for his skull.
Doyle is the alpha of a wolfpack of zeroes. No one steps up to him. Carl is another zero that he can easily dominate. It’s contempt and arrogance that keeps him seated. He won’t even stand up when one of these lesser thans is confronting him with a weapon. He rules from his easy chair and he doesn’t get up for anyone. He doesn’t think Carl’s got the guts to lay a hand on anyone, because no one else does either. Carl didn’t need to be egged on to do what he does but it’s a fitting end to the scene.
