(Sorry this is going up late. Margaux and I both had extremely busy days yesterday.)
Margaux and I discuss Wednesday’s damn good episode of Fargo.
Margaux: The mark of a good, or at the very least, entertaining episode of television is the amount of notes it elicits me to take. And hoo boy, did I have THOUGHTS on “Aporia.” Where to start, really? Well, first and foremost, even though Wednesday’s Fargo wasn’t perfect, it was the most focused episode, despite it being a little long. Season 3 has been frustrating to review at times week-to-week and “Aporia” is almost evidence for me as to why, most of the events only seem to land or make more sense in retrospect, and ain’t that life?
What’d you think, Trev?
Trevor: You used a word I really like to use when describing a good episode of TV, and it’s something that I keep coming back to: focus. This season of Fargo has meandered for sure – bowling alley afterlife and all – but “Aporia” really honed its vision; in a lot of ways, although it was overlong, it was almost lean. And it gave us one of my favorite scenes of the season so far (I can’t believe it took this long to get our hero and our villain in direct confrontation, but I think it was worth the wait).
I like the almost quiet beginning of the episode. I’m not talking about the cold open wherein Meemo murdered Marvin Stussy to send a message, but rather Emmit’s confession to Gloria. For some reason I was heartbroken by the detail that he talked Ray into taking the Corvette while taking the stamps for himself. Ray drove that piece of shit ‘vette until literally the end of his life – and it was the stamp that ended up killing him. The Stussy brothers have definitely felt incidental to the plot sometimes, but I think Ewan McGregor really excels in these long monologues. He’s such an empathetic, watchable actor that it makes it impossible to look away from the tragedy of Emmit and Ray.
Margaux: “A lie isn’t a lie if you believe it”: Emmit’s confession revealed what a perfect mark for Varga he’s been along. His confession also made me wonder if there’s a Venn diagram for people who need to seek therapy and slightly too personal confessions. Sure, Emmit committed manslaughter, but it was the guilt over the stamp that ultimately killed them both. Well, killed the version of Emmit he presented to the world. And, as satisfying as it was to get the real, final word on Papa Stussy’s last will and testament, a part of me liked guessing which brother was telling the truth because there’s still something untrustworthy about Emmit.
Trevor: That’s a great point about the death of Emmit’s public persona, and it makes sense that it comes after the hospitalization of Sy, who was largely responsible for maintaining it. And Moe Dammick arresting Donald Wu for the Stussy murders ties in to the episode’s title; I looked up the word “Aporia” on Google, and I’m paraphrasing, but it amounts to proving yourself a liar by telling the truth (the example I read was that of a man from Italy announcing that all Italian men are liars).
Margaux: Clearly we’re both geniuses because I, too, looked up the meaning. Aporia: irresolvable internal contradiction or logical disjunction in text, argument, or theory (wow, does that describe this entire season). The expression of doubt.,
Trevor: Also, this is neither here nor there, but when Wu was arrested, part of me wondered if Wu was somehow Meemo, but we’d been seeing him as a young man all season.
Margaux: I HAD THE SAME THOUGHT! I thought it was alternate universe Meemo cause Lord fucking knows with Fargo. There have been fish-nados, UFOs, Ray Wise as God (???).
Trevor: Which, yeah, makes no sense, and let’s not dig in to the implications of me seeing two Asian actors and thinking they were the same man despite a significant age gap – but this season really plays around with time, aging, and death (like Soviet vampire Yuri Gurka), so I think there’s a case to be made. You know what, I probably shouldn’t have brought this up at all; let’s just talk about Nikki and Mr. Wrench’s badass attack on Varga’s convoy.
Margaux: Look, if there’s one thing I do know it’s that Yuri died so Meemo could actually have lines.
Okay, Nikki and Mr. Wrench’s team up is a lot more fun than I thought, and not just because they make a good team. They way they car jack Meemo and Co was a nice, unexpected turn, and the follow up face-to-face between Varga and Nikki at the hotel of the last bridge tourney she and Ray attended was some unexpected (and welcome) character building for Nikki (seems like they’re trying to still sell her and Ray’s relationship and I BELIEVE THEY LOVED EACH OTHER, OKAY?). I’m also happy to have her bridge knowledge prove to be useful outside of the semi-professional realm she’s used to. The reveal that Varga, despite his teeth, does truly blend in his rumpled, beige trenchcoat was an eerie visual that sticks with you.
Trevor: That was a terrific shot, and was very Coen-esque; they always find the dark absurdity in repetition. Varga vs. Nikki was one of my favorite scenes of this season. There’s always a lot of stakes when you take your two best performers and put them opposite one another. This didn’t disappoint. I liked the touch of Varga trying to hire her, and the interplay of Wrench getting the drop on Meemo (the second time Meemo let someone sneak up on him; gotta stop wearing your earbuds all the time, buddy).
Margaux: Somewhere in my notes I scribbled that you can always count on Thewlis and Winstead to deliver in any scene they’re in, so it was smart to put them together. They’re also both con artists, but of differing garden varieties, but their approaches in screwing over the guy are fairly similar and Varga definitely didn’t count on her actually being smart. SUCK IT, V.M. (I want to know what V.M. stands for too)
Trevor: The scene also had some of my favorite lines, like Nikki’s appraisal of Varga’s outfit: “Very Death of a Salesman.” Or this incredibly ironic line (considering its source): “I’ve never understood this repulsive affinity for playing games.” And what a great aftermath, with Varga just pigging out on rocky road, his mouth superimposed over Emmit’s face, like he’s eating him alive.
Margaux: Truly never need another extreme close up on Varga’s busted mouth for the rest of my days on this earth. And I think we can both agree that if Fargo doesn’t have a season four, they should greenlight the spin-off, Swango and Wrench.
Trevor: That sounds like a kick-ass show, I’m in for whatever it is. If Better Call Saul can work, so can Swango and Wrench.
So, do you have any theories regarding the widow Goldfarb? She’s a much bigger factor in the season than I thought she would have been. I know we haven’t seen the last of her, so where do you think she fits in?
Oh shit! I bet Goldfarb is her maiden name. Do you wanna know what I think her married name was, before she became a widow? VARGA. That’s my new theory.
Margaux: Okay, well it was MY theory first because it’s in my notes! The way she answered Gloria’s line of questioning made it more than clear by the language she used that she and Varga were in cahoots, I just wasn’t sure when or how. Something about being reluctant since the start to disclose much of her “past life” before she moved to St. Cloud that couldn’t find out via Google. We’re onto something!
Trevor: Goddamn, I can’t wait for this season to end, not because I don’t enjoy it but because I want some answers! At least we got some closure on one thing in “Aporia”: Gloria exists. It’s great that Fargo can wring such pathos and such a sense of relief out of something so simple as someone successfully activating a faucet.
Margaux: Well, about that…I have some bad news for you. I hated that happening so soon after such a poignant scene with Winnie, it undercut the emotional payoff from seconds before. We didn’t need what Winnie or Gloria said validated so quickly.
Gloria confessing she feels like she doesn’t exist, that she identifies with the robot from Planet Wyh, was such a beautiful moment. It felt like it was making a comment the current climate for women (hello, Senator Kamala Harris this week). You want to help, you want to do good, but you are often tossed aside, your story questioned or not believe, you’re emotional, you’re reading too much into this. It easy, especially in our nowadays, for women to feel like despite their intelligence and drive, you are unable to accomplish anything. Her moment with Winnie really choked me up, and thinking about now is making me well up. It was a wonderfully written and incredibly acted scene between two women who really believe what they’re saying. It’s a shame they felt like they needed to underline it the faucet scene. It feels good to be seen, and Winnie, followed by the auto sensors of modern world, have given Gloria that.
Trevor: True, I’ll give you that. Maybe it’s cause that scene with Gloria and Winnie was so nice. I just like watching them be friends. But I’m getting off topic, the topic being that I agree with your well-said point. Good scene, should have come later on. Shall we talk stars?
Margaux: More so than its previous seasons, “Aporia” is a great encapsulation of this season of Fargo, the true sum of its parts will have more weight and make more sense when all’s said and done.
4.5/5
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