Margaux and I talk another brilliant episode of Fargo.
Trevor: I love being wrong about actors and actresses. I was skeptical of Kirsten Dunst’s involvement in Fargo – simply put, I didn’t think she had the chops to stand among her fellow cast members (but after seeing Drop Dead Gorgeous I knew she’d have no problem with the Minnesota accent). I was wrong! Noah Hawley (who directed this episode) was right! Kirsten Dunst is acting the shit out of Peggy Blomquist, and there’s a serious chance she’ll be my favorite character before season two draws to a close, at least if I’m correct about the hints that “Before the Law” was dropping.
Margaux: So glad you brought up Drop Dead Gorgeous because between “Before the Law” and last week’s episode, K.Dunst is channeling the most deranged version of Amber Atkins and I am living for it. Not only do she and Meth Damon make for a perfect Aryan couple, their wholesome and sweet exterior make for the wonderful cover for their budding crime scene clean up duo. Jesse Plemons grinding up Rye’s body in the butcher shop after hours was not only a really great, subtle nod to Steve Buscemi’s leg getting hacked up in a wood chipper, he does it with such a dead eyed look on his face you can’t tell if he’s truly dead on the inside or just trying to disassociate from the entire situation. Either way, more of the Bloomquist’s please!
Though I must admit, they’re in a tie for first for favorite character, with Mike Milligan quickly becoming the Adam Goldberg of this second season.
Trevor: Agreed, and we will get to Bokeem Woodbine in a sec, but I have to mea culpa some more, because my two favorite parts in “Before the Law” involved Peggy, and they were both very telling. The first was when her coworker asks what gets locked up in castles. Peggy’s response: “Dragons?” If Peggy is the one locked up, to follow her coworker’s analogy, then she’s also the dragon. The second part I loved was just a brief shot of Peggy in the garage, while the song on the soundtrack sang “Kansas City here I come.” I don’t have to explain the importance of that line, focused on that character, on this show involving the Kansas City mob. I suspect Peggy will become involved with Mike Milligan before too long, once someone finds out that the Blomquists are responsible for Rye’s death.
Margaux: Peggy’s co-worker, the same one who prompts the “Dragons?” response from her, discovers all of the stolen toilet paper Peggy pretends to know nothing about (deny till you die seems to be her M.O.) pretty much calls it, Peggy is a bit of a bad girl. And I’m not sure if her co-workers slowly getting wise to her will spell certain death or not.
Trevor: I think she’s not long for this world, and Ed is going to be making some more sausage soon. Speaking of which, yes, that was absolutely a Fargo movie reference, and how tense was that scene with Lou in the butcher shop? There was none of the cat-and-mouse tension of season one, because neither Lou nor Ed are characters we root against. But there’s no way Ed could have explained a bunch of fingers rolling around on the floor (a darkly funny and very Coenesque touch). Fargo is better at suspense than pretty much any other show on the air right now.
Margaux: It’s the suspense mixed with the nervous laughter you just have to release because you never know when the other shoe will drop, for any of the characters, whether you’re rooting for or against them. Fargo does a really outstanding job of throwing literally every rule and trope you think you know and saying FUCK IT to them. Like, who would bring their wife and child TO A CRIME SCENE ON THEIR LUNCH BREAK?! Lou motherfuckin’ Solverson, that’s who. Even though there is literally no one around for miles, I still felt like the whole family was in danger, but oddly relieved when Betsy finds the gun, of all things, in the snow/bushes, despite Molly being way too close for comfort to the whole thing.
Trevor: Great scene, and so indicative of this show’s approach to tension. Get the audience to the point where they can barely take it, then allow them to exhale. The discovery of Rye’s gun led to a nice adorable moment with Lou and Betsey, as Lou explained to Molly, “Mommy’s doing daddy’s job again.” And then, when it looked like we could relax for a second, we got the roadside confrontation between Hank, Mike Milligan, and the Kitchen brothers, which is as of now Fargo’s tensest scene (non-Lorne Malvo division). In an episode so soundtrack-heavy, “Before the Law” was at its most insidious when it allowed silence to permeate everything.
(Also, is Mike Milligan going to be one of those characters we can only refer to by their full name? Seems that way. Typing “Mike” and leaving it at that seems weird.)
Margaux: He is the Denise Hemphill of Fargo, plus, Mike is such a common name it seems insulting to only address him as such, and he clearly doesn’t want to be known as just another “Mike”. Our first introduction to Mike Milligan is the sort of telling character work where story and acting merge to make you feel like Mike Milligan is real person and we’re actually watching a reality series and not a narrative one. Who knew typewriters could be so menacing? And his complaint letter to G.E. over their automatic coffee maker he bought at Sears (RIP Sears), “sounds like a fat man dying,” is the sort of great Amazon review of late that makes you laugh and not want to purchase the heap of crap.
Trevor: Woodbine balances humor and menace perfectly, which is exactly what his role calls for. It’s a Fargo trademark, and he’s nailing it. Everything about Mike Milligan stands out, and it’s not just because he’s the only black guy in Minnesota in the late ‘70s. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him, especially when his laid-back demeanor inevitably clashes with Dodd Gerhardt’s war hawk attitude. He didn’t even want to hear Kansas City’s offer; his response was immediately “So it’s war.” This is the kind of guy that could be goofy – with that accent, anyone can – but Jeffrey Donovan, with his narrow eyes and too-tight shirts, brings a real sense of danger to Dodd’s physicality. He really fills a room with his presence. Amazing that he can make such an impression after only two episodes.
Margaux: A lot like The Knick, Fargo has an innate ability to make the past feel way too much like the present; the buyout of a crime ring sounds an awful lot like current tech company acquisitions, oh sure nothing will “change” just who you report to, but I think Dodd accurately suspects that there is way that meets the eye than what Ray Romano’s brother (Brad Garrett) leads them to believe.
Trevor: That’s an excellent way of putting it. And that’s absolutely something that Fargo is not only aware of, but focused on. A lot of “Before the Law” concerned itself with the downfall of America, of American hopes, ideals, and even identity, in the wake of the Vietnam war. That’s why Reagan is such a central figure, if only (for now) in posters. His campaign slogan was “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” and to millions of people he represented hope. And let’s not forget that Hank basically spells this out for the audience, as he tells Lou, “Sometimes I wonder if you boys didn’t bring that war home with you.”
Margaux: Even in smaller, passerby way as well it’s mentioned; someone at Peggy’s salon bemoaning about losing faith after Watergate, Mike Milligan wondering aloud in his G.E. letter what America is coming to if he can’t even get a decent coffee maker, which like, fair – don’t fuck with peoples coffee makers. All of these nods are made more pressing and fitting too because it’s election season. Take notes, SNL
Trevor: I’m loving this new storytelling approach. Season one of Fargo was much more philosophical, exploring the nature and existence of evil (and in that way echoing another Coen film, No Country for Old Men). Season two, this far in at least, is more blatantly critical, and the show is well-served by it. And the nicest thing is, I don’t have to worry about Fargo. Much like, yes, The Knick, (the OTHER best show on the air), Fargo being good is something you can more or less take for granted. Which calls into question the relevance of these reviews, but let’s not talk ourselves out of a job just yet.
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