Margaux and I were floored by this week’s stellar Fargo.
Trevor: I love episodes of Fargo like “Did You Do This? No, You Did It!” It was funny, tense, well-acted, superbly directed (by Keith Gordon, aka Rodney Dangerfield’s son in Back to School), and set some sort of land-speed record for Coen Brothers references. It balanced dialogue, philosophy, and violence with aplomb, and even took time to break your heart. Terrific work.
Margaux: It was definitely one of the more traumatic episodes of this season, and that’s truly saying something. The cold open of the high rise window washers opening fire on a nondescript office, belonging to the Kansas City mob, really set the tone for what was to come for the rest of the episode: it’s going to be a bloodbath, and it was nothing short of that. Was pleasantly surprised by the choice of not picking up directly following where we left off last week, Ed running away from Lou and Hank in the snow and them allowing him to do so. Instead, we caught up immediately with the Gerhardt clan burying Otto and Rye, which was poignant moment filled to the brim with foreshadowing.
Trevor: The opening was terrific, and the use of Jethro Tull’s “Locomotive Breath” was truly inspired; it reinforced the ‘70s aesthetic while managing to impart menace as well. And I choose to believe that the mob higher-ups operating out of a high rise was a nod to Stephen Root’s character in No Country for Old Men. I will not hear otherwise. And the hole motif was great – we saw shots of holes being dug or filled in, with dirt of various liquids, as if everyone involved is digging their own graves or already drowning in them. Such an obvious metaphor shouldn’t work, but neither should anything about Fargo, really.
And I agree with you about the cliffhangers. It was nice seeing none of Dodd, Hanzee, or the Blumquists, and that just made Ed’s mic-drop phone call to Mike Milligan that much more impressive. The Blumquists have a wholly separate sense of agency from eveyrone else, and it’s cool to see them as a team (also, the song playing over the credits was “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In),” a direct nod to The Big Lebowski).
Margaux: When Ricky tells Bear the first time (pretty sure Ed calls at least two more times before calling Mike Milligan to tell him about his ‘lucky day’ offer) someone was on the phone with information on Dodd’s whereabouts, a fire alarm went off to indicate that it was Ed trying to extort the Gerhardts, and calling Bear about it was absolutely the wrong move because Bear don’t give a single F about Dodd. Or his daughter for that matter either. Hearing that Charlie is currently locked up in State Pen and Floyd getting detained for questioning did not help Bear’s merciful side come out and without Karl around, he’s not trying to hear any reason whatsoever.
Trevor: Definitely a great episode for Angus Sampson, who got to show more of Bear’s stoic, taciturn range than he has all season. He’s intimidating as shit, and as the least flamboyant of the three Gerhardt brothers he stands to pose the biggest threat. What’s that, Dodd? You’re going to take the belt to me in front of Hanzee? Oh, well how about I kill your daughter in a scene straight out of Miller’s Crossing? I’m convinced that Simone’s murder was equal parts retribution for the family as a whole and Charlie in particular. And that scene just slew me. Great exit for Rachel Keller; she did a fantastic job there.
Margaux: Cold blooded doesn’t even begin to cover Bear telling Simmone to “kneel down now, it’s already done”; it sent literal chills down my spine, holy mother of God, that was one of the most fucked up things I’ve seen on TV, I applaud Fargo and FX for giving it the thumbs up. Now THAT’S how you kill off a character…THE WALKING DEAD. Not only that, but the shots of the desolate, snow covered forest Bear brings Simone to (with “Danny Boy” as the scene’s soundtrack) was simply gorgeous. I’m unsure if it’s guilt, metaphor, or just plain old rage, but Bear smashing off his cast on the hood of his truck was frightening as all get out – Bear is mad as hell and he’s not gonna take it anymore.
Trevor: Which is going to make for a hell of a confrontation with Lou. One thing I love about Lou is that he’s not afraid to fuck with the Gerhardts on a personal level. There was a small moment that I loved, when Bear told Lou and Schmidt that they should take him instead of Floyd. “No, you’re good,” replies Lou, paying zero attention to Bear. Right before he tells Bear he should visit his son. And that’s to say nothing of his wonderful scene opposite Mike Milligan (which featured Mike saying “Sometimes there’s a man,” another Big Lebowski reference. This show was full of references, and damnit, I’m going to point every one of them out).
Margaux: Lou, just like his wife Betsey, are unafraid of much. Betsey comes home to pairs of strange shoes in her mudroom, and her instinct is, load of the shotgun and prepare to blast some fools. Even though Betsey calls herself a “dud” later on to Karl, I too couldn’t imagine a better fictional coupling than her and Lou, I nearly cried when Betsy tells Karl to relay to Lou in the event of her death that it’s okay for him to get remarried, just not to that woman whose eyes are too small or close together. But there was real sense of danger that never really quite dissipated, from Simone nearly meeting her end, at first at the hands of Mike Milligan and Kitchen Brother, to Betsey trying to feed Hank’s cat Snowball – I was ready for anyone to pop out and shoot her. Though there ended up being no one in Hank’s house, what she finds in his study was really friggin’ weird, is Hank praying to some Aztec Gods for Betsy’s good health? Whatever it was, I thought it was going scare Betsey to death.
Trevor: Between that and the UFOs, Fargo is definitely not afraid to embrace its inner weirdness this season. And I totally agree about the scene with Betsey and Karl. It was a terrific, heartbreaking moment that also showed how well Fargo has expanded its ensemble this season. I love season one, but I don’t think it could have gotten away with a scene like that with two supporting players.
And I’d say the most important development of “Did You Do This?” was that we finally get to Sioux Falls! I was wondering when that was going to happen ever since, well, last season, but more specifically since we got some not so subtle foreshadowing with the Reagan film Massacre at Sioux Falls.
Margaux: It’s been leading up to this for some time now, I think the bigger question is, is Peggy still trying to attend this “better you” seminar? Her and Ed are two delusional peas in a pod, how else would they have the blind confidence to call not only the Gerhardt’s, but also, Mike Milligan to barter for Dodd’s life. And how in the world does Dodd fit in any trunk? He’s a big dude.
Trevor: Cars were bigger in the ‘70s, let’s just go with that. I can’t believe there are only three episodes left this season – not just because I don’t want Fargo to end, but because I can’t believe just how much story Noah Hawley has crammed into these hours. That in itself is a feat.
Margaux: Who knows what’ll happen next, between Floyd’s confession and the Blumquists embracing their inner felons, all we know for sure is that more bodies will drop in the next three episodes. Wanna talk stars?
Trevor: I’d give this a solid 4.5. Like the best Fargo episodes, there was little to no fat on it, and it managed to be so much more than the sum of its references. This show is a remarkable achievement.
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