Margaux and I reunite for a lengthy discussion of last night’s Fargo.
Trevor: I love the orchestra metaphor – introduced by Billy Bob Thornton – in “The Narrow Escape Problem,” as it cannily sums up Noah Hawley’s approach to Fargo. Even when the disparate plotlines seem to be divergent, which was something we’ve talked about earlier in the season, episodes like “Narrow Escape” show us that they’re just different parts of the same melodious whole. Gloria strengthens Emmit, who strengthens Ray, who strengthens Varga. All of them have parts to play, and the show at its best proves just how integral every part is.
Margaux: Although the characters mostly fit the description (of course Gloria is Peter, she’s the boring one; ha, Ray is the Duck), I’m not sure how literally we are supposed to take it, but I appreciated the lyrical nature of the cold open followed by the foreboding theme of Fargo. Damn it, you called out the Billy Bob thing before I could, I was so proud I recognized his voice because I had to look up the robot voices from last week (David Thewlis and Ewan McGregor). I know you loved “The Law of Non-Contradiction,” so I’m glad we didn’t talk about it because I had opposite feelings, but I’m happy to report I found “The Narrow Escape Problem” to be a fully engaging episode that felt like it had a point.
Trevor: It was definitely more plot-driven than last week’s (which of course was one of the reasons I loved last week’s, but we won’t get into that), which I also appreciated. Fargo is one of those shows where things either happen so sneakily that you don’t even notice (it’s like Better Call Saul in that regard), or where things happen in something like a frenzy of narrative. But I never get the sense that Hawley’s hand is unsteady on the tiller; just the opposite, in fact. I love it when this show surprises me. Ray dressing up as Emmit – him putting on the wig was my second-favorite sight gag of “Narrow Escape” – but it never occurred to me that he would do it, even though it’s so obvious (Ewan McGregor really looks like Ewan McGregor). And it’s a testament to McGregor’s performance that even while dressed up as Emmit, you can still tell that Ray is Ray. And it makes for a fascinating performance; McGregor is playing one of his characters in the guise of another of his characters. That can’t be easy.
Margaux: Really? You didn’t see Ray posing as Emmit coming from a mile away? The second Nikki took that safe deposit box, it was only a matter of time – in my eyes.
Trevor: In hindsight, yes, you’re right, but it seemed so obvious that Fargo wouldn’t do it, but when it happened my reaction was “Oh, of course they’re doing it.” I contain multitudes. None of them are smart.
Margaux: Well, I feel for that woman whose first day at the bank it was when he boss shouted at her to “remember the faces.” I suppose it could be worse, if Ray looks enough like Emmit to take out ten grand and have a locksmith drill open his safe deposit box (after his whole swinging-dick-as-Emmit-routine), she’ll be fine. So, out of the all things you expected to see in the box, where was “a dog’s cremated ashes” on your list? I honestly didn’t even get what it was, I wrote in my notes, if this releases a Mummy-style curse, I will chop my own head off.
Trevor: Definitely did not see ashes coming (hats off, that’s a very Coen touch), but I really liked that the bag said LUVERNE on it, and the bank woman had just transferred up from Bemidji. It made for a nice nod to the show’s previous seasons. I really did like that sequence, though; Ray was clearly so uncomfortable playacting as Emmit, at least in the beginning, that it made for a nice source of both comedy and tension. In relation to Coen brothers movies – and I know the show is its own entity, but it’s definitely a part of that world – what Fargo gets right most often is the sense that random violence could occur at any time. (There are also some great references in this episode, which I’ll enumerate later, because that stuff appeals to me as an asshole.)
Margaux: Haha it’s really hard to argue with that aside. But this is perfect segue, and forgive me for circling back to the cold open quickly, but isn’t there something Wes Anderson-y to Fargo? The cold open reminded of Fantastic Mister Fox, the way Yuri and his headphone wearing sidekick dress has a Chas Tenenbaum and his sons aesthetic to it. I mean, same creator, different show, but Legion smacked of the Anderson touch, too. I don’t mean to get too off topic, I just want to see if I’m the only one, since everyone always goes on and on about what a great Coen pastiche this is (not to say it isn’t, I’m just also an asshole).
Trevor: Deadpan narrators will always remind me of Alec Baldwin in The Royal Tenenbaums, which is arguably the platonic ideal of an unnecessary narrator (although Michael Gambon in Hail, Caesar! is a lot of fun). So no, you’re not the only one who thought that, but you put it better than I could have. I have a different theory, which I just thought up and which is almost certainly wrong: what if it wasn’t Thornton narrating, but Lorne Malvo? This is a strange world; there are UFOs, and fish fall from the sky, and I’m still not convinced that Lorne Malvo was a man and not the actual devil. And we know that he likes messing with people for no reason beyond personal amusement, and a feud between brothers that’s already claimed two lives is very biblical. I want to be clear and say that I don’t think I’m right, but it’d be awesome if I was. We’re getting way off topic, haha.
Margaux: While we’re on the topic of biblical symbolism, we might as well talk about Varga, who I described in my notes as, “of course the wolf…but also, bulimic?” He always seems to literally appear out of thin air. When he shows up at Emmit’s house to invite himself to dinner, he seriously materializes out of the corner of the screen and knocks on his door. No car, no nothing – just, bloop, invite me in – LEARN FROM THE THREE LITTLE PIGS, EMMIT!
Trevor: Oh man, that’s a great note, I didn’t see that he had no car. Everything about Varga is so quirky and terrifying at the same time. The bulimia is an interesting touch. It definitely helps explain his teeth, but I’m not sure what else it adds to the character other than making him more off-putting. Thewlis does a fine job of that himself. My favorite line reading of the episode is when he looks at Emmit and intones, “Why do I feel you’re not happy we met?”
Margaux: The way Varga finds out everything he needs to know about Emmit – from his brotherly feud to his business earning – from Facebook and a couple Google searches is not only terrifying – do your due diligence, kids! – but also the closest we’ve gotten to Fargo’s initial premise (a critique on how everyone lives their lives a little too much online).
Trevor: True, we haven’t gotten too much of that, apart from last week when Officer Mac from Sunny was proselytizing about Facebook. I don’t want to go too long on this, but I do want to just randomly shout out some things that I loved. First is Ray admitting to his relationship with Nikki, and accepting his termination as a consequence thereof. He didn’t lie, he didn’t pretend he’d break it off, he just admitted that he loved her, which I thought was a really sweet moment. And it led to my favorite sight gag of the show, which is Sy (who had a hell of an episode, even if we haven’t touched on him) triumphantly pulling away, revealing that he’s outfitted Ray’s car with not one but two boots. And lastly, the very spooky touch that not only will doors not open for Gloria, but faucets and hand dryers won’t work for her either. You were right, there’s a strong chance that she’s a ghost. Or a robot. She could be MNSKY from last week’s episode and it would only come as a mild shock.
Margaux: I’m telling you, we have a Safe Haven scenario on our hands here. And my God, Sy. He’s the Donnie of Fargo, out of his fucking element. And some strangers are about to find him in the Alps.
Before we do our Springer-esque final thoughts, can we touch down on Winnie Lopez? First of all, is she supposed to look like Betsy Solverson? At this rate, her and Gloria will this case busted wide open by the end of next week.
Trevor: I’m really excited to see them working together. I’ll admit, when I first heard Winnie’s voice, I thought it might be a Molly cameo, because all Midwestern voices kind of blend together for me.
Margaux: Racist.
Trevor: But even though we got no Molly, I still really enjoyed Olivia Sandoval’s performance as Winnie, and I look forward to seeing more of her. Gloria made a friend! I’m unironically happy for her.
Oh, before we do wrap up, I want to take us to Trevor’s Coen Corner, a new feature everyone will hate! Varga putting down a handkerchief before throwing up is the same move used by W.P. Mayhew in Barton Fink. Sy uses the phrase “preferred nomenclature,” which is from The Big Lebowski (and you’re right, he’s absolutely the Donnie, even if he thinks he’s the Walter). And Varga says that because of Ray, “I learn something every day anew,” which is a variation on Tommy Lee Jones saying the phrase “Commit myself every day anew” in No Country for Old Men. There, we’re never getting that time back, so we can talk stars.
Margaux: Cool! That was impressive and exhausting, at the same time. “The Narrow Escape Problem” finally felt like we were on the path to somewhere, there was a better marriage between style and substance this. One of those, “long time coming” table setters of an episode, but it was entertaining and well paced, and now all we have to do is wait for the guests to arrive.
4/5
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