Margaux and I discuss last night’s crazy-ass episode of Fargo.
Trevor: LOVED. THIS. EPISODE. Fuck my usual preamble, because I am psyched about “Who Rules the Land of Denial?” I feel like this is maybe Fargo’s most polarizing hour ever, even more so than season two’s “The Castle,” in which the show dramatically introduced a UFO. That being the case, I wonder if we’re going to be on the same page about this or if we’ll be divided like we were on “The Law of Non-Contradiction,” which I loved for a similar reason: this is one of the strangest hours of television I’ve seen in a long time. I don’t know how useful I’m going to be in this review – maybe even less than normal. How did you like it?
Margaux: We are decidedly not on the same page. I think you’re letting the episodes ambiance and weirdness trick you into thinking anything but re-treading happened this episode. I’m not saying this hour of Fargo was bad or not entertaining, but the time-jump didn’t do them any favors in terms of keeping tension and momentum built up over the last 2-3 episodes, and even the first half of “Who Rules the Land of Denial?” And the tie to season one Fargo is way too neat, even for this show. Like, what a fucking coincidence; what worked in the moment didn’t hold up with reflection and thought.
Trevor: I’ll agree with you that Mr. Wrench popping back up was a bit of narrative contrivance, and this show is typically better at weaving its seasons together (although that’s not saying much since season two is a direct prequel to one). That notwithstanding, good lord did I love that opening. Mike Barker staged it like a thriller, and the absence of music laid a good foundation of tension. Fargo never shies away from unpleasantness, but this was on a different level for me. Seeing Yuri, Meemo, and Golem dressed in their animal masks was pretty damn scary, and Barker made great use of the unforgiving Minnesota woods during Nikki and Wrench’s escape. Then they wound up in Limbo, which looked like The Big Lebowski’s bowling alley.
But we can touch on that later, because I’m interested in hearing how you liked the escape sequence. It’s like it was written by Stefon because it had everything: crossbows, a needlessly massacred couple, a beheading.
Margaux: The escape/showdown in the woods was my favorite part, everything fell apart when they arrive at Big Lebowski’s purgatory bowling alley. Nikki and Mr. Wretch dragging each other through the snow almost had me on the edge as much as Game 3 Warriors/Cavs. The crossbow-arrow fake out with Yuri’s wolf headpiece was shocking because I thought it happened and was happy a bit of unforeseeable death happened. But the reality is that Yuri and Qualls murdered that father-son hunting duo, which like the flipped over Subaru couple before, you hoped it worked the other way for once. Pretty sure Yuri and DJ Qualls (not sorry, but he’s not good enough an actor to make me forget his name is DJ Qualls) used similar methods to The Walking Dead’s Terminus folks to corral Wrench and Nikki to that clearing where they opened fire and attacked from all sides. It really looked bad for Nikki and Wrench, and what do you know? They satisfyingly snap DJ Qualls’ head clean off. Again, random acts of unexpected violence is where Fargo succeeds the most with me, so it was a little surprising it took this long to deploy tricks of stalker-slasher movies.
Once I start to wonder if Ray Wise and Nikki are ghosts, it takes the wind out the sails. Much like UFO of season two (which I also hated), I know it’ll go unexplained, and maybe if these character were better fleshed out – realest thing about Nikki is her bond to Ray, even her character trait of playing bridge fell by the wayside – I’d give more of a shit if she was dead if seemed like there was narrative cohesion between the reappearance of Ray Wise’s character. Speaking of, Ray Wise’s reappearance confirms my suspicions that Gloria HAS BEEN DEAD THE WHOLE TIME. I’m telling you we’ve got a Safe Haven scenario on our hands, open your eyes, Sheeple!
Trevor: I loved the bowling alley as a set piece, right from the beginning when Nikki walks in and no one comments on her handcuff, or her bloodied clothes, and she doesn’t get charged for her drink (when Yuri shows up, no one even mentions his crossbow or missing ear). I love the idea of the bowling alley as a way station between heaven and hell, the place where, as Wise’s Paul Marrane puts it, we all end up “to be weighed and judged.” I wonder if Yuri saw the same bowling alley that Nikki and Wrench did. And I guess I love this sequence, and this whole episode really, because it’s basically a line drive down the center of shit I like, which is why The Leftovers works so well on me. I love big questions of a metaphysical nature, and I don’t care if the show or movie or book even answers them, because I don’t think they’re the kinds of questions you want answered for you (this is also why I’m softer on Prometheus than most, which is neither here nor there).
Margaux: I love Prometheus, and just because I enjoy Real Housewives doesn’t mean I don’t like shows about “Big Questions.” But that bowling alley was straight up pretentious. Yes, something was clearly amiss, not to mention it was a bowling alley literally in the middle of nowhere. Don’t need the Coen universe mansplained, but I also don’t need it watered down. There was too much unearned coincidence in this episode, and not enough threads that seemed to organically tie together, and it all culminated in this bowling alley scene. Why don’t we get in a green VW and move the fuck on, because you’re wrong.
Trevor: To me this episode really ties into the cold open of the premiere, when Jakob Ungerleider is insisting he’s not Yuri Gurka. There’s a lot in this season about the impermanence of identity, which is made explicit in Emmit’s weird Brundlefly transition into being Ray. Needless to say, I really liked that too. Probably my favorite part of it was after Meemo called Varga about Emmit’s spontaneous mustache; cut to Varga accusatorily asking him, “You were here the whole time?” As if there were anything he could have done about it.
Margaux: Dude, since when did Meemo start dancing around like he’s fucking Jimmy Jr on Bob’s Burger’s? Guess with Yuri gone, he doesn’t have to listen bullshit Russian propaganda about the Old Country anymore, more time to work on his moves. Either way, the best bits in the second half of the episode were the Emmit trolling. The worst obviously being my favorite character getting goddamn poisoned! Sy, you polite, midwestern bastard, why you would ever accept ANYTHING Varga gives you? HE PUT HIS DICK AND BALLS IN YOUR COFFEE MUG.
Trevor: There was a playful bit of audio trickery; when Varga offered Sy some tea I absolutely thought he offered him some pee. I really liked how that was shot too, compared to the way the opening was staged, with its huge, open spaces. Barker gets as close as Varga gets, and it made me really uncomfortable. Which is good! But I wasn’t any happier about Sy getting poisoned, even though he’s able to grow a pretty impressive beard.
Margaux: I’ve never been as depressed by the sight of a beard than when they cut to poor Sy in a coma, three months later. What’d you think about time time-jump, did you find absolutely necessary?
Trevor: That’s a good question. I don’t completely know. I could probably make a case for myself either way. It’s kind of a Fargo tradition (when it happened in season one I was afraid the show had jumped the shark; now it’s one of my favorite parts of that season), and if these characters are all stuck in Limbo, it goes a long way towards illustrating that. Emmit is still being cornered by Gloria and Winnie; Varga is still pulling the strings. It’s a year later and nothing has changed. Which makes me think they might actually be in hell. Emmit is slowly turning into Ray – there’s the stamp, the Corvette, the mustache. Maybe he will become Ray in a literal sense, Ray will come back as Emmit (since he couldn’t stay in the cat body), and the two will kill each other and grieve for each other for eternity. It would certainly go a long way towards explaining Varga’s demonic nature.
Margaux: If it does all work out that way, even though it’d be deeply depressing – mainly the part about Ray and Emmit doing this shit to each other till infinity, yikes – it would be the more satisfying ending. But I have hard time taking this show for its word, like Ray’s spirit could be in the cat body, or it could be bullshit or a dream or something. Yet, if getting demoted to working a broom closet isn’t hell, not really sure what is. Also, not sure if the timing of Gloria signing her divorce papers carries more significance than what it is, but I’d like to think it does. Maybe she’s the one that’s finally free.
Trevor: I was going to say something similar; if we’re sticking with this afterlife theory, maybe her unfinished divorce was the one thing tying her to this plain. Or maybe both of us are just reading way too far into everything and the answer is just “It’s weird!” Which would be disappointing, because I’ve really enjoyed reading into this season together.
Trevor: Quick Coen Corner: lots of Lebowski references, and a little homage to O Brother, Where Art Thou?, maybe the first one on this show, when Nikki and Wrench, chained together, hear dogs barking and run for cover. That’s all I got.
Margaux: Woods reminiscent of Miller’s Crossing? I guess you could also just call it, frozen tundra midwest.
Trevor: Excellent point; I haven’t seen Miller’s Crossing in a while and I mainly remember “What’s the rumpus?” Shall we talk stars?
Margaux: For the third to last episode, perhaps my expectations were too high and I’ll have to recant everything I’ve said here (except for the part where I said you’re wrong, I always think that) by the finale. Are reading too much into this? Sure, but it’s also our job to make wide sweeping assertions with little to nothing to back us up beyond, “this is weird and I do/don’t like it!”
4/5
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