 |
| Martin Freeman |
Welcome to the new series that will dissect every episode of season one of FX's Fargo. From its faithfulness as an adaptation of the Coen Brothers classic to its growing plot, this will be a look at all things involving the show, its mythology, and occasional predictions of things to happen. There will be highlights of special moments in the series and deeper dissection of what may make this anthology series so endearing. What will happen in this freshman series about a homespun murder mystery? You'll have to read the recaps every Thursday to find out more.
Season 1, Episode 2
"The Rooster Prince"
"No, highly irregular is the time I found a human
foot in a toaster oven. This is just odd."
-Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton)
After discovering the death of Hess, Mr. Numbers (Adam Goldberg) and Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard) decide to hunt down Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) and kill him. Meanwhile, Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) is living with his brother Chaz (Josh Close) and his wife Kitty (Rachel Blanchard) and trying to come to terms with his murder. As new head of he department, Bill Olsen (Bob Odenkirk) decides to take control of the murders and asks Lester a series of questions despite being convinced that it was actually done by drifters. Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) is not convinced that his head injury story is right. Lorne gets a false identity and consults Phoenix Markets owner Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt) on a note regarding a ransom. He consults his wife Helena (Allegra Fulton) for more information and tries to find a way to get the money only to be threatened by one of Stavros' employees. Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench travel to the bar where Hess's murder took place only to get an identity that vaguely connects them to a doppleganger named Lenny (Paul Braunstein), who they decide to kidnap after a hostile meeting. Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) has a conversation with his daughter Greta (Joey King) about what is the right thing to do, reconsidering if he did the right thing by not arresting Lorne. Molly attempts to get Lester to share more information about the murder only for Bill to find her to be too intrusive and kick her off of the case. Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench kill the man by throwing him in a hole in a frozen river.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
 |
| Left to right: Adam Goldberg and Russell Harvard |
Most Blatant Homage Moment
Whether intentional or not, Mr. Numbers (Adam Golderberg) and Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard) are probably in the higher echelon of this series' Coen-esque characters. While Don Chumph (Glenn Howerton) seems like faux Coen, Mr. Wrench feels like an invention of the universe. His bizarre choice of sign language is a comical character trait that ranks with the best of Fargo. It may make no sense, but when placed against the deadpan Mr. Numbers, it manages to take on a seriousness that makes the whole thing more bizarre. Also, there's a sense that Mr. Numbers is about as close to this show will get to imitating Steve Buscemi's character from the movie.
Death Count
1. Lenny (Paul Braunstein) - Died from drowning in a frozen lake.
EPISODE COUNT: 1
TOTAL: 5
 |
| Bob Odenkirk |
MVP:
Bill Olsen (Bob Odenkirk)
Maybe he wasn't the most valuable player in a productive way, but with this episode, we get a strong sense of how the police force will move on after Vern Thurman's death. Bill Olsen may be somewhat of a reductive character, choosing to see the good in others, but he also has some authoritative qualities when he needs to be, such as telling Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) not to interfere with his investigation. He is a dangerous character because of his power and lack of will to do anything productive with it. He also helps us to better understand what Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) was like as a high school kid. The only question is if Molly will overthrow the police force by solving the case or if Bill will slowly realize the errors of his ways and become a more competent cop. Either way, he is a delightfully goofy character with his heart in the right place, even if it's reductive.
 |
| Billy Bob Thornton |
Best Scene
While Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) has remained one of the show's standout characters in the first two episodes, it is easy to understand why. From the mysterious setting that looks like a church basement to his comments about the difference between "highly irregular" and "odd," the scene in which he picks up mail addressed to Duluth (not the city that he's in) has a lot of endearing qualities to it. It continues to show Lorne's ability to talk his way out of anything as well as present this universe as something unique from the film and give it life in the properly weird way. It may not be the most progressing scene in the episode, but it is the most memorable for its eerie quality that manages to atmospherically be Coen-esque without plagiarizing.
 |
| Allison Tolman |
Overall Thoughts
There is a lot tonally to enjoy about the episode. It remains as tight and interesting as the pilot, but it also feels almost like half of the episode is essentially recapping last week. While it is true that crime stories have to check the facts, it also feels weird that we're getting the entire story from a different perspective. With that said, I am intrigued to see how Mr. Numbers (Adam Goldberg) and Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard) will play into the story, especially if they continue to kill innocent bystanders. Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) remains one of the delightful highlights and I am beginning to find a lot endearing about Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) and the police force. However, I don't know that Lester Nygaard's (Martin Freeman) retread to the house added anything to the story nor did Gus Grimly's (Colin Hanks) role. At most, I sense that this is setting up for things that have yet to happen. However, they do feel thrown in just because of that, and I don't know that it added much to the overall quality. It helps that I feel invested in this universe enough to find the episode compelling despite the lack of momentum that I felt happened.
 |
| Left to right: Freeman and Tolman |
Predictions
Having realized that they killed the wrong man, Mr. Numbers (Adam Goldberg) and Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard) will attempt to hunt down Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton). Meanwhile, Lorne will be trying to destroy Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt) by using the ransom note as a potential partnering job. Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) will continue to be fine with lying to everyone about his injuries as he decides to move out of the city. Meanwhile, Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) will start becoming a relevant factor in Bill Olsen's (Bob Odenkirk) investigation of the murders as Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) reluctantly looks into the frozen man in panties case and discovers Lenny's corpse. Lester's movement out of the city will result in him somehow living in closer proximity to Gus as well, who he befriends in order to avoid any suspicious activity.
Comments
Post a Comment