Welcome to the new series that will dissect every episode of season two 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 Tuesday to find out more.
Season 2, Episode 3
"The Myth of Sisyphus"
“I wanna be the best me
I can be, ya know.”
- Peggy Blomquist (Kirsten Dunst)
Things are heating up as Rye Gerhardt's family goes looking for him. Meanwhile, Mike Milligan (Bookem Woodbine) is busy tracking down Skip (Mike Bradecich). The issue is that Skip goes looking for Rye in regards to money for the typewriters. This doesn't end well, as he is captured by some cronies who murder him. Meanwhile, Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson) goes searching for answers to the murder only to run into Mike as he is looking for Skip. Peggy Blomquist (Kirsten Dunst) becomes paranoid when Rye's murder hits a little too close to home. At that point, she convinces Ed Blomquist (Jesse Plemons) to stage the care crashing into a tree and head out of town to a spiritual enlightenment festival. Meanwhile, there's talks about UFO's appearing randomly and nothing is quite figured out. When Lou finds that Gerhardt's family isn't the friendliest, he begins to suspect them even more.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Most Blatant Homage
It is really tough to determine if there's a lot of implicit The Man Who Wasn't There imagery in this season, or if it's a coincidence. Considering that that film is also by The Coen Brothers, it would make some sense, even if Fargo is far removed from that film. However, the imagery came on heavily this time around where UFO's were finally discussed forwardly. Considering that The Man Who Wasn't There also addresses alien abductions, I'm pretty sure that there's a certain correlation going on here in directly addressing it that makes me believe that this series will at least be talking about more than one Coen Brothers movie over its run.
Death Count
1. Skip - Buried underneath a heap of tar.
EPISODE COUNT: 1
TOTAL: 5
MVP:
Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson)
What's interesting is how strong this cast is that each week finds me picking a new favorite. This time around, Lou is the hero of the story because he's not only taking names and solving cases, he is also just a charismatic and fun guy. While the general tone of the episode is that people work hard for goals that aren't there, I think that Lou breaks a lot of ground in this episode and makes for one of the best moments in the show. Even as he's a nice guy, he cannot help buy lay on the cliche tough guy quotes as he faces danger. The Solverson family is one of the best parts of the series, both seasons, so it's no wonder that Lou is as compelling as he is. Cannot wait for more of him.
Best Scene
As you likely can guess after last week, I personally think that Mike Milligan is one of the best characters in the series so far. He's not only slick and confident, but he has a dry sense of humor that makes him more awesome. So for him to go up against Lou in a strange trade of taunts is to enter one of my favorite moments in the series so far. With a lot of jokes on Lou's part to compensate for his fear, the moment is tense as well as funny. Meanwhile, Mike is playing it cool and is able to turn the intimidation in his favor. Ending with a Richard Nixon quote is equally as genius and reflects what makes him a great character period.
Overall Thoughts
While this is probably my least favorite of the episodes so far, that doesn't meant that this still isn't probably the best drama of the Fall TV season. It's so rich with dark humor and plot that it never ceases to at very least entertain. As mentioned before, the characters are so rich with life and personality that it puts most other shows to shame. With great performances by both Lou and Mike, this show has proven that even if nothing great is going on, I'll enjoy watching these characters do anything. The mystery is still being set up, and I am excited to see where things go next. While I worry that UFO's may play too much of a device in later episodes, it's mostly working in the show's weirdness favor so far.
Comments
Post a Comment