FARGO (FX Series)

beckethm · Oct 17, 2015

I didn't see a thread for this one. Any other fans out there?

I watched the season premiere last night and laughed almost the whole way through. The Rube Goldberg-esque murder sequence was priceless, and I think every writer here would appreciate the moment when the state trooper is reading a bedtime story to his 6-year-old daughter and stumbles over "ejaculated" used as a dialogue tag.

The accents are sometimes cringe-worthy, but the writers nailed the Minnesota expressions.

Okay then ...

Chumplet · Oct 17, 2015

Loved the movie, enjoyed last season, and the first episode of this season went off with a bang. I'm looking forward to Monday night, but hubby wants to watch Castle.... so I'll be watching in the other room by myself! It's more fun to watch with a friend, though.

beckethm · Oct 17, 2015

Chumplet said:
I'm looking forward to Monday night, but hubby wants to watch Castle....

Too bad. I gave up on Castle early last season. I thought it jumped the shark with the whole amnesia plot.

I got a few funny looks from my hubby during Fargo. I don't think he enjoys the deadpan humor as much as I do.

Manuel Royal · Oct 20, 2015

The premiere was good; but felt familiar. There was an odd anachronism: a character calls somebody "Short Round" to make fun of his small size. That name would have no meaning in 1979; the movie it's from didn't come out for another five years. That's such an obvious error, I wonder if it's deliberate.

They seem to be using a '70s cinematic style, at least in terms of split screens.

So, what's with the Close Encounters-type UFO at the end?

ETA: And what do you think of Patrick Wilson as a young version of Keith Carradine? Seems like pretty good casting.

mirandashell · Oct 21, 2015

Wasn't Short Round used as an insult before that? Cos the character you're talking about isn't actually round.... which always puzzled me. But anyway.....

I really enjoyed the first one. Yes it was familiar from both the film and the first series but I'm waiting to see how it deviates.

Ted Danson...... took me ages to work out it was him!

I do miss the 'oh yah' being said as the answer to everything though.....

mirandashell · Oct 21, 2015

That just reminded me of my favourite scene from the film:

The part where the police officer is talking to the barman whilst the latter is clearing his drive of snow. They're both wearing snorkel parkas and you cannot see either face. It cracks me up every time and I don't really know why. I think it's to do with the way the barman says 'Down by the lake'. 'Oh yah...'

:ROFL:

Lavern08 · Nov 2, 2015

On a whim, I decided to check it out - just got caught up this weekend and I'm loving it.

Mike Milligan and the Kitchen Brothers are fascinating - Took me a minute to recognize Jean Smart.

...Been a fan of Patrick Wilson for a while - He and Danson are perfect in this.

*Wonders what happens to the "meat" that was turned into hamburger* :e2cry:

Maryn · Nov 2, 2015

I, too, am a fan, but I have a plot issue with the young wife SPOILERS: HIGHLIGHT TO READwho hits the killer with her car not going to the police in the first place, since she didn't do anything wrong. Then her husband kills the guy, who survived, helps her destroy the body, and both of them act as nervous as cats in a room full of rockers--it's like the writers are begging for these people to get caught.

I do like the casting of Patrick Wilson, and the somber, solid child they have playing his daughter works, too. Also enjoying Jeffrey Donovan and Jean Smart.

Lavern08 · Nov 2, 2015

@ Maryn

Remember this? --------> http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/28/u...to-50-years-in-case-of-man-in-windshield.html

Yep, truth is stranger than fiction. :crazy:

Lavern08 · Nov 22, 2015

OK, I'm all caught up with Season 2...

Oh my! :e2chain:

mrsmig · Nov 22, 2015

Because I generally work nights, I try not to get hooked on series, but my husband got me watching this one. I like the cast very much but have a whole new appreciation for Nick Offerman from Parks & Recreation after seeing his work in this. He was stellar in last week's episode.

Lavern08 · Nov 22, 2015

mrsmig said:
... I have a whole new appreciation for Nick Offerman from Parks & Recreation after seeing his work in this. He was stellar in last week's episode.

Ahhhhh, so that's who he is - I knew I recognized him, but couldn't remember from where?

YES, yes he was stellar. :Thumbs:

beckethm · Nov 22, 2015

mrsmig said:
I like the cast very much but have a whole new appreciation for Nick Offerman from Parks & Recreation after seeing his work in this. He was stellar in last week's episode.

Oh, heavens, yes! I hope we see more of him.

The overall tone this season has been grimmer than I had expected. I was hoping for more dark humor, but mostly it's just been dark. Still one of my faves, though.

juniper · Nov 25, 2015

I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't recognize Ted Danson at all. Only when I saw something about Danson being in the show did I look it up on IMDB.

Maryn · Nov 25, 2015

The juxtaposition of lean, young Jesse Plemons in Breaking Bad (which we just rewatched) versus the carb-fuelel Fargo version which removes his shirt, revealing an impressive B-cup, is disturbing... Yet we agree the heaviness, which I read the producers requested, seems more right for the Fargo role.

I'm also enjoying the attention to 70s styles. I had pants that fit like that!

I'm saddened at the young mother battling cancer, since we know she's doomed. All in all, dark and enjoyable.

Maryn, still a fan

beckethm · Nov 25, 2015

Maryn said:
The juxtaposition of lean, young Jesse Plemons in Breaking Bad (which we just rewatched) versus the carb-fuelel Fargo version which removes his shirt, revealing an impressive B-cup, is disturbing...

I didn't remember that he was in Breaking Bad.

We've been watching Friday Night Lights for the first time off Netflix, and the contrast between the stocky butcher in Fargo and geeky teenager in that show is even more disturbing.

Lavern08 · Dec 5, 2015

Still watching...

DANG, it just keeps getting better and better.

dolores haze · Dec 6, 2015

All caught up with Season 2. Amazing ensemble cast. Everyone stands out as being utterly believable in their roles. Keep trying to point to a favorite performance, but it's just impossible. It took me a bit to forget Ted Danson; he just looks a bit too well-preserved.

The writing, the cinematography, the pacing...all stellar. Only minor quibble is overdoing the music, especially the jarring "music that doesn't fit the scene" thing. The music is mostly spot on, though.

I love the black, black humor, yet my heart strings are also getting tugged on at unexpected moments. Very unexpected moments. Not sure how many people Hanzee has killed at this point, but damn...that scene at the bar, the sign as he's entering, and his reception there. And that strange little scene when he asks for a professional-looking haircut, like he's going in for a reinvention of who he is. And, gosh, Peggy, bless her crazy self-actualized heart, commenting on his bone structure.

If I wanted to I could probably quibble about a couple of plot points, but I won't. Just gonna let it all play out.

Me and my husband have been playing "spot the Cohen Brothers reference" as we watch. Kept expecting a certain person marched out into the woods to do the "dying like a dumb animal" bit from Miller's Crossing. It really didn't need Danny Boy as an extra kick.

Oh, and I LOVE that split screen technique and the juxtapositions the editors/writers come up with. Brilliant stuff.

Lavern08 · Dec 6, 2015

I love the line: "They call him The Butcher"

Lavern08 · Dec 15, 2015

The Finale - SPOILER WARNING...

OK, who wants to discuss the finale with me?

Thoroughly enjoyed it, but I have a few questions:

1. What was up with the UFO?

2. What did that conversation at the end with Danson admitting to trying to create a "new language" mean?

3. Did Hanzee "scalp" Peggy's co-worker at the motel?

4. What happened to the other Kitchen brother, and wassup with Mike Miligan ending up with a desk job?

:Shrug:

juniper · Dec 15, 2015

The finale - I watched it about midnight last night, after work - I think I'm going to watch it again. I was too tired to catch everything.

Funny or odd things (spoilers): Peggy wants to be imprisoned in California - she's still dreaming of a better life. And Miligan working in accounting? Don't get that ... he looked rather puzzled as well! The UFO from previous episode - yep, that's an interesting thing to throw in there.

I've watched this show from the beginning. My husband watched part of the first season, but dropped out. He prefers simpler stuff, I think. Fargo is not simple, and not shiny/happy, and makes me wonder how many psychopaths are really out there. Certainly a lot there.

Maryn · Dec 15, 2015

I was not surprised at what happened with Ed--and in a meat locker, no less. How apt an end to The Butcher. It continues to amuse and amaze me how Peggy considers herself a victim in all this and still hopes to have a waterfront cell at a California prison. (And I love that coat's ratty collar and cuffs. Just love it.)

1. What was up with the UFO? I don't know. I'm guessing it may play a part in some future episode, or at least be a touchstone the locals use to recall the timing of other unrelated events. It seems a conceit to put it in just for the WTF factor. However, online discussion by people who don't appear to be idiots suggest that Rye paused running from the diner to stare at a UFO, which is how Peggy came to hit him, so it's a plot element in that way. Others suggest its presence represents death, or that Hanzee is affected by an alien presence which cannot affect non-Indians, or that the UFO is how people like Peggy become "actualized."

2. What did that conversation at the end with Danson admitting to trying to create a "new language" mean? We talked about this and wondered if they were telling us he's more troubled and lonely since his wife's death than anyone realizes. Or that he's weirder than he comes across. (I was really bent when they gave the impression he might have died.)

3. Did Hanzee "scalp" Peggy's co-worker at the motel? I don't remember that. Was it suggested?

4. What happened to the other Kitchen brother, and wassup with Mike Miligan ending up with a desk job? The other Kitchen brother is dead, in a shootout at the Gerhardt place, IIRC. I loved that career advancement for Milligan was being chained to a desk trying to find places to pinch pennies for the mob. Death might be better.

Love the series, can't wait for more. I may have to rewatch them all.

Lavern08 · Dec 15, 2015

Uh-Oh, More SPOILERS...

* Yeah, poor Ed dying in a meat locker - I felt so sorry for him - All he wanted was to please crazy Peggy.

* I was wondering if the UFO was looking for one of their own? Maybe Danson?

* Do you remember how Hanzee looked at Peggy's co-worker and ran his fingers thru her hair as it faded to black? That's what made me wonder if she got a true, old-fashioned scalping.

* No, not the Kitchen brother that was killed in the shootout, the surviving one. I wonder what happened to him?

Stiger05 · Dec 16, 2015

The only thing that bothered me was the UFO. It did seem thrown in for convenience. Although, I also thought Ted Danson's creating a language explanation tied up a little to neatly/quickly. Betsy took the response and was just like, "yeah, that makes sense," while I was thinking, "what did he just say??"

I don't think Hanzee scalped Constance. I think that's when he decided to let Peggy and Ed live if Peggy gave him a haircut.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of it. I like that everything didn't tie up in a nice bow at the end. And Mike Milligan's desk job was hilarious. He wanted to rise in the ranks so badly that he never stopped to consider what that might entail. No idea what happened to the other Kitchen brother. I would assume he's still an enforcer.

dolores haze · Dec 17, 2015

Hanzee strangled Constance. There was a brief mention in the penultimate episode, I think? I must be some kind of sick twist 'cos I still have a sliver of sympathy for Hanzee despite the horrific body count.

Didn't like the UFO stuff. Very deus ex machina. Kinda thought the last two episodes were the weakest, but still thoroughly enjoyed the series.

FARGO (FX Series)

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