Fargo. Season 2. Let's get to it, eh?
After catching up on this show that the 3rd Party Support podcast ultimately agreed as the best TV show of 2015, I have to say... I think I sort of agree. (Working my way through Mr. Robot which is going to definitely give this show a run for its money.) The second season of Fargo still holds strong while providing some extra insight into the characters and the history of this Midwest crime community, which conjures up some interesting theories on where the show could go, and -- possibly -- how the film has an even stronger connection to this series.
First, how did I like the show this season? I liked it very much. Frankly, I believe it sits in the "masterpiece" echelon along with the first season. Whether you choose the first season or the second as your favorite comes down to a preference of taste. It's like going to the best ice cream parlor in the world and having to decide between vanilla or chocolate. Regardless of which one you choose, you know the quality is going to be astounding. At this point it's just personal taste. For me, I choose chocolate... I mean, season 2.
The second season just had that suave tone of being cool and hip, borrowing editing techniques that reminded me a bit of 24. On top of that, I really enjoyed the story of two crime families waging war against one another with another mild-manner couple innocently getting all caught up in the carnage with the performances by Ed Blumquist (Jesse Plemons) and Mike Milligan (Bokeem Woodbine) being excellent. Then there's Molly's dad (back in his prime as a State Trooper) just trying to make sense of it all. I also like how there were seeds planted for the Sioux Falls Massacre layered into the show even from the first season. We all knew shit was going to be bad. Just a matter of when.
Some questions, and I suppose this is the obvious one... what's with the aliens? Part of me thinks that the writers behind the show feel the need to drop in the essence of something supernatural in each season. Season 1 we have clear mentions of God. Season 2, we've got aliens. At this point, who knows what we'll get in season 3... Ghosts? Witches? The Tooth Fairly?
Speaking of the Tooth Fairy... let's all remember that
the Rock as the Tooth Fairy was actually a thing.
Back to the show... I'm wondering what the need for these other-worldly things is? I mean, it felt very deus ex machina for the UFO to show back up during the massacre essentially saving Trooper Solverson's life. But, hey, I suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the ride. If anyone that has any input on this enigma, I'm all ears, because I'm struggling to make heads or tails of it.
The other question (or maybe an answer) that this season gives is the information behind the Fargo crime syndicate. We get the hint that Hanzee, after betraying the Gerhardts, might become the leader of the very same crime syndicate that Numbers and Wrench come from (seeing as how Hanzee walks over to, what we can only presume are, the child versions of the two hitmen from season 1). But this whole thing got me thinking -- as I'm desperately looking for some sort of cohesion between the film and the TV show -- what if the name of the TV show and movie isn't referring to the humble town, but rather the crime family with the same name. In season 1, we see two hitmen sent out from Fargo, which ultimately lead to the Fargo mob's destruction as Malvo shoots up the joint. In season 2, we get a sense how Fargo may have been started. And in the movie, well... where do the two hitmen (Showalter and Grimsrud) come from? A quick peak at Fargo's wikipedia page reminds me that William H. Macy's character drives to Fargo, North Dakota to hire these two unscrupulous characters to kidnapped his wife. It stands to reason that a crime family so big likely wouldn't allow any competition to run games on their home turf, so I submit to you that Showalter and Grimsrud are actually members of Fargo, the crime syndicate.
And, thus... we have our connection perfectly tying in the TV with the movie.
This isn't a reference to the location where terrible things happen to innocent people with funny accents. This is a story about a family... a mob family. The Fargo mob family.
But I can already hear complaining, "If that theory's true... then isn't everyone already dead after Malvo shot up the joint?"
Great point. Perhaps everyone is dead. Or maybe Hanzee...
...this guy...
Is actually still alive. A survivor of the Malvo assult, and continues to exist...
...as this guy.
Crazier things have happened. Like muther-fucking UFOs appearing out of nowhere with no explanation!
Yeah, I loved Season 2. I think I preferred Season 1 by a hair, but your ice cream analogy is apt - sometimes you want vanilla, sometimes you want chocolate.
ReplyDeleteOn the UFO - I have no explanation whatsoever here, and I haven't found a good one online. Perhaps more importantly, it seems like no one seems to *really* care about it. At worst, it's dismissible as entirely unnecessary, but I think there are very few people out there who loved the season up until that moment in Episode 9. Again, in Season 1, it just kind of rained fish in Episode 6, also without any explanation.
On Hanzee's fate - Here's what the Internet's consensus is. Yes, those two kids were Wrench and Numbers. And yes, Hanzee does become Moses Tripoli, crime lord of Fargo, ND. But no, he does not survive the Malvo assault. We don't see a kill or a body, but Malvo enters the building with the intention of killing him, and Malvo makes it out alive, and everyone else in the building seems not to, so the odds on that survival are slim to say the least. But, you're right - crazier things have happened.
On the movie and its connections - In the movie (1987), Jerry hires Carl and Grimsrud through Shep Proudfoot (who I totally thought was going to be who Hanzee became) and refers to them as "those guys from Fargo you set me up with." So there's definitely some traction behind the idea that they're part of the same crime syndicate that seems to take over in Season 2 (1979) and meet its demise in Season 1 (2006). But then, those two goons agree to go in on Jerry's plan for a paltry $40,000 and a tan Ciera. If they're working for the Fargo crime syndicate, they'll likely need to pay some significant portion of that money to their bosses, and they also probably aren't a two-man operation. Plus, Shep only vouches for one of them. The other guy (Carl, aka Buscemi), Shep says, "Don't know him, don't vouch for him." So I'm left to conclude that those two aren't mob members proper - but perhaps they're caught up in the mob's business and owe some money of their own.
On the extended Fargo universe - If you haven't yet, consider checking out Kumiko the Treasure Hunter. It's on Amazon Prime. Solid movie, and the premise is that a Japanese woman watches an old copy of Fargo on VHS, mistakes it for a documentary, and flies all the way to Minnesota to search for the buried money. It's really not very Fargo-like in tone, but I dug it!
I guess (I HOPE!) season 3 will continue to tie up some of these loose ends. Or maybe just unravel the mystery even more so...
DeleteIt's really anyone's guess on how they'll attack the next season. Unlike most shows moving in a linear format following consistent characters, this show has proved to be just about anything but that. For all we know, season 3 could take place in the 1800's as we see the formation of the city of Fargo stolen away from a Native American tribe or something. (Actually, I would watch that!)
But, in general, the show (as with the movie) shares one common theme of evil's sinister ways crossing paths with well-minded innocence, corrupting it, and then we just see shit just self-destruct from there. I suppose as long as that themes alive and well, playing out in the northern Midwest somewhere... then it's a Fargo show.
Still too early to know for sure... God only knows what the creators have in mind, but I'm loving the ride!