Fargo TV series

[Duke79UNLV77]

IMO, this has definitely been the weakest Fargo season, so far. The first two were awesome!

I'm just catching on to Fargo, but if Seasons 1 and 2 were far better than Season 3, sign me up because I think the current season has been terrific so far.

[Troublemaker]

I'm just catching on to Fargo, but if Seasons 1 and 2 were far better than Season 3, sign me up because I think the current season has been terrific so far.

Yeah, but I do wonder had Season 3 been Season 1 and Season 1 been Season 3, if we wouldn't STILL be complaining about the dropoff in Season 3.

I think a lot of the perceived drop in quality might just be that we're reaching the limits of telling the same story (thematically, tonally, etc) over and over again and just mixing and matching characters. The drop is like 80% that and 20%, as mentioned, the Stussy brothers just not being that compelling yet, imo.

See? That's what I'm talking about above. If season 3 is your first exposure to Fargo, then you're not as familiar with all the beats yet and can just enjoy.

[budwom]

having worked a summer in Brainerd, Minnesota (site of the original movie) I still get a kick out of the Minnesota accents and mannerisms which are right on the money.

[Jeffrey]

I'm just catching on to Fargo, but if Seasons 1 and 2 were far better than Season 3, sign me up because I think the current season has been terrific so far.

IMO, Fargo Season 1 & 2 were some of the best runs on TV.... Enjoy!

[Jeffrey]

Yeah, but I do wonder had Season 3 been Season 1 and Season 1 been Season 3, if we wouldn't STILL be complaining about the dropoff in Season 3.

I think a lot of the perceived drop in quality might just be that we're reaching the limits of telling the same story (thematically, tonally, etc) over and over again and just mixing and matching characters. The drop is like 80% that and 20%, as mentioned, the Stussy brothers just not being that compelling yet, imo.

Yep, Fargo is following in K's steps. Quickly set the bar extremely high and will always be compared against the early successes.

[Jeffrey]

having worked a summer in Brainerd, Minnesota (site of the original movie) I still get a kick out of the Minnesota accents and mannerisms which are right on the money.

Minus Ted Danson's lame attempt.

[Troublemaker]

Didn't really enjoy last night's episode.

The new police chief is too much of a stereotypical idiot boss who stops the people under him from doing good police work. As of now, he's more of a stock character than a quirky Fargo character. They show should've had momentum from last week with Gloria and new gal pal Winnie discovering the connection between the Stussy brothers and the murder, but Idiot Boss squashed that.

Also, they've not made Sy a likeable character, so the scene where Vargas turns Sy into a "cuckhold" in Vargas' words, only served to be disgusting. Drinking pee? Yuck.

Also, Vargas, who has planted bugs everywhere and has complete dominion over Stussy Lots and its owner Emmitt, didn't know about the $10K withdrawal? Seems like something his character would've caught.

Oh well, we'll continue to see where all this is going.

[Troublemaker]

Yeah, but I do wonder had Season 3 been Season 1 and Season 1 been Season 3, if we wouldn't STILL be complaining about the dropoff in Season 3.

I think a lot of the perceived drop in quality might just be that we're reaching the limits of telling the same story (thematically, tonally, etc) over and over again and just mixing and matching characters. The drop is like 80% that and 20%, as mentioned, the Stussy brothers just not being that compelling yet, imo.

Season 3 has been awesome ever since Ray died. If it previously lagged behind Seasons 1 and 2 in quality, I think it's on par now. We just needed less Stussy.

[Troublemaker]

Season 3 has been awesome ever since Ray died. If it previously lagged behind Seasons 1 and 2 in quality, I think it's on par now. We just needed less Stussy.

The improvement continues. Last night we probably hit the peak -- best episode this season, one of the best episodes in the series. So many excellent scenes. My fave was probably the Nikki / Varga meeting.

[budwom]

English guy needs a new dental plan. Ever checked out www.drbukk.com ?

Amazing stuff, I know friends who have them, pretty outrageous.

[Jeffrey]

The improvement continues. Last night we probably hit the peak -- best episode this season, one of the best episodes in the series. So many excellent scenes. My fave was probably the Nikki / Varga meeting.

Strongly agree! Last night's episode was definitely the best of the season and excellent TV. Have they changed writers and/or directors? This season's pace, style, and writing was relatively weak until the last two episodes.

I also agree that the hotel lobby ping-pong match was the best scene. Even Varga earned an extra "0".

[Troublemaker]

Strongly agree! Last night's episode was definitely the best of the season and excellent TV. Have they changed writers and/or directors? This season's pace, style, and writing was relatively weak until the last two episodes.

I also agree that the hotel lobby ping-pong match was the best scene. Even Varga earned an extra "0".

Nah, same showrunner and writers.

As far as I can tell, the only difference between the 3 seasons (besides what we discussed previously) is just that Season 3's weak episodes came at the beginning instead of in the middle (Season 1) or at the end (Season 2).

For me, Season 1 started off great, then dragged during the episodes involving that grocery chain king, but once that was resolved (with a freaking fish tornado), the show returned to being great.

Season 2, imo, was consistently strong until the last few episodes with Hanzee (the "Indian") going crazy and the disappointing Massacre at Sioux Falls (especially having been built up for 2 seasons) involving a freaking UFO.

Season 3, in contrast, started slow and too familiar but has steadily grown better and crescendoed last episode, imo. The improvement started with the elimination of one of the boring Stussy brothers, and puttying Sy in a coma helped, too. This season, for me, is all about Varga, Nikki, and Gloria. And also the return of Mr. Wrench!

Given all that, if the Season 3 finale satisfies, I'd have to rank the seasons 1 > 3 > 2.

(Also, as with anything, your mileage may vary. I know people who didn't mind the fish tornado, UFO, Hanzee, etc.)

[Ggallagher]

Like everyone else, I have to say that this week's episode really did provide a step up in the story. I definitely enjoyed it.

Plus this episode confirmed what I've suspected since the beginning of season three. While Ray, Sy and Emmitt have seemed totally unqualified to deal with whatever Varga is and represents, Nikki always seemed to have something going on in the background that put her in a different class. The hotel meeting with Varga finally showed that to be true.

Really looking forward to next week's episode.

[dudog84]

Like everyone else, I have to say that this week's episode really did provide a step up in the story. I definitely enjoyed it.

Plus this episode confirmed what I've suspected since the beginning of season three. While Ray, Sy and Emmitt have seemed totally unqualified to deal with whatever Varga is and represents, Nikki always seemed to have something going on in the background that put her in a different class. The hotel meeting with Varga finally showed that to be true.

Really looking forward to next week's episode.

Gotta watch out for those bridge players.

[Jeffrey]

Nah, same showrunner and writers.

As far as I can tell, the only difference between the 3 seasons (besides what we discussed previously) is just that Season 3's weak episodes came at the beginning instead of in the middle (Season 1) or at the end (Season 2).

This is a really good show, so I've pondered this further. I think you nailed it when you quickly said this season was pivoting on Ray's death. IMO, Ray was old & in the way. My new theory is Ray may have gotten more airtime than needed in order to attract Ewan McGregor to the dual role. Clearly, he worked hard on both roles, such as making considerable effort to gain weight for Ray's character (i.e. bathroom scene). I'd wager McGregor will be nominated and probably win awards for the dual role.

What do you think about my new theory?

[Troublemaker]

This is a really good show, so I've pondered this further. I think you nailed it when you quickly said this season was pivoting on Ray's death. IMO, Ray was old & in the way. My new theory is Ray may have gotten more airtime than needed in order to attract Ewan McGregor to the dual role. Clearly, he worked hard on both roles, such as making considerable effort to gain weight for Ray's character (i.e. bathroom scene). I'd wager McGregor will be nominated and probably win awards for the dual role.

What do you think about my new theory?

I'd be surprised. Any TV actor/actress that stays current on the industry knows that Emmy Award-winning Tatiana Maslany from Orphan Black will put to shame anyone else attempting a multiple sibling role. With the current stratospheric standard that Maslany is setting on her show, McGregor couldn't have possibly hoped to live up to her wonderful acting, much less exceed it, and indeed my sense is most people were/are as bored with the Stussy brothers as I was/am. Including those who will vote for awards, imo.

I'm not sure I see any awards in the future for Fargo Season 3. IF someone wins an award, I'd bet on it in this order: (1) Nikki, (2) Varga, (3) the mystery man from the bowling alley / L.A. flight (played by Ray Wise), (4) gal pal cop Winnie. I would list Gloria in there somewhere, except actress Carrie Coon will probably already win for The Leftovers.

[Jeffrey]

I'd be surprised.

Sorry, whether McGregor is nominated for and/or wins awards is not my theory. My theory is the reason Ray's character lasted so long (I think we both agree this season had too much Stussy) was to attract McGregor to the dual role. Stated differently, the reason we had too much Stussy was to attract McGregor. IMO, the pace and dialogue substantially improved with less Stussy.

[Troublemaker]

Sorry, whether McGregor is nominated for and/or wins awards is not my theory. My theory is the reason Ray's character lasted so long (I think we both agree this season had too much Stussy) was to attract McGregor to the dual role. Stated differently, the reason we had too much Stussy was to attract McGregor. IMO, the pace and dialogue substantially improved with less Stussy.

Oh, I know you agree about Stussy. What I'm saying is that, for the time being on TV, no dual-role is all that attractive since Tatiana Maslany is slaughtering it on her show by playing 5 (or it is 6 -- I've lost count) different sisters, all with distinct personalities, and she makes you forget that it's the same actress playing all of them.

The dual role will become attractive again once Maslany moves onto something else, and some time has passed. Let's say, for example, you're very interested in playing a mafia crime boss on TV. Well, you might be LESS interested in such a role between the years 1999 and 2007 while the Sopranos was still running on HBO because you don't want to be compared to Gandolfini. That's all I'm saying. But maybe you're right and McGregor is insanely competitive and thought he could pull it off. (He would've been wrong; I was always like "Hey, there's Ewan McGregor again on my screen, doing some sibling dual-role stuntcasting, and being crappy.").

[Ggallagher]

This is a really good show, so I've pondered this further. I think you nailed it when you quickly said this season was pivoting on Ray's death. IMO, Ray was old & in the way. My new theory is Ray may have gotten more airtime than needed in order to attract Ewan McGregor to the dual role. Clearly, he worked hard on both roles, such as making considerable effort to gain weight for Ray's character (i.e. bathroom scene). I'd wager McGregor will be nominated and probably win awards for the dual role.

What do you think about my new theory?

Now that you've made me think about it, I think your theory has some validity. And I can't think of any other reason that would make sense for McGregor to do the dual role.

I think there was a fair amount of Ray needed mainly to counter and support Nikki's role - but there was probably more done with Ray than actually was necessary. And once Ray was gone, things have moved more quickly.

Since I don't really feel having McGregor do both roles really added anything substantial to the story, it does make sense that it may have been done simply because it was something that appealed to McGregor for whatever reason. So I'm good with your theory

[duke4ever19]

Now that you've made me think about it, I think your theory has some validity. And I can't think of any other reason that would make sense for McGregor to do the dual role.

I think there was a fair amount of Ray needed mainly to counter and support Nikki's role - but there was probably more done with Ray than actually was necessary. And once Ray was gone, things have moved more quickly.

Since I don't really feel having McGregor do both roles really added anything substantial to the story, it does make sense that it may have been done simply because it was something that appealed to McGregor for whatever reason. So I'm good with your theory

Ray and Emmit are twins and their story is very reminiscent of the Jacob and Esau story in the Bible, as well as other ancient stories of rivaling brothers. Jacob and Esau were twins. The drama surrounding the stamp and the car is a clear reference to Esau's selling his birthright for a bowl of stew. There are several other parallels if you know the OT lit.That is why I think Ewan McGregor played both parts.

There are several overt "tips of the cap" to several OT story in Fargo. Fargo is a goldmine for those of familiar with the Greco/Roman and Near Eastern myths and archetypes. In many cases, you can surmise the endings to the seasons if you are steeped in the appropriate literature.