FX's FARGO Discussion Thread

[Deleted member 220895]

Is Ray Wise God? Or is the bowling Alley purgatory? Or was it just one of those one off occurrences that will never happen again?

 

[JadeOwl]

Is Ray Wise God? Or is the bowling Alley purgatory? Or was it just one of those one off occurrences that will never happen again?

He is certainly supernatural. And I think we can get a sense of what he is, not only from his interactions with Nikki and Yuri, but also Gloria.

Remember that this is the same guy who offered friendly advice and comfort to Gloria during her visit to LA.

Considering that he provided Nikki with comfort and a chance to help punish the wicked, and that he delivered unto Yuri his right comeuppance for the murder of his girlfriend and the Cossack brutality of his ancestors, he seems to be some sort of judge figure. Sort of like Anubis, weighting the hearts of men before allocating punishment of deliverance. Or in this case sending them back into the world of the living with a message for the wicked.

A clue may be found in him bringing up the history of Job. That one starts with Satan in the role of prosecutor advocating the testing of Job.

 

[wisdom blows]

A lot of people are shitting on this episode and I can't figure out why. It was awesome.

 

[JadeOwl]

I just read in a review that the name Ray Wise's character used to introduce himself to Gloria, Paul Marrane, is one of those attributed to the Wandering Jew. Take that as you will.

 

[CO68]

A lot of people are shitting on this episode and I can't figure out why. It was awesome.

Probably because not everything was spelled out to them.

 

[JadeOwl]

I wonder if I may be overthinking things by wondering if there's any significance to the fact that the supernatural being's drink of choice is a glass of sherry.

 

[Deleted member 220895]

He is certainly supernatural. And I think we can get a sense of what he is, not only from his interactions with Nikki and Yuri, but also Gloria.

Remember that this is the same guy who offered friendly advice and comfort to Gloria during her visit to LA.

Considering that he provided Nikki with comfort and a chance to help punish the wicked, and that he delivered unto Yuri his right comeuppance for the murder of his girlfriend and the Cossack brutality of his ancestors, he seems to be some sort of judge figure. Sort of like Anubis, weighting the hearts of men before allocating punishment of deliverance. Or in this case sending them back into the world of the living with a message for the wicked.

A clue may be found in him bringing up the history of Job. That one starts with Satan in the role of prosecutor advocating the testing of Job.

Well shit, that sounds great.

 

[Kneepocalypse]

Pine Barrens: Fargo Edition

Thought it was great. I hope the Cossack isnt dead and dont believe he is.

 

[Hogey]

Episode reminded me of the leftovers and twin peaks

 

[AGGAMEMNON66]

A few days ago I was commenting that Winnie Lopez's character could have been assimilated to Gloria's character to strengthen her. On the other hand, I'm also thinking they could have added a bit more meat to Winnie's character, making her a complete character rather than just a plot device for Gloria to connect the dots.

And I mentioned a while back that the 'good guys' had no one that presented any real threat to the 'bad guys' -enter Mr Wrench. Was hoping to see a direct confrontation between him and Yuri tho, which now seems unlikely. He's a nice body guard for Nikki that's not easily fucked with, however.


Loved the ending to the last episode by the way -the music at the very end while the bus was flipping was so well placed. I dig the way the writers/directors of this show use these devices.


That said, I'm still just not digging this season as much as last season. I do like it more than season 1 tho.

 

[wisdom blows]

And I mentioned a while back that the 'good guys' had no one that presented any real threat to the 'bad guys' -enter Mr Wrench. Was hoping to see a direct confrontation between him and Yuri tho, which now seems unlikely. He's a nice body guard for Nikki that's not easily fucked with, however.


Loved the ending to the last episode by the way -the music at the very end while the bus was flipping was so well placed. I dig the way the writers/directors of this show use these devices.


That said, I'm still just not digging this season as much as last season. I do like it more than season 1 tho.

Season 2 is so rich and layered. I was blown away by so much of it.

 

[Tobago Jones]

That episode was savage, but I loved it. The forest scenes were the highlight of the episode for me.

And I mentioned a while back that the 'good guys' had no one that presented any real threat to the 'bad guys' -enter Mr Wrench. Was hoping to see a direct confrontation between him and Yuri tho, which now seems unlikely. He's a nice body guard for Nikki that's not easily fucked with, however.


Loved the ending to the last episode by the way -the music at the very end while the bus was flipping was so well placed. I dig the way the writers/directors of this show use these devices.


That said, I'm still just not digging this season as much as last season. I do like it more than season 1 tho.

Agreed, although I'd rank season 1 and 2 over the current season.

Episode reminded me of the leftovers and twin peaks

Just seen pics of Carrie Coon nude in the finale, I was impressed.

 

[DIABOLUS]

Just went through this season over the last few days. I think this one is definitely up there with season 1. And for what it's worth, I thoroughly enjoyed season 2 as well. But this season really brings things back to what I love about Fargo. Writing is on point, perfect balance between comedy and crime. Loving all the nods to the Coen brothers' previous works.

Ewan McGregor is incredible in both roles. David Thewlis is captivating as Varga. On the one hand, part of me says not to trust him, find some way to get rid of him, etc. But the other side of me says if Emmitt and Sy just played ball with him, Varga might have reason to keep them around. I know that's not likely, but Varga has this unique way of drawing people into his reality.

Meemo is just okay as a henchman (not really given a whole lot of personality to draw conclusions from), but Yuri is always a treat to watch. The wolf mask he wears is oh-so-appropriate, and that rope weapon (a monkey fist?) as unique as Anton Chigurh's cattle gun.

Anybody else reminded of Cartman's face warmer in South Park when they pulled back to reveal Sy had grown a beard?

 

[deltapapha]

IT is a good thing I am still somehow entertained by this show because there is a whole lot of convenient wildly unlikely occurrences in it. And I am not even here referring to the ambiguous supernatural elements in it.

 

[Lights Out 101]

I'm still tryng to figure out why Varga sent his men to kill Nikki while she was on the prison bus when they were the ones who set her up in the first place. Wouldn't it have ben easier to kill her at the motel while she was still injured? That's my only real major gripe with the writing so far.

 

[HereticBD]

I thought the episode got a little too artsy for it's own good. I don't mind that stuff, but I felt that it just came out of nowhere, in an otherwise straightforward crime drama. It didn't really fit.

The stuff with Emmit and Sy seemed a little rushed too. Like they crammed two episodes worth of material into ten minutes.

The show hasn't been as tight, since Ray died.

 

[AGGAMEMNON66]

I thought the episode got a little too artsy for it's own good. I don't mind that stuff, but I felt that it just came out of nowhere, in an otherwise straightforward crime drama. It didn't really fit.

The stuff with Emmit and Sy seemed a little rushed too. Like they crammed two episodes worth of material into ten minutes.

The show hasn't been as tight, since Ray died.

I agree with most of this. But I'd stop short of calling this season straight forward -the entire episode where Gloria goes to find out more about her step fathers real life for example. They've been very vague and avant-garde this season compared with the previous 2.


I don't mind it tho because it makes up for an otherwise mediocre storyline. The 'artsy' addition and symbolism makes it more interesting than it actually is imo. Even if I don't always understand every bit of it.

 

[HereticBD]

I agree with most of this. But I'd stop short of calling this season straight forward -the entire episode where Gloria goes to find out more about her step fathers real life for example. They've been very vague and avant-garde this season compared with the previous 2.

I guess what I meant was they went "real world", to full on David Lynch. The step-father episode was still grounded in reality. The show has always had it's surreal avant-garde moments, but they cranked to 11 in this past episode. It was bit jarring, and kind of took me out the overall story.

 

[Kneepocalypse]

I'm still tryng to figure out why Varga sent his men to kill Nikki while she was on the prison bus when they were the ones who set her up in the first place. Wouldn't it have ben easier to kill her at the motel while she was still injured? That's my only real major gripe with the writing so far.

It would be hard to pin the murder on a dead person and explain why the murderer was also dead.

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Hah, my wish came true. Mr. Wrench did help Nikki survive. Everything about it was great, it's how I imagined the scenario to play out.

The violent Fargo gets the better the show becomes. Great death scene by DJ Qualls. Wished he was part of Varga's crew from the beginning because it kind of just brought him for two episodes because they wanted a patsy for that brutal death scene.

Then there's the Coen-like omniscient stranger in the bowling alley, which was a nice nod to The Big Lebowski. I don't hate the idea of this sudden supernatural aspect of the show but just like the UFO in season, wished it wasn't there.

It was also nice to see the prologue of episode one make more sense. Yuri killed Helga and now she and his victims are haunting him. (It doesn't completely fit though since the prologue was set in 1988 and this 2011 ear-less Yuri is too young)