Luke Kalamar – Fargo
Fargo’s first season was such a delightful surprise. A television show connected to a movie that came out in ‘96 isn’t a good idea, and yet strong acting, writing, and directing (strong everything really) made it amazing. The second season announcement wasn’t a shock and neither was the news that this would be an anthology series. Self-contained stories are on the rise and it keeps a program fresh when a new cast is brought in. However, this can also fail spectacularly as there’s no guarantee an audience will like all the new over what’s familiar. Also, second seasons are rarely better than the first.
It’s okay if you went into Fargo Season 2 expecting it to be a slight step down. This happens all the time! Fortunately for viewers, there’s no sophomore slump here. Fargo in 2015 isn’t just as good as Fargo in 2014. It’s better. This new season has taken everything that made its first great and enhances it, while fixing whatever flaws there were before. Acting? Better. Setting? More beautiful and alive. Story? Constructed beautifully. Season 2 is Fargo at its best, a wonderful mix of comedy, dramatic tension, and even some supernatural, all with a pinch of Minnesota nice.
Revolving this season’s story around a young Lou Solverson was a brilliant move by Noah Hawley. Keith Carradine was a great Lou in his 60s, a stoic man who was always willing to provide wisdom and protection for his daughter Molly. We knew he had a past in law enforcement that ended with an accident, leading him to retire and run his own diner, but never witnessed the exact details ourselves. Season 2 pulls back that curtain with Patrick Wilson as a 30-years-younger Lou and it works incredibly well. We witness the life-changing homicide in the Waffle Hut, watch Wilson unveil the bravery we only received a taste of with Carradine, and get some clever connections to what we saw before (the young Molly is great). Lou’s standoff against the Gerhardt’s in “The Myth of Sisyphus” is one moment that sticks with me where Wilson effortlessly recreated the exact character Carradine first introduced.
The rest of the cast is stacked with talent too. Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, Ted Danson, Jeffrey Donovan, Jean Smart, Brad Garrett, Cristin Milioti, and Bokeem Woodbine all contribute significantly to making this season so special. What’s really important is that none of these characters are recreations of what we had prior. There’s not a new Gus Grimly, Lorne Malvo, Lester Nygaard, or anyone else. They’re all incredibly unique and make their marks. Woodbine effortlessly controls the room whenever Mike Milligan waxes poetic, while Plemons and Dunst are a killer (literally) couple that seriously should not be together. Milioti is also immensely tragic as the dying Betsy Solverson. My favorite among these has to be Danson’s Hank Larsson though. His comments in reaction to horrific events are pure gold. Enter a triple homicide crime scene? “Well that’s a deal.” Your son-in-law was in two gun standoffs in one day? “Looks like you’ll need two cakes for that one.” This guy is the best. Runner up is Donovan’s Dodd Gerhardt who asks for a chocolate donut after shocking a guy with a cattleprod.
Not enough people around me watch Fargo and it makes me upset. Fargo’s first season was one of my favorite shows of 2014 and this season is already competing for the top spot. This is the definition of a must watch program and is poised to sweep its Emmy categories come next year.
https://youtu.be/B5ZlN__NWq8
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