Written by: Kevin Berge
You don't know true love until you've seen Ray and Nikki. (Image Courtesy of: theplaylist.net)
Quick Take: Fargo Season 3 has the most assured flair and most talented cast, making for a ridiculous ride with assured and black thematic symbolism. However, it sacrifices heart for that engaging absurdity with not as many moments of real emotional resonance which makes sure it falls short of previous season but is still worth watching.
***This is a detailed review of the third season of Fargo which will contain spoilers particularly for this season. Those who have not watched the series and wish to see them unspoiled should not read past this point until they have.***
I was late to Fargo, but it was the promise of the third season that drew me in. While the cast for each season was great, the third included Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane), Carrie Coon (The Leftovers), and David Thewlis (Naked). That's a season selling group without knowing any plot.
Luckily, the season lives up to the actors involved with some of the most ridiculous and imaginative moments of spiraling madness so far. However, it does not quite live up to the series that preceded it, becoming more clearly driven by elements that make it more original but a bit harder to latch onto.
This season is all about the twins Emmit and Ray Stussy (Ewan McGregor). While Emmit has made a successful business with Sy Feltz (Michael Stuhlbarg) through his inheritance, Ray has been left with little though has found the confidence to confront his brother thanks to his new girlfriend Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).
When Ray tries to get one of his parolees to steal a valuable stamp from his brother, things go south quick with Detective Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) forced into the action. Emmit grows so consumed with his rivalry with his brother that he hardly notices that the mysterious V.M. Varga (David Thewlis) is slowly taking over his company.
Multiple times an episode, something happens that is just hard to believe, and this show is barely interested in explaining any of it. Last season had a random UFO appear, and that was much more believable than when this season had Emmit accidentally kill his brother or Varga manage to escape Nikki by escaping into the air duct of the elevator.
That's all right though because Fargo has never been a show about answers but questions. It has a lot of fascinating questions to ponder about predators and prey, the flawed justice system, the inherent inability to reach the perfectly happy ending, and certainly how good people can so quickly be change.
This season is a symbolic minefield, using heavy imagery and literary allusion at every turn. Unlike season 2, it does a much better job establishing the absurdity and power of the villains. However, this season is the most lacking of all in giving the audience anything to truly latch onto.
I was late to Fargo, but it was the promise of the third season that drew me in. While the cast for each season was great, the third included Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane), Carrie Coon (The Leftovers), and David Thewlis (Naked). That's a season selling group without knowing any plot.
Luckily, the season lives up to the actors involved with some of the most ridiculous and imaginative moments of spiraling madness so far. However, it does not quite live up to the series that preceded it, becoming more clearly driven by elements that make it more original but a bit harder to latch onto.
This season is all about the twins Emmit and Ray Stussy (Ewan McGregor). While Emmit has made a successful business with Sy Feltz (Michael Stuhlbarg) through his inheritance, Ray has been left with little though has found the confidence to confront his brother thanks to his new girlfriend Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).
When Ray tries to get one of his parolees to steal a valuable stamp from his brother, things go south quick with Detective Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) forced into the action. Emmit grows so consumed with his rivalry with his brother that he hardly notices that the mysterious V.M. Varga (David Thewlis) is slowly taking over his company.
Multiple times an episode, something happens that is just hard to believe, and this show is barely interested in explaining any of it. Last season had a random UFO appear, and that was much more believable than when this season had Emmit accidentally kill his brother or Varga manage to escape Nikki by escaping into the air duct of the elevator.
That's all right though because Fargo has never been a show about answers but questions. It has a lot of fascinating questions to ponder about predators and prey, the flawed justice system, the inherent inability to reach the perfectly happy ending, and certainly how good people can so quickly be change.
This season is a symbolic minefield, using heavy imagery and literary allusion at every turn. Unlike season 2, it does a much better job establishing the absurdity and power of the villains. However, this season is the most lacking of all in giving the audience anything to truly latch onto.
You haven't seen true suckers until you've seen Emmit and Sy. (Image Courtesy of: hollywoodreporter.com)
Ewan McGregor is fantastic as both Ray and Emmit, but both men are cartoonishly single-minded often. They are not Lester Nygaard levels of corrupt and despicable, but you cannot root for them with their incompetence and problematic morally corrupt decisions.
Carrie Coon is the closest the series come to having heart, and she is brilliant in the role. However, she never gets anything unlike her counterpart policemen for justice from previous seasons. The closest we get to her getting any satisfaction is the simple hug she gets from her new friend Winnie Lopez (Olivia Sandoval).
You could say the end of the season gives her more with David Thewlis' V.M. Varga finally caught, but the ambiguity of his fate feels most like a sign he will never be punished. Varga might be the most enjoyable character in the season thanks to Thewlis, but he is also completely unwatchable at times because of how disgusting he is.
Perhaps Nikki was supposed to come off as the triumphant heart of the show, and there are many satisfying moments for her. Mary Elizabeth Winstead gets to play the character in a variety of scenarios all the way to confident action hero, and that is fun to watch until she gets shot by an anonymous cop, proof we can get no satisfaction here.
I can appreciate the sense of absurdity to this season and even the messages of how true injustice is perhaps always impossible to combat, but it is hard to watch a show with no sense that it will ever give you any satisfaction. It's not just about comeuppance but rather feeling hope rather than a black comedic dread.
If Fargo wants to be purely absurdist, that is fine, but the first season was the strongest of the show because it had the characters evolve with their circumstances and ultimately overcome what they could. I will always be drawn to heart in a series more than the ridiculous and memorable.
The third season is still a lot of fun. I found myself drawn to it and thinking about it at every turn. I just wish that the story did not feel quite so much like it was now laughing at everyone. It's more a personal quibble than an actual critique though, so I can hardly fault another strong season of compelling storytelling from Fargo.
Carrie Coon is the closest the series come to having heart, and she is brilliant in the role. However, she never gets anything unlike her counterpart policemen for justice from previous seasons. The closest we get to her getting any satisfaction is the simple hug she gets from her new friend Winnie Lopez (Olivia Sandoval).
You could say the end of the season gives her more with David Thewlis' V.M. Varga finally caught, but the ambiguity of his fate feels most like a sign he will never be punished. Varga might be the most enjoyable character in the season thanks to Thewlis, but he is also completely unwatchable at times because of how disgusting he is.
Perhaps Nikki was supposed to come off as the triumphant heart of the show, and there are many satisfying moments for her. Mary Elizabeth Winstead gets to play the character in a variety of scenarios all the way to confident action hero, and that is fun to watch until she gets shot by an anonymous cop, proof we can get no satisfaction here.
I can appreciate the sense of absurdity to this season and even the messages of how true injustice is perhaps always impossible to combat, but it is hard to watch a show with no sense that it will ever give you any satisfaction. It's not just about comeuppance but rather feeling hope rather than a black comedic dread.
If Fargo wants to be purely absurdist, that is fine, but the first season was the strongest of the show because it had the characters evolve with their circumstances and ultimately overcome what they could. I will always be drawn to heart in a series more than the ridiculous and memorable.
The third season is still a lot of fun. I found myself drawn to it and thinking about it at every turn. I just wish that the story did not feel quite so much like it was now laughing at everyone. It's more a personal quibble than an actual critique though, so I can hardly fault another strong season of compelling storytelling from Fargo.
