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Fargo (TV Series)

Eponastill

Eponastill

Justified & Ancient
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Apologies if this is discussed elsewhere - the search didn't seem to indicate it has been.

We've been glued to the first two series of 'Fargo' which are on Netflix at the moment. And I notice they're peppered with fortean things, and I was wondering if anyone else had any thoughts on the matter.

In the first series, at one point there is a fish fall. This seems quite a random thing and isn't really incorporated into the story line in any particular way.

Also there is a wolf that appears at an opportune moment in an opportune place, and acts as a mechanism by which one character spots the location of another character.

It strikes me that the whole story is about how chance happenings trigger off a series of events which lead to multiple murders and chaos, and that this is a rather fortean concept in itself. The programme starts with a chance encounter between the protagonist and the Crazy Psycho which ultimately changes the protagonist's character. Towards the end of the series, the two of them meet again, again by chance. And significantly, they have this chance meeting in Las Vegas (a place which is all about chance, where you can win or lose everything on the throw of a dice).

So I thought that was all very interesting, and I wonder if anyone else has spotted any other things in that first series.

And then the second series, this is again about how a random event (instigated by a stupid person, ignorant of what they've set off) becomes the trigger for complete massacre of various factions of criminals. Something explicitly fortean is part of the trigger - in this case a man gets run over by a car, but the reason he doesn't get out of the way is because he's staring at the lights of a ufo! And then later in the story (at the climax of all the killings) the ufo reappears. Its reality is briefly mentioned, I think. But by that time there aren't many people left to discuss it!

So I'm not sure what the directors were implying. But perhaps it could even be that the whole story was a set-up, that some intelligence behind the ufo was interested in setting the series of events in motion, and returned to see how things had panned out. That is, another twist on what controls the events of our lives - is it randomness, or destiny, and how the threads of different lives and decisions come to generate the overall picture.

I recommend them both highly. So long as you like deeply black humour and don't mind a bit of mindless bloodshed. I particularly enjoy the ridiculous awkward dialogue at some points. Anyway I'd be interested in the thoughts of fellow fortean viewers.
 
Fargo has been a fantastic series, so well written and acted - Kirsten Dunst was the best I've ever seen her in season 2, a brilliant performance. There are weird elements in many Coen brothers films, so it's not as if creator Noah Hawley was plucking them out of the air - there's a flying saucer in The Man Who Wasn't There, for example.

Season 3 started in the UK this week (Channel 4), and has Ewan McGregor playing twins, which is odd enough so far. Plus the music choices are inspired, loved hearing that Italian disco record that sounds like English until you concentrate on the lyrics and realise it's gibberish. Don't know what the "Son of a Bitch!" song was at the end, but it was great too.
 
Ooh yes I saw the new episode as well. I notice they were playing bridge... which I can tie into my vague theories about chance. Because with bridge (as I understand it) everyone gets to play the same cards. So you start off with the same initial circumstances, but every little decision you make during the game will have an impact on whether good or bad things happen. I suppose that very much ties into the storyline - already, the dim witted characters have already made some pretty poor choices that you or I might have tried to avoid!

I will pay more attention to the music, GNC.

yes and Kirsten Dunst was excellent - I completely believed in her daftness and her facial expressions were excellent! I've not seen the Man Who Wasn't There (so this will have to be remedied).
 
GNC said:
loved hearing that Italian disco record that sounds like English until you concentrate on the lyrics and realise it's gibberish.
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That's a great track and thanks for posting it on the What Music thread. It took a few plays before I realised I couldn't understand the lyrics and I knew it wasn't Italian either.
I imagine that's what I must sound like to an Italian when I'm rapping the theme to Gomorra.

Kirsten Dunst trivia: In real life she's engaged to the actor who played her husband in S2.

Eponastill said:
In the first series, at one point there is a fish fall. This seems quite a random thing and isn't really incorporated into the story line in any particular way.

Also there is a wolf that appears at an opportune moment in an opportune place, and acts as a mechanism by which one character spots the location of another character.
Click to expand...

I have no memory of these but I do remember the UFO in S2. Will be watching the 3rd very soon.
 
Here's hoping Mary Elizabeth Winstead is this season's Kirsten Dunst, the talent is definitely there, so is the potential.
 
Im watching the US broadcasts I "acquired". Get ready for a bit of a rollercoaster later ;)
 
I could have sworn that was a Don Hertzfeldt animation throughout this week's episode on C4, but looking at the credits it was a very accurate facsimile. Anyway, sci-fi in Fargo, more overt than ever! And Ray Wise!
 
Peter and the Wolf! That's a blast from the past. The scene with Ewan making a deal with the devil (Mr Thewlis) was just superb. And the lightbulb above the head last few seconds, this is really shaping up.

Only thing is, Noah Hawley has said this will probably be the final season because he can't think of any new stories for the show. If that's true, then I'm a little sad but satisfied overall.
 
I'm happy to wait until inspiration strikes. I've been enjoying them a lot.
 
This is a highlight of the week for me. Thewlis is exuding an understated but extreme menace in every scene he appears in. Ewan is brilliant, as are the rest of the cast in this series.
Top drawer stuff. Peter and the Wolf indeed!
 
Sooo many characters on this show you want to see getting their comeuppance. The cliffhangers have never been better this season. Not long to go for Brit viewers...
 
Fortean element: the cop's lack of ability to get automatic doors etc to work for her - then she gets a hug and they do!

I know we're supposed to be gunning for Thewlis's Machiavelli, but Shea Whigham as the smug idiot chief is the prime target for me. Spot on performances, the lot of them. Last episode (possibly ever) on C4 next Wednesday!
 
But what about the purgatory of the Bowling Alley where reincarnation into cats was explained and justice given by the dead?!?!?
 
GNC said:
Fortean element: the cop's lack of ability to get automatic doors etc to work for her - then she gets a hug and they do!

I know we're supposed to be gunning for Thewlis's Machiavelli, but Shea Whigham as the smug idiot chief is the prime target for me. Spot on performances, the lot of them. Last episode (possibly ever) on C4 next Wednesday!
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Chief Wiggum, surely?

Thewlis! You just added another couple of zeros to your contract.
 
Chief Whigham! I should have seen that. Chief Wiggum's funnier, mind you.
 
Nothing ends well in Fargo but this series has been excellent in terms of pacing, atmosphere and the characters have been superb.
So, the concluding episode delivered the goods with a cyclic ending referring to the opening shot of episode.
The interview room at the end had the exact same dimensions as the interview room in the opening episode. They thought that through as bookends from the start.

It's been a great series.
 
Damn right it has, if it never returns they can be proud that every season was a definite 10/10. Ewan McGregor's William H. Macy impression was spot on, Carrie Coon was perfect as the dogged detective, and David Thewlis insidious as the baddie. Something about this material brings out the best in the whole cast. And the plotting was Swiss watch quality, with the open ending surprisingly apt.

Glad to see Hawley has a lot of other irons in the fire too, not only Legion season 2.
 
Sweet. Schwartzman and Rock. Jess Buckley was incredible in Beast.

Sam Rockwell still hasn't been cast yet. Must be due in S5.
 
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I loved the first 3 series of Fargo so I'm excited to see another in the pipeline.
 
Oh, and spot the Raising Arizona reference in that trailer.
 
Did not like. Not really Fargo at all. Loved the movie. Loved 1, 2 and 3. Something changed to the narrative, style, humour and demonic menace.

I couldn’t engage with it. I’ll give it a miss thanks.
 
Analogue Boy said:
Did not like. Not really Fargo at all. Loved the movie. Loved 1, 2 and 3. Something changed to the narrative, style, humour and demonic menace.

I couldn’t engage with it. I’ll give it a miss thanks.
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Same. Only watched half the season. IMHO, it's in large part because in S4 we weren't rooting for the cops, which had been a huge draw for me in S1-3. In S4 I had no focus for my allegiance. Bring back old chief Burgle. Long live new chief Solverson.
 
S4 took its own sweet time getting there, but finally found its groove in the last few episodes, the last pair in particular went like gangbusters. Interesting depiction of a race war in the USA, under the guise of a Miller's Crossing plot, probably too many characters, but Jessie Buckley was a great villainess. Neato tie in with the first season in the very last scene. The least of the seasons, but I'm glad I stuck with it.
 
Eponastill said:
Did you spot any forteanness GNC?
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I suppose the zombie as the harbinger of death was the most obvious bit of strangeness. The odd strange death - the one at the end of the penultimate episode made me gasp!
 
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