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Fargo - Season 2 - a new true crime chapter takes us to 1979 Sioux Falls - Mon on FX

D

DirtyManos

Member
ezekial45 said:
I would hope FX would renew this. It's their one prestige show, and it won an Emmy last year, so that's definitely worth something.
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Not just an Emmy, it won three Emmys in Best Miniseries, Directing, and Casting, as well as being nominated in 15 other categories. I'm pretty sure it was the most nominated show last year? And even if they weren't directly competing, some people saw it as winning over True Detective as well with all the hype it got its first season (Fargo was indeed the better show!).

FX will keep the show going as long as it keeps getting all the critical praise and noms/awards, barring some huge collapse in ratings.
 
T

Toothless

Member
Finished episode 3. Mike Milligan's actor is brilliant. Good episode again; it's hard to discuss a show that's as consistent as this.
 
L

LaneDS

Member
After watching this third episode I wondered if new viewers might enjoy this season even more if they hadn't seen season one, knowing Lou makes it through tense scenes like that alive. Even suggested to my brother that he watch it out of order but he wasn't into the idea. Will be interesting to see how that is in the future when folks inevitably try it.

That idea aside, man, what a show. Every episode is fantastic. Rewatched most of season one over the weekend and I think season two has a better all around cast but season one has the MVPs (young Lou and Milligan are my favs thus far for two). That's of course a fluid opinion but it's been fun drawing comparisons between the two.

One of Malvo's cassette tapes in season one has someone named Milligan, so I'm wondering if that could be a sideways connection (doesn't say Mike though).
 
C

chicko1983

Member
Whoa didn't pick up that Lou is a character from the first series. I can't remember any of the first series character names though.
 
R

Red Hood

Banned
Just finished episode 3 and I think this is where it'll take off for me. Excited about the fourth. The first two episodes kinda had a slow pacing and aesthetically felt very different to the first season (e.g. way too serious and gritty). It still feels the same, but the ending to episode 3 seems to start off the whole point of the season.
 
S

Saty

Member
forgeforsaken said:
While Fargo is obviously not the true story it claims, that actually happened.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Gregory_Glen_Biggs
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Generally it isn't really a good idea to point at senseless real-life events as a sort of justification to narrative decisions. Anyhow: "at the time Mallard was believed to have been driving while intoxicated by a combination of marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol"

-griffy- said:
Plot of last season was jumpstarted by an the inexplicable act of Lester killing his wife with a hammer when a moment of anger gets the better of him. Plot of the film was kickstarted by the inexplicable plot created by Jerry to have his wife fake kidnapped for real in order get money from his father in law. These are all things that normal people don't do, that could be considered inexplicable.

Only none of them really are inexplicable, including Peggy, are they? You can explain them fairly easily by analyzing the character that perpetrates the act. They are all completely unusual behavior that makes perfect sense in the context of that character. They are not rational actions, but actions that none the less can be explained.
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Well, firstly, i thought S1 was pretty bad. My issues with it were the asinine depiction of law enforcement and the lame supernatural aura they gave Malvo.
S2 so far has been way better on that regard but it was disappointing to see again the incompetence in which the Sheriff is written that he needs his daughter to set him on the obvious path.

Regarding how they jumpstartered the seasons, last season wasn't so outrageous. It was a crime of sudden rage of a man's being fed-up and losing it. We knew Lester's relationship with his wife wasn't good.
Peggy's decision after she hit Rye is just of the blue. I may not be digging deep enough but i haven't detected anything yet in Peggy's characterization that allows me to understand those decisions.

It seems like the fast way to cause the mess and confusion of where is Rye, what happened to him, the whole mistaken identity thing and who is actually responsible to what. This season looks to be hinging on Rye being dead and unaccounted for, and out of the several ways to accomplish it i'm so far none the wiser why they choose what they did.
 
W

water_wendi

Water is not wet!
Saty said:
Regarding how they jumpstartered the seasons, last season wasn't so outrageous. It was a crime of sudden rage of a man's being fed-up and losing it. We knew Lester's relationship with his wife wasn't good.
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i feel that the murders/deaths themselves arent what led to things spiraling out of control but the decisions made right after. In S2 Peggy drives off and tries to pretend nothing happened. The decision that mirrors this in the first season happens after Pearls murder and that is when Lester calls Malvo. Both are decisions made in a panic which is what leads to the different stories unfolding as they do.
 
U

User 479360

Banned
Am I the only one who's a bit disappointed in Season 2 in comparison to Season 1? Not that I don't like it, or wouldn't recommend it. It's just not as good.
 
-MD-

-MD-

Member
OCDChewie said:
Am I the only one who's a bit disappointed in Season 2 in comparison to Season 1? Not that I don't like it, or wouldn't recommend it. It's just not as good.
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I thought season 1 was excellent but this season is on route to surpassing it.

The premiere episode was incredible.
 
S

SuperStiltzkin

Member
OCDChewie said:
Am I the only one who's a bit disappointed in Season 2 in comparison to Season 1? Not that I don't like it, or wouldn't recommend it. It's just not as good.
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Before episode 3, I was feeling skeptical about Season 2. But things really picked up this week after all the set up of the first two episodes. Lou finally gets more screentime and more to do this episode and characters are finally crossing paths with each other in interesting ways.
 
Moff

Moff

Member
OCDChewie said:
Am I the only one who's a bit disappointed in Season 2 in comparison to Season 1? Not that I don't like it, or wouldn't recommend it. It's just not as good.
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season 1 was basically the billy bob thornton show, I knew we could not get that with season 2.
luckily, so did they, it's a different concept in a similiar setting, I still absolutely love it.
 
U

User 479360

Banned
I loved the cast and characters in season one, and the whole thing with Lester. The deputy was great, too.

It's one of my favourite seasons of TV. I just fell in love with it.
 
S

Speevy

Banned
I think that if they keep stuff focused on Mike Milligan and Floyd Gerhardt, it will be really good.


Wilson, Plemons, Danson, and Dunst are all talented actors, but their characters are rather bland taken apart from what's happening around them.
 
U

User 479360

Banned
Speevy said:
I think that if they keep stuff focused on Mike Milligan and Floyd Gerhardt, it will be really good.


Wilson, Plemons, Danson, and Dunst are all talented actors, but their characters are rather bland taken apart from what's happening around them.
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I like Wilson and his arc, but the Plemons and Dunst one has been underwhelming so far.
 
U

Ulldog

Member
Does anyone else feel that the show is a bit over-edited? The wacky music and weird cuts are distracting. The subtleness (and quality to some extent) of the movie is lost.
 
I

Intheflorsh

Banned
Count me among the people who are feeling a little let down by this season. I think the biggest problem is that I really don't find the cop character compelling and they're spending the majority of the episodes following him. He's just a stiff, one-note character who floats around from scene to scene seeming completely unperturbed by what's happening around him. Allison Tolman felt a thousand times more dynamic and relatable in season one.

Ulldog said:
Does anyone else feel that the show is a bit over-edited? The wacky music and weird cuts are distracting. The subtleness (and quality to some extent) of the movie is lost.
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For the most part it's OK, but the diner scene in the first episode really would have benefited from some slower pacing.
 
J

jcutner

Member
Ulldog said:
Does anyone else feel that the show is a bit over-edited? The wacky music and weird cuts are distracting. The subtleness (and quality to some extent) of the movie is lost.
Click to expand...

I don't think it benefits at all from the Ang Lee Hulk style edits (best example I can think of)
 
N

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
Loved the episode this week, just got around to watching it. Jeffery Donovan and Patrick Wilson were both fantastic and had some really great scenes. Lou at the Gerhardt house was probably my favorite, massive balls there. Also couldn't help but laugh at "bathroom brothers." I love this season so far.
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
I get the sense Bear and his kid are gonna be really key to how the show ends.

Like, there's a bit of a mirroring aspect there, w/r/t Lou's own relationship w/ Molly.
 
J

JDSN

Banned
I love how Mike has two different voice modulations, he sounds like a newscaster when talking to people and relaxes and deeper when its time to get nasty, its still a completely different character from Malvo.

Bobby Roberts said:
I get the sense Bear and his kid are gonna be really key to how the show ends.

Like, there's a bit of a mirroring aspect there, w/r/t Lou's own relationship w/ Molly.
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Yup, whatever takeover Dodd tries Bear is gonna be there to pick up the pieces, the kid seems to be smart and maybe Bear is the same.
 
L

LaneDS

Member
Rewatching season one, is the head mob dude at the start of episode six (potential season two spoiler)
Bear Gerhardt
? Seems like it could be. Don't remember if they return to that character at all in season one, but there are certainly some similarities.
 
poppabk

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
Ulldog said:
Does anyone else feel that the show is a bit over-edited? The wacky music and weird cuts are distracting. The subtleness (and quality to some extent) of the movie is lost.
Click to expand...
The split screen stuff is annoying. I'm enjoying this season, but it's lacking some of the wackiness and humor of the first season and it's missing a Lester type character that you can sort of root for.
 
L

Lo_Fi

Member
poppabk said:
The split screen stuff is annoying. I'm enjoying this season, but it's lacking some of the wackiness and humor of the first season and it's missing a Lester type character that you can sort of root for.
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I agree that the split screen stuff is annoying, but I hope it goes somewhere. My hope is that they're getting viewers used to it so they can use it in meaningful ways later on.

And after the latest episode, I'm rooting for Lou. At first he was sort of a non-character, but after that standoff at the house I was thinking "damn, this dude's brave."
 
B

betweenthewheels

Member
I enjoyed season 1 as a whole, but to me it felt like a hokey adaptation of the Coen's original movie.

Season 2 feels nothing like Fargo to me, and it's for the better. I'm glad they decided to change things up and forge their own path with season 2.
 
S

StopMakingSense

Member
LaneDS said:
Rewatching season one, is the head mob dude at the start of episode six (potential season two spoiler)
Bear Gerhardt
? Seems like it could be. Don't remember if they return to that character at all in season one, but there are certainly some similarities.
Click to expand...

I didn't go back to check, but I was thinking that might be the case. It is a trucking company.
 
G

Gozer the Gozerian

Member
betweenthewheels said:
I enjoyed season 1 as a whole, but to me it felt like a hokey adaptation of the Coen's original movie.

Season 2 feels nothing like Fargo to me, and it's for the better. I'm glad they decided to change things up and forge their own path with season 2.
Click to expand...

Agreed. A lot of the comedic elements in Season 1 were kinda hit or miss for me, and my least favorite parts were when they tried to emulate the movie a little too closely. I've found Season 2 to be more consistent so far.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
- PaleyFest NY: Fargo
Watch a panel discussion from The Paley Center for Media's annual ultimate TV fan festival, PaleyFest NY. Next up is Fargo featuring Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemmons, Ted Danson, Jean Smart, Noah Hawley, Warren Littlefield and John Cameron. Moderated by Matt Zoller Seitz, TV Critic, New York Magazine and Editor-in-Chief, RogerEbert.com.
Click to expand...
 
S

scabro

Member
If FX has kept The Americans going for as long as they have, i would be pretty surprised if they canceled Fargo.

And add me to the list that really liked season 1, but thinks season 2 is even better. The casting, the writing, the atmosphere, the tension, really good stuff.

Dunst, Bokeem, Donovan, Wilson are all killing it.

Would listen to the Mike Milligan and the Kitchen Brothers LP.
 
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