Deus Ex machina is only that when the writers write themselves into a corner and insert a random element to solve the plot issue.
Fargo - Season 2 - a new true crime chapter takes us to 1979 Sioux Falls - Mon on FX
- Thread starter Cornballer
- Start date
Deus Ex machina is only that when the writers write themselves into a corner and insert a random element to solve the plot issue.
StopMakingSense
Member
This UFO is too much, but the shot to the head not dropping Bear is totally fine.
Either way, the entirety of the events of this season were started by Ry seeing the UFO.
How is Show Me A Hero not nominated in that category? And as much as I love this season of Fargo, Show Me A Hero should not only be nominated, but should run away with it.
If movies have taught me anything, Mr. Brown easily drove a getaway car after getting his melon popped. Bear fighting Lou totally makes sense.
RadioHeadAche
Member
The first shot only took off a piece of his ear.
Yeah, I wasn't even sold on her at the start of the season and now she's the best character in the show.
StopMakingSense
Member
That's impossible as he was at a pretty clean 90 degree angle to Bear's.. uh.. bearing.
lazyproblems
Member
I really liked this episode. I wasn't thrilled at the appearance of the UFO, but they've been hinting at it for a while now, so I expected it to show up at some point. The show runner talking about it more with EW did make me like the scene more. I don't really think it changed all that much, Peggy's: "It's just a flying saucer Ed, we gotta go," line was both funny and fitting.
Mike's final line in the episode was also pretty damn great. I also really loved the narration throughout the episode, I thought that was a really smart creative decision.
I've loved this season a lot so far, Fargo's such a good show. Can't wait to see how everything ends, and I'm glad they were renewed for a third season.
Mike's final line in the episode was also pretty damn great. I also really loved the narration throughout the episode, I thought that was a really smart creative decision.
I've loved this season a lot so far, Fargo's such a good show. Can't wait to see how everything ends, and I'm glad they were renewed for a third season.
Spectral Glider
Member
Yeah, and it's not like the UFO blasted a laser through Bear's chest or beamed him up.
theepicoftyler
Member
I think Lou is going to be the lone survivor of this season. I was reading comments on the AV Club and in his conversation with Malvo in season 1 he says something along the lines of (in reference to the Sioux Falls incident) "I'd tell you the details, but you'd never believe me".
I don't remember what the exact quote is, but I think he's the only one who will be left at the end of the day to remember the UFO being there.
I don't remember what the exact quote is, but I think he's the only one who will be left at the end of the day to remember the UFO being there.
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
Bullets have bounced off of skulls before.
Cornballer
Member
They did one for the S1 score, so there's some hope. I'm not sure what the rights issues will be like for all of the covers.
For now, there's a Spotify playlist of some of the S2 tracks. Most if not all of the new stuff isn't on there, but it's got some great songs from the late 70's.
I think we have to assume that Lou's .357 Magnum was loaded with .38 specials, which would make Bear surviving the shot more plausible. There are several real life accounts of people surviving gunshots to the head, and I believe we can safely assume that Bear is running on a high amount of adrenaline during the shootout, minimizing the effects of his gunshot wound(s) to some extent.
I'm just trying to sound smart
It's obvious that the UFO would be an obvious make it or break it decision. Personally that's what I like most about it. It's completely absurd, but so is the story to begin with. It seems like it doesn't fit, but it actually works.
This is a great season of TV. I think it even topped Mr. robot for me. Which was no east feat. Think this season blows the first season out of the water.
This is a great season of TV. I think it even topped Mr. robot for me. Which was no east feat. Think this season blows the first season out of the water.
internetwolf
Banned
Is it Monday yet?
poppabk
Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
Thats the best part, the UFO was pretty much irrelevant other than as a distraction. It could have been a rain of fish or an explosion or a helicopter for all the import it had.
Fantastical
Death Prophet
Binged watched the past two days. Amazing season, probably enjoying it more than the first. Everyone is bringing their A-game but I'm loving Kirsten Dunst. I loved her in the car as she was getting excited and talked about how you just get up and go to the bathroom in school, lol.
Mike Works
Member
Just caught up to episode 9. Peggy's line of (paraphrasing here) "Oh it's just a flying saucer, come on" is probably the apex of this season. It encapsulates her so, so perfectly.
And was that Martin Freeman narrating or someone else? Haven't looked into it yet.
And was that Martin Freeman narrating or someone else? Haven't looked into it yet.
It was Freeman. Pretty neat to have him in season 2 in some way
People, are you watching the show? The UFO intervention wasn't secondary - it was everything. The writers throwing themselves a lifeline and saving the main character from death because he can't die because he was alive in the prior season that took place. Ludicrous. Which was only necessary because 'Fargo' suddenly remembered they can't have real tension in respect to Lou because we know he'll survive so they gave up and made Bear take 2 bullets but continue to power on and show no signs of anything and being able overpower Lou and strangle him to death, but here comes the UFO to save the day that shouldn't have needed saving.
Stop trying to twist around in attempt to salvage that scene in one way or another. For you to love a show do you really need to have 0% issues with it? Take it on the chin and roll on.
Good to have more confirmation Hansee didn't kill the store-owner last episode because he was a prop serving the plot.
More law officers introduced; more stupidity and incompetence. Pulling no punches to move the plot in the desired direction come hell or high-water. Glad to see them butchered. Maybe Peggy was in the right after all not going to the police after her accident. She's better off alone with Ed than the asinine cop depiction the show insists on.
Stop trying to twist around in attempt to salvage that scene in one way or another. For you to love a show do you really need to have 0% issues with it? Take it on the chin and roll on.
Good to have more confirmation Hansee didn't kill the store-owner last episode because he was a prop serving the plot.
More law officers introduced; more stupidity and incompetence. Pulling no punches to move the plot in the desired direction come hell or high-water. Glad to see them butchered. Maybe Peggy was in the right after all not going to the police after her accident. She's better off alone with Ed than the asinine cop depiction the show insists on.
thecosmicfly
Banned
Y'know you're right on the money, shows do need to stop having plots that progress and characters that move said plot forward in a direction. Talk about cliche, have characters do things and stories going somewhere.
I respect the show for its eccentricities, its cast, and its willingness to take some ideas that were born in the Coen brothers' film and run with them.
I think however that the flying saucer, like the fish and the hotel bloodbath from the first season, represent fundamental misunderstandings of what the Coen brothers were trying to say.
There aren't supernatural forces at work that suspend the laws of nature. It's the nature of man to suspend his own sense of right and wrong, and from that hole crawls a series of unlikely scenarios.
The 1996 film looked at life in a small town and asked what would happen if a mild-mannered man surrounded by sickly sweet people were pushed to his breaking point. Jerry Lundegaard is a protagonist who breathes deceit and had every opportunity to fess up, but never did. He only made it worse. He meets Marge Gunderson and despite her best efforts to wring the truth out of him, he sticks to his guns, to the detriment of everyone around him.
They revisited this idea with the first season of Fargo. One man is faced with a choice and has a literal angel and devil trying to get him to do the right thing in the end. So there is once again this story of a small town, seemingly nice people, and a choice that most of us would not make.
Season 2 starts out with a similar setup with the Blomquists. Peggy makes a mistake and instead of coming clean (which would have earned her no prison time given who she hit), she chooses to cover it up and makes her husband complicit. Then there's this whole separate mob storyline that makes everything so much more complicated than it had to be. There are some great characters, though. I especially liked Dodd and Mike Milligan. Terrific casting.
What they missed between these two seasons was that there was a dark truth underneath Jerry Lundegaard's dilemma. The reason why this movie is labeled a dark comedy is not because of any murder that occurs in the film. Rather, it shows how unforgiving the world can be to genuinely good people. All of the Coen brothers films touch on this to varying degrees, actually.
It would have made more sense for Peggy's decisions to get her decent husband killed, but they opted instead for the death-an-episode bloodbath between the Gerhardts and Kansas city.
More importantly though, the core events of this season were hinged not on a choice reflecting human nature, but on a fucking UFO. Even Oh Brother Where Art Thou is more realistic than this show.
I think however that the flying saucer, like the fish and the hotel bloodbath from the first season, represent fundamental misunderstandings of what the Coen brothers were trying to say.
There aren't supernatural forces at work that suspend the laws of nature. It's the nature of man to suspend his own sense of right and wrong, and from that hole crawls a series of unlikely scenarios.
The 1996 film looked at life in a small town and asked what would happen if a mild-mannered man surrounded by sickly sweet people were pushed to his breaking point. Jerry Lundegaard is a protagonist who breathes deceit and had every opportunity to fess up, but never did. He only made it worse. He meets Marge Gunderson and despite her best efforts to wring the truth out of him, he sticks to his guns, to the detriment of everyone around him.
They revisited this idea with the first season of Fargo. One man is faced with a choice and has a literal angel and devil trying to get him to do the right thing in the end. So there is once again this story of a small town, seemingly nice people, and a choice that most of us would not make.
Season 2 starts out with a similar setup with the Blomquists. Peggy makes a mistake and instead of coming clean (which would have earned her no prison time given who she hit), she chooses to cover it up and makes her husband complicit. Then there's this whole separate mob storyline that makes everything so much more complicated than it had to be. There are some great characters, though. I especially liked Dodd and Mike Milligan. Terrific casting.
What they missed between these two seasons was that there was a dark truth underneath Jerry Lundegaard's dilemma. The reason why this movie is labeled a dark comedy is not because of any murder that occurs in the film. Rather, it shows how unforgiving the world can be to genuinely good people. All of the Coen brothers films touch on this to varying degrees, actually.
It would have made more sense for Peggy's decisions to get her decent husband killed, but they opted instead for the death-an-episode bloodbath between the Gerhardts and Kansas city.
More importantly though, the core events of this season were hinged not on a choice reflecting human nature, but on a fucking UFO. Even Oh Brother Where Art Thou is more realistic than this show.
Mike Works
Member
Yeahhhhhh, no they weren't.
Mike Works
Member
I too like to imagine a world where writers aren't able to control their characters and their actions.
"Alright, so then we have Lou shoot Bear a few times, but the big guy doesn't die! He storms over to Lou and chokes the life out of him. And then-"
"Wait, Greg! Isn't Lou alive in the first season? That means he can't die!"
"Oh shit, you're right. And I've already spoken the words out loud, so there's nothing we can do to change it! My God, we've killed the series..."
"The UFO! We can bring the UFO back!"
"I dunno, isn't that Deus Ex Machina?"
"I suppose one would consider the UFO to be Deus Ex Machina if they rightfully understood that us writers can't pre-plan and change these plot threads..."
"Oh well, let's do it anyway. Hey, how do we finish this fake conversation in an entertaining manner?"
*a UFO beams down and shakes its head at some of the posts in this thread*
"Alright, so then we have Lou shoot Bear a few times, but the big guy doesn't die! He storms over to Lou and chokes the life out of him. And then-"
"Wait, Greg! Isn't Lou alive in the first season? That means he can't die!"
"Oh shit, you're right. And I've already spoken the words out loud, so there's nothing we can do to change it! My God, we've killed the series..."
"The UFO! We can bring the UFO back!"
"I dunno, isn't that Deus Ex Machina?"
"I suppose one would consider the UFO to be Deus Ex Machina if they rightfully understood that us writers can't pre-plan and change these plot threads..."
"Oh well, let's do it anyway. Hey, how do we finish this fake conversation in an entertaining manner?"
*a UFO beams down and shakes its head at some of the posts in this thread*
StopMakingSense
Member
Honestly, if anything, the fight with Bear was WAY more of a contrivance to bring about the UFO, than the UFO was a contrivance to solve the fight.
Gozer the Gozerian
Member
I'm way more bugged by Lou and co. not arresting Mike and Kitchen bro at the Pearl hotel a few weeks ago
Cornballer
Member
One more time...
Cornballer said:
It's real as far as we know it right now I believe. I watch season one again last week, and Lou refers cryptically to something's towards the end of that season that could be related to seeing the UFO.
I think after we have the finale, it will either come together and make sense in context, or it'll just be what it is. I find it interesting that two characters are killed while being distracted by it though. And both of them are from the same family.
Thank you. I read the EW interview and it strongly indicates the UFO is real. Crazy. I didn't quite expect that. Not quite sure how I feel about it but it's not a deal breaker for me or anything.
StopMakingSense
Member
Floyd ended up being right, they were Peggy and Ed were sleeper agents the whole time... for the aliens. The UFO has been trying to recall them since episode one.
Cornballer
Member
- Arstechnica: How Fargos midwestern UFOs became pop cultures realest alien depiction
- TV Guide: Every Non-Spoiler We Can Tell You About Fargo's Emotional Finale (*spoilers*, please tag discussion as appropriate)
- TV Guide: Every Non-Spoiler We Can Tell You About Fargo's Emotional Finale (*spoilers*, please tag discussion as appropriate)
BannedEpisode
Member
I mean, I get why some folks would be upset by the Aliens. I just cant imagine it.
Its great.
Its great.
This season has been largely excellent, but count me among the camp who thought the UFO was an absolutely awful writing choice that almost sinks the whole thing entirely on its own (which is pretty impressive, to potentially ruin nine hours of storytelling with about a 20 second scene). Just because they've been building up (they haven't really, but just go along with it) to a UFO this season doesn't make its appearance or its impact on this episode any less stupid.
Um...because the writers didn't do that? It's deus ex machina because that's how they chose to resolve the scene. It's not like a plot device doesn't count as deus ex machina if there were other options on the table.
It single-handedly saves the life of our main character!
Well, yes, it's totally more normally for someone to survive a headshot or rage through a couple gunshots than it is for a UFO to drop out of the sky.
Um...because the writers didn't do that? It's deus ex machina because that's how they chose to resolve the scene. It's not like a plot device doesn't count as deus ex machina if there were other options on the table.
It single-handedly saves the life of our main character!
Well, yes, it's totally more normally for someone to survive a headshot or rage through a couple gunshots than it is for a UFO to drop out of the sky.
StopMakingSense
Member
But the UFO is an established entity in the universe of this story. As an established entiy in the universe, YES, Bear surviving the gunshots and making it to Lou is much more of a contrivance than their appearance. (also, i don't think Lou would have shot Bear in the very specific circumstance he did, if I really think about how the scene went)
The entire season is based upon their interference.To be upset at it now is sort of silly.
You people want too much true in your true crime fiction.
The entire season is based upon their interference.To be upset at it now is sort of silly.
You people want too much true in your true crime fiction.
Cornballer
Member
Season finale tonight:
The finale is scheduled for a 1:15 time slot.
User 479360
Banned
Can't wait!
Finally it's Monday! The suspense is killing me.
Cornballer
Member
- Via Variety: Critic's Choice nominations:
These are always an odd set of awards, but it's nice to see some of the supporting cast recognized with nominations.
Cornballer
Member
- Warming Glow Interview: Zahn McClarnon On Fargo
Fantastical
Death Prophet
Whether you liked the UFOs or not the writers didn't write themselves in to a corner. We aren't 4 seasons deep in to Lost here.