(This was an early review of the first two episodes of the new season of Fargo. Fargo airs on FX Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. and is available to stream on Hulu the following day.)
“This is a true story.” Fargo is back to the Midwest after a detour to Kansas City. There’s something about those accents; warm and welcome, but also secretive and devious. Minnesota Nice, they call it. This behavioral dichotomy is on full display as the new season opens at a local School Board meeting. They’re planning the Fall Festival. Aah, a perfect Norman Rockwell moment…until a full-on brawl erupts in the auditorium. Dot Lyon (Juno Temple, Ted Lasso) accidentally tasers a cop and is arrested. All this mayhem is accompanied by Yes’ “I’ve Seen All Good People.” Sweet. I’ll admit it. I was a huge Yes fan in the ’70s and enjoy listening to them today.
Fargo continues to operate in the same fictional universe created by the Coen brothers for the 1996 film, starring Frances McDormand and William H. Macy. The anthology series has had a stellar cast over the years: Season One (Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, and Martin Freeman), Season Two (Kirsten Dunst, Patrick Wilson, Jesse Plemons, and Jean Smart), Season Three (Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Winstead, and David Thewlis), and Season Four (Chris Rock, Jessie Buckley, Jason Schwartzman, and Ben Whishaw). The trend continues. In addition to the excellent Temple, Jon Hamm (Mad Men) is introduced as Sheriff Roy “I am the law” Tillman holding court in a hot tub, cigar in hand, and taking in the view of his ranch. The Sheriff is already exhibiting the violent and bizarre traits associated with Fargo land. Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight) plays Lorraine Lyon, Dot’s mother-in-law and CEO of a powerful debt collector company. Leigh was born to play a cruel, vindictive matriarch.
Juno Temple is mesmerizing as Dot fixates on making pancakes for her daughter when she has just returned home after being kidnapped and partaking in a bloodbath. She denies being kidnapped and says she just left for a few hours to clear her head. She rigs the house in a showcase for DIY security systems. Electrified windows, a pendulum giant hammer above the doorway, and the daughter’s contribution, a nail-imbedded baseball bat worthy of Negan’s “Lucille” in The Walking Dead. Dot is a formidable opponent, “it’s not my first getaway.” A cop calls her a combo of Rambo and MacGyver. She is clearly hiding something. The Sheriff and her mother-in-law are going to make her life miserable (they already have). But hey, this is Fargo. Maybe Dot’s milquetoast husband will dump a body into a woodchipper.
D² Rating: ◼◼◼◼☐
Trivia: The 1996 Fargo film won Academy Awards in which two categories? (Answer below)
Trivia Answer: Best Actress for Frances McDormand and Best Original Screenplay for the Coens.