Fargo [FX/Channel 4] [** Spoilers **]

Tipsy McSwagger

pappyodaniel wrote: »

My only query is, if somebody can explain to me would be

when Gus found Malvo's cabin, the last shot we saw of Gus was him entering the front door. A good deal of time elapsed until Malvo returned. It wouldn't have taken Gus very long to be sure this was the guy they were looking for. Why didn't he call Molly and give the location of the cabin? Why didn't he say Malvo was headed in such and such a direction in a red BMW, that he was wearing a black jacket, that he had grey hair and had a goatee?

How could Gus be sure that Malvo wasn't in the process of possibly murdering his wife, his unborn child and his teenage daughter?? How could Gus sit there in the cabin and wait (unknowingly if Malvo would return) to seal Malvo's fate. That for me is the only slight on what was an excellent series.

I especially loved how Gus assassinated Malvo. Too many times have we seen on TV and in the movies where a showdown occurs between the good guy and the bad guy only to see the bad/good guy get away in the middle of a conversation. Everybody watching the scene is roaring at the tele screaming "JUST SHOOT HIM ALREADY!!"
That was a satisfying conclusion for me.

Gus was carrying the shame of Malvo scaring the crap out of him and failing to do his job as a cop, and decided this was his chance to man up and deal with it. If he rang Molly she would have probably rushed to the cabin and thus putting herself in danger. Gus knew how dangerous Malvo was and came to the conclusion that it was better to just wait for him to come back to the cabin instead of putting him in a direct confrontation with small town cops who are pretty useless.

pappyodaniel

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

Gus was carrying the shame of Malvo scaring the crap out of him and failing to do his job as a cop, and decided this was his chance to man up and deal with it. If he rang Molly she would have probably rushed to the cabin and thus putting herself in danger. Gus knew how dangerous Malvo was and came to the conclusion that it was better to just wait for him to come back to the cabin instead of putting him in a direct confrontation with small town cops who are pretty useless.

That doesn't cut it for me. How could he sit there in wait of Malvo's return not knowing what dispicable acts he was carrying out, even possibly on his wife and daughter. Maybe this was intentional by the creators of the show. Gus had already been shown up to be cowardly and indecisive, this just continued on from that. Him shooting a wounded Malvo wasn't really a case of him doing the right thing, it was more to do with his ego and masculinity.

Tardful Slakerly II

pappyodaniel wrote: »

That doesn't cut it for me. How could he sit there in wait of Malvo's return not knowing what dispicable acts he was carrying out, even possibly on his wife and daughter. Maybe this was intentional by the creators of the show. Gus had already been shown up to be cowardly and indecisive, this just continued on from that. Him shooting a wounded Malvo wasn't really a case of him doing the right thing, it was more to do with his ego and masculinity.

That's ignoring the nonsense that had him discover the place in the first place. It expects viewers to forgive far too much.

FearDark

Tardful Slakerly II wrote: »

That's ignoring the nonsense that had him discover the place in the first place. It expects viewers to forgive far too much.

It's that sort of nonsence or should I say coincidence that the entire show is based on. Utterly awful story telling, the whole show relied on people "accidently" putting the jigsaw together, the only character in the show that had brains was Molly. Every other storyline relied on coincidence and the viewer being retarded.

Tipsy McSwagger

pappyodaniel wrote: »

That doesn't cut it for me. How could he sit there in wait of Malvo's return not knowing what dispicable acts he was carrying out, even possibly on his wife and daughter. Maybe this was intentional by the creators of the show. Gus had already been shown up to be cowardly and indecisive, this just continued on from that. Him shooting a wounded Malvo wasn't really a case of him doing the right thing, it was more to do with his ego and masculinity.

Like I said you don't confront Malvo head on. Instead you hide just like Lester did when he wounded Malvo and Gus did when he killed him. Gus figured that Molly was safe at the police station and the daughter was protected by Molly's father who was a bit of a badass himself. Gus was the opposite of the father, he wasn't comfortable with a gun and liable to seriously mess thing up if he went to rescue Molly or his daughter.

bluefinger

Just reading the thread and wondered what people thought of the significance of the wolf at the end. Might that have been the reason the dear ran in front of Malvo's car at the beginning? would be lovely symmetry.

Tardful Slakerly II

bluefinger wrote: »

Just reading the thread and wondered what people thought of the significance of the wolf at the end. Might that have been the reason the dear ran in front of Malvo's car at the beginning? would be lovely symmetry.

Malvo made a song and dance out of being a wolf, a predator, it was in his talk with the supermarket guy and his riddle to Gus etc.

Malvo was the wolf in the story. His downfall was being caught in an animal trap even.

I'm holding back criticism here too but safe to say it was sophomoric.. BBT was the big bad wolf among the sheep.
As symbolism/story telling goes the wolf being there, and leading Gus there was very heavy handed and again really lazy, essentially a fairy tale trope.

bluefinger

Tardful Slakerly II wrote: »

Malvo made a song and dance out of being a wolf, a predator, it was in his talk with the supermarket guy and his riddle to Gus etc.

Malvo was the wolf in the story. His downfall was being caught in an animal trap even.

I'm holding back criticism here too but safe to say it was sophomoric.. BBT was the big bad wolf among the sheep.
As symbolism/story telling goes the wolf being there, and leading Gus there was very heavy handed and again really lazy, essentially a fairy tale trope.

i realise that but actually looked past the symbolism as i thought that whole angle was way too obvious, though i did like the different shades of green part of it.

mike65

Just watched the final episode on Channel 4.

A fair bit of literalism in the posts above me - the world of Fargo is not the real world its a fantasy environment. It has been from the first moment to the last. As much as Twin Peaks was in its way or Utopia is in its.

camz09

jack presley wrote: »

The original film had a scene where yer one meets a bloke from school by chance in a bar and that added nothing to the plot either. So maybe the writers wanted to keep up the film's spirit by adding a couple of things to keep the viewers guessing just like the Coens did.

Eh, in the Fargo film, that scene (initially) felt out of nowhere until it becomes an IMPORTANT turning point to Marge's realisation that she should take people's words with a grain of salt. She realised how deceptive the guy was, which made her second guess her previous interview w/ William H Macy and went back to his office. Now, with the Fargo TV series, I don't know what was that for. Personally feel the show had a lot of filler scenes and sub plots: Stavros/Glenn Howerton plot felt inconsequential to the show, the deaf guy completely forgotten about, the Hess sons being completely cartoonish, stunt-casting key&peele, etc. Great music and cinematography, though!

TheRedDevil10

jack presley wrote: »

The supermarket owner storyline was needed as he was the reason Malvo was in the area in the first place. Had he not been blackmailed, he would never had hired Malvo, who wouldn't have hit the deer, gone to the hospital, met Lester etc.

Also, is there a chance some of the arcs that went no where (the chief's foster kid from Africa for example) were put in to put weight behind the ruse that it's based on a true story?

The original film had a scene where yer one meets a bloke from school by chance in a bar and that added nothing to the plot either. So maybe the writers wanted to keep up the film's spirit by adding a couple of things to keep the viewers guessing just like the Coens did.

Stavros' house and Phoenix Farms are in Duluth

D-FENS

Not the first time Martin Freeman has been involved in trying to solve the Fox/Rabbit/Cabbage riddle...

Gareth: Get his wife to help.
Tim: He doesn't have a wife.
Gareth: All farmers have wives.
Tim: This one doesn't, he's gay.
Gareth: Well then, he shouldn't be allowed near animals should he

cena

Is there going to be a season 2

bluefinger

cena wrote: »

Is there going to be a season 2

yes, although not confirmed yet.

cena

bluefinger wrote: »

yes, although not confirmed yet.

Hard to see where it goes from here.

same ol sh1te

cena wrote: »

Hard to see where it goes from here.

Could be completely unrelated like True Detective season 2

CastorTroy

Yeah the showrunner said it won't be about Molly and Gus anyway. And since Fargo's a town, there are different stories that can be told

michael999999

CastorTroy wrote: »

Yeah the showrunner said it won't be about Molly and Gus anyway. And since Fargo's a town, there are different stories that can be told

Maybe its that kid that was adopted by the chief, as the next storyline!

bnt

I was wondering what else Allison Tolman has done: turns out she's been in a few commercials:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7sTfC1oqJE

(The last one ... let's just all be thankful that, with a Critics’ Choice Television Award on her mantelpiece, and more awards likely, Allison will probably never need to that again. )

meoklmrk91

I held off on watching this until it was over and then binge watched the lot. Over all I have to say I really enjoyed it, some of the most enjoyable TV I've seen this year in fact. I would be happy with this being a stand alone and not seeing a 2nd season, at the same time a 2nd season could be interesting.

patmac

I loved the show and took it for what it was,i can't understand why people look for the negatives and plot holes and just sit back and enjoy, this was one of the finest television shows I have seen.

Backstreet Moyes

I think you either love this or hate it. I enjoyed it but i think Billy Bob Thornton was the standout his absence if their is a next season will put me off it.

silverharp

it was a good series and the setting was great. What was missing for me though was more interaction between Lester and Malvo or some sort of inner monologue for the audience's benefit. In shows like Dexter or Breaking Bad you get a rounded picture of why the characters are the way they are. Here Lester and Malvo are paper thin characters.

Backstreet Moyes

Ye a second season showing Marvo in his younger days would have been a good idea imo.

FunLover18

Kind of disappointed by that ending. Pretty neat wrap up. Very good television but style wise I wouldn't really have much interest in a second season. It's a complete story

el diablo

FunLover18 wrote: »

Kind of disappointed by that ending. Pretty neat wrap up. Very good television but style wise I wouldn't really have much interest in a second season. It's a complete story

Slightly confused by this statement.

FunLover18

el diablo wrote: »

Slightly confused by this statement.

Which bit? I thought the whole sequence with Lester falling through the ice was very suddedn, almost as though the writers didn't give themselves enough to finish his story completely; "Sure **** it, we'll have fall through some ice". It didn't work for me.

I enjoyed the series but the slow pacing and the black humour I found uncomfortable to watch at times. Excellently made but I can't say I enjoyed it, therefore little interest in season 2.

el diablo

FunLover18 wrote: »

Kind of disappointed by that ending. Pretty neat wrap up.

Your second sentence contradicts your first.

Very good television but style wise I wouldn't really have much interest in a second season. It's a complete story

And again.

FunLover18

They wrapped up the story neatly, therefore it's a complete story no need for a second series. I can't think of anything I'd like to see explored in a second season.

el diablo

FunLover18 wrote: »

They wrapped up the story neatly, therefore it's a complete story no need for a second series. I can't think of anything I'd like to see explored in a second season.

OK, I wasn't sure what you meant by a "complete story".