Sunday, December 20, 2015

What I’m Watching: Fargo (Season Finale)


Fargo: Season 2, Episode 10 “Palindrome” (B+)

In a sense, it feels like this season just started, but I know that there was actually so much packed into ten episodes that it seems silly to want more (aside from a third season, which is wonderfully on the way). This isn’t the kind of show where you have to wonder whether it’s all going to pay off, because the rewards are there along the way with acerbic dialogue and layered, eccentric characters. This season ended exactly in the fashion that I would have expected it to, with a few serious conversations about what all this meant and a much more peaceful resolution for the general populace than a show with this much violence might typically feature. Peggy hallucinating Hanzee trying to smoke them out as Ed gasped his last breath showed just how disconnected from reality she was, and Lou reminding her that people died as she talked about how she wanted to serve his prison time by the water was pretty much the only response he could have given at that point. Hanzee meeting a contact for a new identity and face, fated to fade into the shadows with no repercussions other than relocation, was fitting in an odd way, and I like that we saw two kids playing ball and signing who we know well will surely grow up to become the gangsters we met in season one. Speaking of season one, it was intriguing to hear Betsy talk about the future she saw, full of Keith Carradine, Colin Hanks, and Allison Tolman, all of who I hope will show up in some way or another in season three of this show. The most perplexing and appropriately dissatisfying resolution was that given to Mike, who survived despite everything and earned a desk job for all of his troubles, making all the violence seem futile and immediately forgotten. What a season it’s been – I can’t wait for season three!

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Bokeem Woodbine as Mike Milligan

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