What I’m Watching: Fargo

Fargo: Season 3, Episode 6 “The Lord of No Mercy” (B+)

Okay, so we’re getting back to the style of this show that helps to make it what it is, with the plot going forward clearly the intersection of all the threads, coming together at the worst possible time. VM’s sprawling stories about the moon landing happening on a soundstage and his assertion to Gloria and Winnie that there were twenty-four Hitlers in the phone book at the start of World War II seemed excessive and irrelevant, but they just serve to reinforce his ability to spin any narrative and make it seem too elaborate to be invented. Googling Gloria and then Eden Valley after crashing Emmit’s interview with the cops showed his active interest in things, and then he had his latest yarn to spin about what happened to Ray when he arrived to do damage control. Emmit calling VM for his help was very reminiscent of Lester calling Lorne for that very same thing back in season one, getting in way over his head. Emmit giving Ray the stamp was a decent peace offering, but of course it didn’t work out as he had hoped and now the hapless parole officer who forgot the getaway money is dead. Nikki, however, is in much better shape, and we’re now headed for what’s sure to be a bloody showdown involving VM, Nikki, and Gloria all converging on the same location, each pretty much aware of what’s going on even if others in their lives don’t agree with their assessment of the situation.