Fargo's starting to anger me. This isn't because it's bad-no, it's better than ever. But this show's villains are some particularly vile individuals.
The opening is different in this episode. Aside from the amusing new way they say "Previously on...", the titles appear over a shot of Gus nervously waiting in the hospital. This is in contrast to the wide shots of not much in particular that dominated the title previously, and it's paced much slower, with the final title card appearing after a later scene where Lester leaves the prison. The cinematography is excellent all over, with really nice framing that does a good job of communicating the tone and atmosphere.
Lorne Malvo, our main villain, is particularly frightening now. His plans have been tampered with, and he plans to put a stop to it. So what does he do? He goes on a rampage through the base of the Fargo gang. Meanwhile, two very funny FBI agents are conversing about various silly things, before seeing a body fall out of a window. And then? Again, they don't catch Malvo.
In the previous episode, Lester planted evidence in his brother's house. Remember, Chaz is completely innocent. But he's taken in by the police and arrested, having been framed. This is Lester's lowest point, his crossing of the moral event horizon. At this point, Lester shows absolutely no chance of becoming sympathetic again, but he has become more confident and suave, being able to seduce Hess' wife. It's infuriating, not just because Lester's going down the wrong path and is doing horrible things, but because he's become a creature of spite when it wasn't needed. Had Lester simply named Malvo, Malvo could have been blamed for the murder of Lester's wife. But it wasn't to be.
Molly survives, but she was hospitalized for a bit. Gus brings her flowers, and the couple are positively adorable. Later, we see Molly formulating the connections in this case-and she's right. She's piecing most of it together, although she hasn't realized that Lester didn't intend for Hess' murder. However, it's ever-so-frustrating to see her having put it all together, knowing what happened in Bemidji and how much of a wall that'll be between her and victory. Fittingly, she suffers from a pseudo-panic attack when she learns what happened. Justice seems farther away than ever, but Molly's smart. She'll figure something out.
At one point, Molly meets Mr. Wrench. With Mr. Numbers dead, Wrench is left alone, having to read lips and write on whiteboards to communicate. Molly states his circumstance clearly, in one of the show's most powerful and poignant moments. All this, for what? That's the question posed to Wrench. Obviously, it's to catch the killer, but Wrench is far from innocent in this equation, and it seems that this has led to nowhere good for him. It's one of the episode's many great sequences, and commands a lot of emotion.
Bill's an idiot. There's no other way to put it. The daft police chief didn't understand how well things fit together with Lester, or even considered the idea that maybe Chaz was framed. He's one of the most aggravating characters in the show, because we know he means well but almost everything he does gets in the way and impedes the case... and now, he's made the biggest blunder yet. That said, in this case we can't blame him. Lester's suddenly become quite the charmer, something which is communicated very well by Martin Freeman's excellent performance.
On that note, let's discuss the acting. Freeman is of course excellent, as mentioned. His accent is fairly impressive for a Brit such as himself, and he seems much better suited to the confident charmer Lester than the meek, confused victim Lester. He sells this character as increasingly unlikeable and slimy, and he does it excellently. Billy Bob Thornton as Malvo, meanwhile, only gets more brilliant and more intense. His performance has jumped from creepy to absolutely terrifying. While Thornton was excellent when Malvo was cool and almost funny in his smug evilness, he's better now that Malvo's falling apart. It remains to be seen if Malvo will regain his composure, and the most interesting thing about that possibility is how Thornton will play it.
Allison Tolman also shows an increasingly great performance, and she has a lot of chemistry with Colin Hanks. The former really sells the character, with a brilliant performance which captures the emotion Molly's feeling in each moment. Meanwhile, Gus' nervousness and insecurity is communicated spectacularly by Hanks, who's introducing a bit more of an element of confidence to show the character's development.
All around the board, Fargo is simply excellent, and this episode is perhaps the best yet. Now, we begin the gruelling wait for the next episode.
No comments:
Post a Comment