Fargo returns to television to reclaim its position as one of the best shows airing right now. Aw jeez.
The second season of Fargo opens without any sight whatsoever of a Malvo counterpart. Taking place in 1979, the main detective this time around is Lou Solverson (played here by Patrick Wilson), who viewers of the first season might remember in his older incarnation. Here, he's younger, effectively taking the role held by Molly in season 1. Like that season and the film preceding it, season 2 starts with a murder. A triple murder, in fact, as Rye Gerhardt (Kieran Culkin) murders everyone in a waffle house during a failed attempt to extort the lifting of certain debts from a laywer who's eating there. Initially, Rye appears to be this season's Lester, but this changes once he's hit by a car, owned by Peggy Blomquist (Kirsten Dunst).
She, and her husband Ed (Jesse Plemons), are the real Lester here, hiding up the incident in order to avoid being convicted of manslaughter. That's not to say that the Gerhardts are irrelevant, though: They're a mob family based in Fargo, and with Rye's death, the Solversons and the Blomquists become wrapped up in the convoluted world of organized crime. Perhaps, then, the mob is this season's Malvo, but they've barely had a presence so far, so it's unsure if they'll have the same driving presence as Lorne did in the previous season.
It doesn't matter, really, because this season will hardly need it. The convoluted saga of murder and secrets is already tightly wound enough to pull the season forward even without the mob being around, and if the Blomquists are anything like Lester was, they'll only grow more insidious as the season wears on. Thankfully, these characters are just as excellent as those of the previous season. Fargo's second season is effectively a saga of three families, and each of these families is engaging to watch in their own way. This is a cast just as quirky and compelling as those that came before, and each character is played superbly.
The Minessota accents are as omnipresent as ever, with less "Aw jeez" so far but a fair deal of "Okay then." Fargo has always billed itself as a black comedy, and thankfully, season 2 is off to an often hilarious start. Some of the humour is simply quirky, like Lou drinking milk straight from the carton because "it tastes different in a glass," while others are very dark, like Rye needing to reload as he makes to shoot an escaping waitress. Both of these moments embody the show's spirit, and the two different tones keep the humour balanced.
It's been a long wait for this season to begin, and thankfully, it's proven more than worth the wait. Even if you missed Fargo last year, season 2 is still worth diving into. As a standalone story, it needs no introduction, and it captures everything that made the first season great without standing in its shadow. The season has just gotten started, but it's already shaping up to be an exciting ride.
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