Fargo

[MS]

Fargo (1996):
Released in 1996, this is the movie that eventually led to the TV series of the same name.
Fargo involves a kidnap and homicides in Minneapolis.
This has billed as a dark comedy.
This is indeed dark but as a comedy I did not find myself to it and I did not feel anything for the characters in it.
This film was released when I was in high school and one of my teachers Helen Cladakis said she saw it and didn't like it as it did not make any sense to her.
Cladakis is not one of my favourite teachers but now having seen Fargo the movie I easily concur her opinion of it.

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The Crocodile's Dilemma:
Series opener.
A man named Lorne Malvo kills Sam Hess a former high school bully of insurance salesman Lester Nygaard even though didn't hire Lorne to do so.
Lorne's motives for killing Sam for Lester is not revealed here.
Lorne then makes a deception to Sam's eldest son on the phone leading him to attack his younger brother.
That is just a start, Lester in the midst of an argument kills his wife Pearl.
Then the police chief Vern Thurman came to Lester's place and finds the dead Pearl.
Just as Verne was about to arrest Lester, Vern is killed by Lorne.
Lester's only recourse was for him to fake a home invasion and that he is the only survivor.
Enthralling start to the series and creepy at the end of this first episode that Lorne gets away with threatening Officer Gus Grimly when the latter stopped him for speeding.

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The Rooster Prince:
Season 1, Episode 2.
Intriguing that this episode starts with the arrival of Mr Numbers and Mr Wrench in their search for Hess' killer.
Also intriguing how this involved the Supermarket King.

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A Muddy Road:
Season 1, Episode 3.
Gruesome that Lorne Malvo killed Stavros Milos' dog and then further on another gruesome surprise for him.

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Eating the Blame:
Season 1, Episode 4.
Grimly finally gets to arrest Malvo but had to be let go due to a iron-clad alibi.
Oh my what a moment when Stavros' supermarket got invaded by lots and lots of crickets.
Lester gets caught by Mr Wrench and Mr Numbers but gets away from them due to a trick he came up with.
Unfortunately Wrench and Numbers repeated that same trick culminated in them having a reunion with Lester.

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The Six Ungraspables:
Season 1, Episode 5.
Enjoyable with a flashback of how Lester obtained the gun that Malvo used to kill police officer who was arresting Lester.
Lester manages to avoid questioning by Molly this time due to being delirious.

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Buridan's A**:
Season 1, Episode 6.
Tragic how Don Chumph met his end thanks to Lorne Malvo.
Quite a shock when fish literally fell out of the sky.
Enthralling with Lester sneaking out of the hospital and then come back in.
In between he sneaked into his brother's house but was seen by his nephew Gordo.
Gordo doesn't say anything and Lester then made his way back to the hospital.
What a good nephew.

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Who Shaves the Barber?:
Season 1, Episode 7.
Quite an awkward situation of Solverson is in hospital because Grimly accidentally shot her.
Chazz is arrested because of the gun planted on him by brother Lester.
Oh my what a shooting rampage performed by Malvo.
Solverson sure looked upset upon learning that Chazz, instead of Lester, got arrested.

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The Heap:
Antepenultimate episode of season 1.
Remarkable the way this episode is presented with Lester having successfully framed his brother Chazz for the murders with the case on this getting closed and then jumped a year later nearly halfway through with the case not quite over for Molly.
This episode ends with Lester at a hotel for an event where he spots Malvo.
This felt like the end of the story if it weren't for the fact that I know there are two episodes of this season after this.

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A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage:
Penultimate episode of season 1.
Lester goes to Malvo as he was with his fiancee and their couple friends but denies that he knows him.
Unsurprisingly this wasn't good enough and Lester follows them to the lift.
Then it was shocking in reaction to Lester blowing Malvo's cover, Malvo kills his couple friends and fiancee in the lift with Lester witnessing all this.
Lester quickly flees from this taking his wife with him.
This shock gets bookended when Malvo kills Lester's wife with Lester witnessing it but Malvo doesn't see him.

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Morton's Fork:
Season 1 finale.
The end of this story of Lester Nygaard.
Rather than immediately call the police after seeing his wife Linda shot dead by Malvo, Lester makes an anonymous call reporting on Linda's death.
Ultimately this leads to the climax in which Malvo came to kill Lester but Lester survives.
Malvo then soon meets his end when he is shot dead by Grimly.
At Malvo's place after he was killed by Grimly, Grimly and Molly found Malvo's collection of audio tapes which contained evidence that he and Lester knew each other.
Evidence that is needed to arrest Lester.
Lester later on found him being pursued by the cops but meet his end when he fell through thin ice.
Quite a good conclusion to this story.

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Waiting for Dutch:
Season 2 opener.
Season 2 of Fargo is a prequel to the first season and this is set in 1979 with Patrick Wilson playing Lou Solverson.
An older Lou Solverson was in the first season set in 2006 where he was played by Keith Carradine.
A fascinating start to this story which includes a masaacre at Waffle Hut and Peggy Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst) hitting someone with a car and even taking him to her home!

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Before the Law:
Season 2, Episode 2.
Lou has wife Betsy and daughter Molly along when he went back to the crime scene that was the Waffle Hut.
Betsy plays with Molly outside whilst Lou was inside when Betsy finds a gun.
Lou later chide himself for not finding gun when he was first there.
Quite a close shave Ed had with Lou as Ed prevents Lou from noticing Rye's remains whilst in the butcher shop.
Quite surprising that Richard Burton's narration and music from Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds got played at the end including at the end credits.

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The Myth of Sisyphus:
Season 2, Episode 3.
Quite a tense encounter at Gerhardt farm when the cops came there.
Horrifying seeing the still alive Skip getting literally buried.

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Fear and Trembling:
Season 2, Episode 4.
Quite fitting the episode title as it is about setting the stage for a war.
In the midst of this the Blumquist essentially placed themselves in danger in being exposed for being responsible for Rye's death when they threw Lou out of their home for asking questions about it.