You know what they say about best laid plans…
What an incredible hour-plus of television. Fargo took on a more somber tone as it reached what seems to be the end of Season 2’s first act, with the noose literally pulled tight by Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson) in the fourth episode of Fargo: Season 2, “Fear and Trembling.”
Spoilers for Fargo continue below.
This is the episode we’ve been waiting for since Ed Blumquist (Jesse Plemons) first murdered Rye Gerhardt (Kieran Culkin): both Lou and the Gerhardts — specifically Hanzee Dent (Zahn McClarnon) — know that Ed and Peggy (Kirsten Dunst) are behind Rye’s disappearance. In the same episode, Floyd Gerhardt (Jean Smart) presented her deal to the Kansas City syndicate and was rejected, deciding at the end to go to war with the rival group for the sake of maintaining the Gerhardt crime dynasty.
Fargo is almost half way through Season 2, and these big moments have felt a long time coming. It’s a credit to creator Noah Hawley, who wrote “Fear and Trembling,” that this episode didn’t focus on the plot aftermath of those climactic events and instead lingered on the effects they have on the characters.
We want to hear it.
Floyd holding Dodd’s (Jeffrey Donovan) face in the car after the failed Kansas City negotiation. Ed and Peggy standing in their doorway after Lou left. Lou sitting in the cold after the Blumquists didn’t confess, lamenting to Betsy how the world no longer has a moral center. These were the most powerful moments of the episode even as it delivered significant plot development, and it’s Fargo’s focus on those moments that elevates its storytelling.
That sober tone was threaded through the core of this episode. “Fear and Trembling” reminded viewers that, if they didn’t realize already, this isn’t a story where there’s a happy ending. Broken dreams were in abundance, from Betsy Solverson (Cristin Milioti) learning that her potential cure for her cancer might actually be a placebo drug to Ed learning that Peggy spent the money he’d intended to buy the butcher shop on her seminar.
There also was a surprise twist, as it’s revealed that Simone Gerhardt (Rachel Keller) is sleeping with Mike Milligan (Bokeem Woodbine) and working against her family. That’s how Mike has much of his inside intel, and the betrayal almost certainly is going to blow up in Simone’s face farther down the road — a key plot point in act two of this season, maybe? It’s refreshing to know that Simone has some spine to back up her big attitude, especially coming off of seeing how terribly her father Dodd treats her. Of course she’s not going to be loyal to her family with relationships like that. As the Gerhardts go to war, it’s interesting to already see signs of how the dynasty is crumbling.
We want to hear it.
The shadow of the Vietnam War hung heavy over this episode, and it worked with great dramatic effect. One of the best scenes was when Lou told the Blumquists the story about how he and other soldiers who served in the war would know an injured man was dying from his face, using it to tell them he already knew they were responsible for Rye’s disappearance. It’s notable that Ed didn’t serve in the war; here that service is a badge of honor, a test of courage. Ed is painted as a lesser, softer man than Lou and Hanzee and even Sonny the auto repair man. Of everyone in this story, he’s the main character least cut out for the fight to survive in this new war that’s ahead of him.
Speaking of that great scene featuring Lou, “Fear and Trembling” was the episode that really clinched for me that Wilson is the standout star of this season. While everyone is acting at the top of their game — particularly Dunst, Smart and Milioti in this episode — it’s Wilson who is stealing every scene that he’s in. He’s a shoo-in for an Emmy nomination for Fargo: Season 2, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes the award home. Wilson is getting better with each episode, and we still have six more to go before this story reaches its end. For now, it’s off to war.
Fargo brought together some of its key storylines, but prioritized the ways they affect its characters over ways they the affect its plot for fantastic results. Wilson is delivering an exceptional performance as Lou Solverson, and grounded some of the best scenes of the episode. Also worth mentioning is the great use of Tim O’Brien’s haunting “Down in the Willow Garden” over the closing credits, which solidified the somber story being told.
