Fargo S2

[Sam_Lowry]

I thought it was a great finale. Not a lot of fireworks, and not everything wrapped up completely, but I thought it ended perfectly.

@txtumbleweed

Not bad, got some closure but still leaves a lot of threads dangling that can be woven for next season.

Did Peggy just have a break from reality in the grocery store as she realized Ed wasn’t going to make it? Or was she thrown that Ed had actualized, too, and knew that long term wasn’t going to be with Peggy even if he lived?

Ben(jamin) showed he wasn’t entirely gutless. He was right there with Lou to go up against Hanzee. Going up against a guy with that is armed with an AR-15 and all you have is what looked like a little .38 pistol is pretty ballsy.

Did Hanzee kill a couple of kids there at the end or just cut them a little. And who was he working for?

The UFO thing still doesn’t make any sense to the plot.

Mike Milligan has received a dispiriting but valuable lesson. Style doesn’t count. Only the numbers do.

I don’t know how long it’s been since Peggy slept, since she was awake and watching TV before the massacre went down, that could contribute to it. But I think the “smoke” started happening after Ed was saying how they weren’t going to make it as a married couple, and how they were just too different, and how she was saying that she had her doubts but that this adversity had brought them together and made them stronger. So I think after that she started imagining them in the Reagan movie she had been watching, and how they would survive this and go on to a good life together. But I had guessed that would mean she was hoping that Lou would come in and save them like Reagan did in the movie, it was interesting that she decided to be the hero instead and go out and face the enemy, even if it turned out the enemy wasn’t there.

Yeah, Ben(jamin) did show some guts. He didn’t want to be there, but he still showed up.

Like others have pointed out, there was the deaf hitman and his interpreter friend in the first season. Also Hanzee got the name Moses Tripoli, and apparently Tripoli was the name of the crime family in the first season that the two hitmen were a part of though I don’t remember that. So it sounds like Hanzee got his wish about starting his own business.

I think the UFO stuff goes with the randomness and absurdity of life, and how you can either give in or find your own meaning. There have certainly been plenty of random and absurd things this season, and most of the survivors, the Solversons especially, have something driving them, some meaning that they’ve found in life.

It’s weird feeling bad for a killer, but I did feel a bit sorry for Mike at the end. He was saying how he was king at his coronation, but he’s just middle management in an office.

@hajario

One obscure thing that I noticed was that Noreen was reading a book called The Legend of Sisyphus. Then Lou had the speech about pushing the rock.

Also how the symbols in the bed room were totally innocuous. And Lou’s limp was just sciatica.

I’m guessing Noreen was reading The Myth of Sisyphus by Camus. She’s mentioned it before and was reading it before on the show, and mentioned Camus last night to Betsy. I did like how Lou mentioned pushing the rock, but that he actually sees protecting his family as a privilege.

I was glad we got an answer for the symbols. Like he said, it does sound crazy, but it’s also very sweet and optimistic. Almost everything with the Solversons had me tearing up, because they are such a nice and good family.

[Sam_Lowry]

@Sauron

I completely missed the deaf kids possibly being the hit men from S1. So by the same token, is it possible Hanzee became Malvo?

I don’t think Malvo had any association with the deaf hitman. So much happened in season 1 it’s hard for me to remember the details, but looking at Wikipedia, it says that Malvo killed Sam Hess, and that the deaf hitman and buddy were looking for Sam Hess’s killer, and had to get Malvo’s name from Lester. So it doesn’t seem like Hanzee would have become Malvo and had the kids as his hitmen.

[Zeldar]

Timeline of all of it! (If this, or something similar, has already been posted, I apologize. I didn’t go looking to see.)

The timeline shows the chronological events in the Fargo universe.

[justmeetee]

@TonySinclair

How do experienced gunners feel about a single shot, whose recoil didn’t seem like much, lifting a guy completely off his feet and throwing him backwards at about 30 mph?

Purely a Hollywood thing. Although I have never shot a person I have been a hunter for over 40 years and have never seen anything close to that. Not to be too graphic here I have shot deer with some pretty powerful weapons and for the most part they just drop right where they are standing. Providing you made a good clean shot. Never saw one get lifted off it’s feet let alone go flying.

[PlumBob]

Sometimes when I think a movie is going to end with a “good” characters demise and it happens I’ll wish they’d written a happier ending.
Last night I was anticipating a sad ending and was a bit disappointed.
Today, I think they decided that the show didn’t have to kill a heroic character to have a satisfying ending.
The good guys won…for a while, then life happens.

[JohnGalt]

I also thought it anti-climatic. I was disappointed with Ed’s death, and I didn’t like that I could “see” Kirsten Dunst “acting” in the freezer room - by that I mean she sounded like a kid in a high-school production of My Town or something.

I liked the Office Space metaphor for Mike Milligan: “great job kid, here’s a hole for you to stagnant in, now get a haircut!” At least he got a window office. I liked that there was a typewriter in his office, since there were no personal computers yet (how did people waste time back then???) BTW, there were no 401-K plans in 1979.

And geeze guys, buy a road atlas. It’s only 35 miles from Sioux Falls to Luverne, I-90 all the way. It’ll take 3 - 1/2 hours on I-29 to go from Sioux Falls to Fargo; I-29 had just completed the last portions that year and NO ONE would take any other route between those two cities.

Thank you Alison and Colin and Keith and Joey for coming back for a reprise scene!

Out of the three ending scenes of Fargo so far, this one was the most disappointing. There was too much talking - the Sheriff was making his own language? really? - angels in the faces of our children? barf. I liked the final scene of the movie the best, a simple short “two more months” talk between husband and wife.

[simster]

Here’s the thing - the finale was a ‘wrap up’ - the climax was the episode before.

This is the ‘cuddle’ time with those that remain - to see how the story finishes.

So - to me, it wasn’t ‘anti climatic’ at all - but it also finished things out to the point I didn’t/don’t feel the need to rewatch this final as closely.

[Sam_Lowry]

@simster

Here’s the thing - the finale was a ‘wrap up’ - the climax was the episode before.

This is the ‘cuddle’ time with those that remain - to see how the story finishes.

So - to me, it wasn’t ‘anti climatic’ at all - but it also finished things out to the point I didn’t/don’t feel the need to rewatch this final as closely.

That seems to be how a lot of shows are now with their seasons, with the climax in the penultimate episode and settling down afterwards. Game of Thrones most notably, but I think also Justified and Better Call Saul and others that I can’t think of right now. Though most shows are settling down and setting up for the next season, and for this it was more wrapping up some of the loose ends and the themes of this season.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@aldiboronti

I thought it somewhat anticlimactic but maybe that’s what they were going for, the quiet after the storm. It left me a little unsatisfied though.

Me, too. Not bad, but not great.

Any thoughts on the episode title, “Palindrome”? How does “it” read the same forward and backward?

What had Peggy thrown in Hanzee’s face at the motel to scar him so badly?

Anyone notice the Reagan (Bruce Campbell) portrait over the chalkboard in young Molly’s classroom? And the UFO pic in the Solverson kitchen?

I thought Milligan and his mook were pretty casual in entering the Gerhardt house. I would’ve had my gun drawn and approached a lot more cautiously. Nice touch to have Milligan put the old baby picture (Otto’s?) face-down, as if it was staring at him accusingly.

The Gerhardt flag in the living room definitely had a Nazi vibe to it.

Almost didn’t recognize the out-of-town Gerhardt flunky (looting the silver cabinet) without his red-tinted glasses. Milligan also referred to him as “friendo,” from No Country for Old Men. Best lines of the episode, I thought:

Flunky: “[Are you the] kid Otto had with the maid?”
Milligan: “You see the shotgun, right?”

The calendar in the Gerhardt kitchen showed March 1979.

Lou referred to being aboard the USS Kirk during the evacuation of Saigon, and the ship was indeed there: USS Kirk - Wikipedia.

Nice touch with Lou reading The Great Brain to Molly - she has one!: The Great Brain - Wikipedia.

@txtumbleweed

…The UFO thing still doesn’t make any sense to the plot.

Mike Milligan has received a dispiriting but valuable lesson. Style doesn’t count. Only the numbers do.

Agreed as to the UFO. On balance, I think it was a mistake.

And yeah, Mike might decide he’d rather stay out in the field than be chained to a desk in an office with a bunch of boring white guys. A haircut? No leather jacket or bolo tie? Golf? Golf?

Wasn’t it the Fargo syndicate’s office that Malvo shot up while the two FBI agents were parked outside? Milligan would definitely want to be somewhere else by then.

@Richard_John_Marcej

I also think this was a comment about the upcoming decade, the 1980’s. The real “ME” Decade, when making money and profit became most important over anything else. (and a nice little bit about the western clothes, kind of a “no, this isn’t the wide open, wild west anymore. It’s all suit, ties and profit”)

Yes. And that was (episode director) Adam Arkin as the bald boss, wasn’t it?

@TonySinclair

I’ll guess he killed them. Which is pretty mean, considering they were already getting their asses kicked by the bigger kids.

Maybe you’re whooshing us, but I presume Hanzee cut up or killed the bigger kids, the bullies, not the smaller ones who were tossing a baseball. He’d been bullied by Dodd and others for years himself.

@Shoeless

…The two kids signing to each other on the ball field while Hanzee was meeting with the guy giving him a new identity - I assume they grew up to be the hit men we saw in S1?

Nice! Didn’t think of that, but I bet you’re right.

@Sauron

…I DID enjoy Peggy’s ride in the prowler, and her conversation with Lou. That was quietly understated, but also drove home just how selfish Peggy was (and I think finally helped her realize it)…

From her expression and the music cues, for awhile there I thought she was going to go for Lou’s gun.

@JohnGalt

…I liked that there was a typewriter in [Milligan’s] office, since there were no personal computers yet (how did people waste time back then???) BTW, there were no 401-K plans in 1979…

Thank you Alison and Colin and Keith and Joey for coming back for a reprise scene!..

Yes, a nice callback to the typewriter salesman Dodd killed. I wondered about 401-K plans, too - although that part of the Tax Code was on the books in 1979, looks like the plans came along a little later: 401(k) - Wikipedia

Very glad to see the S1 good guys returning, too. And we may see more of them in S3…

[hajario]

@Sam_Lowry

That seems to be how a lot of shows are now with their seasons, with the climax in the penultimate episode and settling down afterwards. Game of Thrones most notably, but I think also Justified and Better Call Saul and others that I can’t think of right now. Though most shows are settling down and setting up for the next season, and for this it was more wrapping up some of the loose ends and the themes of this season.

Breaking Bad as well. Even the Sopranos in later seasons. That’s the model for great dramas in this new Golden Age of TV.

[hajario]

@Elendil_s_Heir

What had Peggy thrown in Hanzee’s face at the motel to scar him so badly?

I think it was boiling water from the coffee pot.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

Also sorry not to see the bearded, blustery lawyer again.

[Charlie_Wayne]

The following info was posted on another board:

The talk about “Tripoli” the stranger gave to Hanzee.

The name on the ID that stranger gave Hanzee was “Moses Tripoli” and that was the name of the mob boss in Fargo that Malvo killed.

I’m not certain whether that is correct. But if it is, it may provide some answers for some people wondering what becomes of Hanzee.

[Richard_John_Marcej]

@Sam_Lowry

I was glad we got an answer for the symbols. Like he said, it does sound crazy, but it’s also very sweet and optimistic. Almost everything with the Solversons had me tearing up, because they are such a nice and good family.

Actually, what I was thinking about when Hank began describing the symbols as a new language, one that would allow everyone to communicate with each other, was what we have now. With Emoji’s and internet acronyms Hank was creating a language well ahead of his time.

[Richard_John_Marcej]

I have to disagree with a few of you here, I don’t think last night’s finale was anti-climactic at all. There was still a lot of tension, especially leading up to when Peggy opened the door.

When it comes to either season finale’s or series finale’s, you can’t please everyone.
Some will say it wasn’t climactic.Some will say they didn’t answer any (or all) the questions.
Some will say it was TOO predictable (especially if there’s a lot of action in it and the hero dies a tragic death)

Me? As long as the quality of the acting and writing is consistent with all the other episodes, I’m happy. I especially don’t need the answers to all the questions (like the UFO’s) Why? Cause you never get all the answers in life. If I don’t get all my questions answered in life, I sure don’t expect to get everything answered in a TV show.

[Sam_Lowry]

@Sam_Lowry

I don’t think Malvo had any association with the deaf hitman. So much happened in season 1 it’s hard for me to remember the details, but looking at Wikipedia, it says that Malvo killed Sam Hess, and that the deaf hitman and buddy were looking for Sam Hess’s killer, and had to get Malvo’s name from Lester. So it doesn’t seem like Hanzee would have become Malvo and had the kids as his hitmen.

There is a reasonable theory about someone else that Hanzee might have turned into.

[EllisDee]

@simster

Here’s the thing - the finale was a ‘wrap up’ - the climax was the episode before.

This is the ‘cuddle’ time with those that remain - to see how the story finishes.

So - to me, it wasn’t ‘anti climatic’ at all - but it also finished things out to the point I didn’t/don’t feel the need to rewatch this final as closely.

@Sam_Lowry

That seems to be how a lot of shows are now with their seasons, with the climax in the penultimate episode and settling down afterwards. Game of Thrones most notably, but I think also Justified and Better Call Saul and others that I can’t think of right now. Though most shows are settling down and setting up for the next season, and for this it was more wrapping up some of the loose ends and the themes of this season.

As soon as the opening montage of dead Gerhardts started I realized this was going to be a denouement episode. That helped avoid the sense of it being anticlimactic for me.

[andrea_green]

Did anyone happen to recognize the actor (I think he might be a comedian too) who played Mike Milligan’s boss at the office? His voice is incredibly familiar but I can’t place him.

Here is a photo (on the left of course): http://imgur.com/AERCIc6.png

[Zeldar]

@andrea_green

Did anyone happen to recognize the actor (I think he might be a comedian too) who played Mike Milligan’s boss at the office? His voice is incredibly familiar but I can’t place him.

Here is a photo (on the left of course): Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Adam Arkin

[andrea_green]

Thanks Zeldar! I recognized his voice from Life (2007), a detective show where he played a goofy sidekick.