I agree, but the short seasons and long wait between them, also allows them to hire a cast who usually just make films.
Yes. Indeed. And I understand that it’s just a fact of life that the best things in life usually come at the highest price.
Perhaps the answer is to find some other entertaining shows to “fill the gaps” between episodes and seasons of this wonderful show. Here is a list of some of my current favorites. I hope that anyone who is looking to supplement their “Fargo viewing” might try some of these and that you may enjoy them. These are obviously just my opinions, but here are a dozen other shows people here might enjoy while they wait for the next episode or next season of Fargo.
1st tier: Game of Thrones, The Americans,
2nd tier: The Knick, American Horror Story, Murder in the First, Mr. Robot
3rd tier: Gotham, Agent Carter, River, Unforgotten, The Last Man on Earth, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, Schitt’s Creek
One of the best hours of TV in a long time.
Hanzee Killed Kitchen#1, left Kitchen #2 alive to deliver the message (Joe Bulo’s head).
The entire sequence at the end between Peggy and ‘the butcher’ (he really set his legend right there) was hilarious.
It really was. I loved how he quickly paused to thank her for selling her car:
That’s great, honey, …and thank you for that…, but I just killed another fella, maybe two, so we gotta go. Now.
“I just killed another fella” had me cracking up.
Ha! I just posted a similar list on my Facebook page. But on my list, I noticed how none of my current favorite hour long dramas are on any of the four networks (ABC, CBS, FOX & NBC). I sort of lost patience with the networks creating and sticking with good to great dramas anymore. When they do come up with something unique.
For example, in 2011 NBC came out with a very unique show called "Awake. I got hooked, but NBC quickly canceled it. That’s why I stick with cable/pay channel dramas. They at least never cancel during the season.
Here’s what I’m currently enjoying:
Fargo (FX), The Leftovers (HBO), Dr. WHO (BBC America), Better Call Saul (AMC), Turn Washington Spies (AMC)
I agree this episode was fantastic and surprising (for the most part) all around. Like I knew the kid wasn’t going to be able to kill the butcher and the girl, but pretty much everything else was all “Whoa. Wait. WTF?”
And Bruce Campbell! Just the cherry on top.
Richard John Marcej,
Yikes! I forgot about Better Call Saul. Another excellent show. I haven’t heard of your others. But I will check them out. Thanks very much.
Since nobody’s mentioned it yet, I will – the drawing of the family happily standing by their house, with a UFO overhead.
Yeah, at first glance it looked like a sun, but it was clearly a UFO. Also, when the mom and Molly found the Mylar balloon at the diner under where the first UfO appeared, didn’t the balloon say Get Well Soon?"
See - now that’s a politician I can vote for - and I hear he’s really not afraid to fight evil - I can see him taking the oath of office and at the end looking at the camera and saying -
"Hail to the King, Baby
Therre was something else to that scene as well - THe clock was stopped, the ‘bass’, the way she looked at her hands, not hearing the door, etc - but not sure if it was meant as ‘more’ wierdness or just illustrating her health.
I’m trying to think of a way to work this into a conversation at the office and see if anyone gets it.
Eh? They’re both criminals and undoubtedly both murderers. That Bear is more sensible, loyal to his mother and wants his son out of the family business doesn’t mean he’s an okay guy. He’s just a little less of an asshole as violent criminals go.
It’s like saying Tony Soprano deserves a better fate because he is less of a scumbag than Ralph Cifaretto. It’s 9.1 vs. a 9.9 on the 1-10 scale of evil.
I just watched the episode again and it reminds me of a famous short story by O. Henry called “The Gift of the Magi”. I can’t remember the exact details but it went something like this:
It’s about a young couple who were very poor but they wanted to buy each other secret Christmas gifts.
The only thing the boy had of any value was a beautiful antique locket that was handed down in his family for generations. The only thing the girl had of value was her beautiful head of hair.
Can you guess what happened?
The boy sold the necklace to buy a beautiful hairbrush for the girl and the girl had her hair cut off and sold it to buy the boy a picture of the two of them to fit into his locket.
Reminded me of Peggy selling her car to help Ed buy the shop while Ed played a part in burning down the shop.
I might be getting whooshed, but the title of the episode was The Gift of the Magi.
Oops, nevermind.
Eep! I never saw the title of the episode. I honestly didn’t know.
But I wonder how many people saw that title and wondered what that had to do with the episode.
Sorry if I “whooshed” you. It was not intentional.
I was one of those who didn’t make the connection. Thanks to your analysis I’m now less whooshed. 
Maybe it would have been more easily seen if they had chosen this for the title.
No worries, I thought you were making a joke. It’s pretty impressive you intuitively arrived at the name of the episode based on its content.
I would like to see the video you posted. Unfortunately, it won’t play for me cuz I’m not in the USA.
But, if you would like, you are welcome to send me a PM and tell me what it is so I can find it on my own?
Madmonk,
I’d like to claim that I came to that conclusion based on my powers of intuition. Unfortunately, the truth is that is likely a “once in a lifetime” event for me.
This show is just so wonderful. I’d really like to know more about the show runner. I’ll try to use Google to find out who this guy is. I’d really like to see any other work he has done.
PM sent. You need to see the video for the full effect.