# Fargo S3

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 12, 2017, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313 "2017-04-12T13:44:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 13

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**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/241 "2017-06-09T19:51:26Z")

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Steeped in Judaica? Huh. I guess you have to be Jewish to notice. I love the Coen brothers’ films and I was clueless about that.

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**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/242 "2017-06-09T20:00:17Z")

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> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> So are Nikki and Mr Wrench dead?

Well - its been 3 months and varga intimated that Nikke had absondded to Canada - so they haven’t found any bodies - and Paul gave them a VW and a message to give to evil.

He seemed less kind to Yuri.

I assume they are dead - but someone is really messing with Ray. (The stamp scene was awesome).

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**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/243 "2017-06-09T21:05:24Z")

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> [@simster](#):
>
> Well - its been 3 months and varga intimated that Nikke had absondded to Canada - so they haven’t found any bodies - and Paul gave them a VW and a message to give to evil.
> 
> He seemed less kind to Yuri.
> 
> I assume they are dead - but someone is really messing with Ray. (The stamp scene was awesome).

I think you mean messing with Emmit.

It seems like it must be Varga and friends who are messing with him. The question is why?

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**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/244 "2017-06-09T21:29:45Z")

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> [@davidm](#):
>
> Steeped in Judaica? Huh. I guess you have to be Jewish to notice. I love the Coen brothers’ films and I was clueless about that.

Well, I realized after I posted it it’s somewhat of an exaggeration, since it’s mostly in “A Serious Man.” But I’d say there are more subtle Jewish themes in some of their other movies.

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**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/245 "2017-06-09T21:35:27Z")

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> [@Alan\_Smithee](#):
>
> Well, I realized after I posted it it’s somewhat of an exaggeration, since it’s mostly in “A Serious Man.” But I’d say there are more subtle Jewish themes in some of their other movies.

Okay. I wasn’t really disputing you. I was just curious about what I was missing.

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**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/246 "2017-06-09T22:20:17Z")

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> [@Alan\_Smithee](#):
>
> Well, I realized after I posted it it’s somewhat of an exaggeration, since it’s mostly in “A Serious Man.”

_Donny: How come you don’t roll on Saturday, Walter?  
Walter Sobchak: I’m shomer shabbos.  
Donny: What’s that?  
The Dude: Yeah, and in the meantime, what do I tell Lebowski?  
Walter Sobchak: Saturday, Donny, is Shabbos, the Jewish day of rest. That means that I don’t work, I don’t drive a car, I don’t fucking ride in a car, I don’t handle money, I don’t turn on the oven, and I sure as shit don’t fucking roll!  
Donny: Sheesh.  
Walter Sobchak: Shomer shabbos!  
The Dude: Walter, how am I going to…  
Walter Sobchak: Shomer fucking shabbos._

😃

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/247 "2017-06-09T22:21:56Z")

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> [@davidm](#):
>
> I think you mean messing with Emmit.
> 
> It seems like it must be Varga and friends who are messing with him. The question is why?

I thought that too, but then it seemed Varga was genuinely confused about the mustache. Clearly Varga does want to keep Emmit isolated, confused and signing papers.

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**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/248 "2017-06-09T22:54:54Z")

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> [@davidm](#):
>
> I think you mean messing with Emmit.
> 
> It seems like it must be Varga and friends who are messing with him. The question is why?

I never thought it was Varga & friends messing with him, I thought it was Nikki and he deaf partner.  
After all, Nikki has been in Emmit’s house before and she knows of the stamp and probably could sneak into his office as well.

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**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/249 "2017-06-09T23:17:09Z")

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> [@davidm](#):
>
> I think you mean messing with Emmit.

Right - Emmit - they do look alot alike tho, easy to get confused.

> [@davidm](#):
>
> It seems like it must be Varga and friends who are messing with him. The question is why?

> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> I thought that too, but then it seemed Varga was genuinely confused about the mustache. Clearly Varga does want to keep Emmit isolated, confused and signing papers.

> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#):
>
> I never thought it was Varga & friends messing with him, I thought it was Nikki and he deaf partner.  
> After all, Nikki has been in Emmit’s house before and she knows of the stamp and probably could sneak into his office as well.

Right - at first, it seems like it should be Varga - but that’s counter productive given that Varga wants to stay behind the scenes and out of the light. And he was genuinely confused (as was goon#2) about the mustache bit.

Nikki would be a good second guess, except that we don’t have confirmation of her health - which means it is likely to be her.

I think it would be exceedingly hilarious if it turned out to be Gurble.

Either way - this season is ramping up quite nicely.

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**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/250 "2017-06-09T23:35:33Z")

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> [@simster](#):
>
> I think it would be exceedingly hilarious if it turned out to be Gurble.
> 
> Either way - this season is ramping up quite nicely.

Or really out of left field, and if it’s Stella, his ex-wife!

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**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/251 "2017-06-10T00:11:34Z")

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> [@davidm](#):
>
> I don’t think the argument here is about why the couple didn’t call.
> 
> The argument is about why the bad guys didn’t assume that it was a strong possibility that they would call, and why the bad guys didn’t get the hell out of dodge based on that assumption.

Several reasons. Mainly they were not as smart as all that. They were also ballsy and confident. Even if they thought of the cell phone they could have also assumed they had time to make their getaway, they had a stolen bike at the ready. They also didn’t count on it turning to shit so fast.

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**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/252 "2017-06-10T00:22:49Z")

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> [@Tamerlane](#):
>
> _Donny: How come you don’t roll on Saturday, Walter?  
> Walter Sobchak: I’m shomer shabbos.  
> Donny: What’s that?  
> The Dude: Yeah, and in the meantime, what do I tell Lebowski?  
> Walter Sobchak: Saturday, Donny, is Shabbos, the Jewish day of rest. That means that I don’t work, I don’t drive a car, I don’t fucking ride in a car, I don’t handle money, I don’t turn on the oven, and I sure as shit don’t fucking roll!  
> Donny: Sheesh.  
> Walter Sobchak: Shomer shabbos!  
> The Dude: Walter, how am I going to…  
> Walter Sobchak: Shomer fucking shabbos._
> 
> 😃

Well sure, but “steeped in Judaica” seems to imply something more serious and esoteric, at least to me. But I’m not Jewish, so what do I know.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/253 "2017-06-10T00:26:22Z")

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> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#):
>
> Or really out of left field, and if it’s Stella, his ex-wife!

Heck, with some of the stuff we’ve seen, maybe it’s the ghost of Ray or evil spirits or something.  
Or UFOs! (Okay, probably not UFOs).

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**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/254 "2017-06-10T02:17:25Z")

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> [@PaperBlob](#):
>
> If the East Berlin scene was in 1988, and Yuri was 22 at the time, then he would be 44 in 2010, wouldn’t he? The character still looks younger than that to me, but it’s more plausible than 52.
> 
> I agree that the apparent age of Ennis Stussey was older that you would expect it to be.

Good point. A well preserved 44 makes sense to me. And that explains why they would pick 1988, not normally the year that comes to mind for such a Stalinist milieu.

> [@davidm](#):
>
> I think you mean messing with Emmit.
> 
> It seems like it must be Varga and friends who are messing with him. The question is why?

I thought the same, but I am impressed by the arguments for it being Wrench and whatsername. But I will side-eye the show if those two are not dead, and actually drove away in a magic VW Bug.

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**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/255 "2017-06-10T02:21:29Z")

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> [@SlackerInc](#):
>
> Good point. A well preserved 44 makes sense to me. And that explains why they would pick 1988, not normally the year that comes to mind for such a Stalinist milieu.
> 
> I thought the same, but I am impressed by the arguments for it being Wrench and whatsername. But I will side-eye the show if those two are not dead, and actually drove away in a magic VW Bug.

Maybe they were only mostly dead?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/256 "2017-06-10T02:31:21Z")

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> [@simster](#):
>
> Maybe they were only mostly dead?

That could work.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/257 "2017-06-10T02:38:49Z")

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> [@SlackerInc](#):
>
> I thought the same, but I am impressed by the arguments for it being Wrench and whatsername. But I will side-eye the show if those two are not dead, and actually drove away in a magic VW Bug.

I’ve noticed there tends to be a real split between pro- and anti-weirdness folks re:Fargo. I know a lot of folks really want a drama grounded in reality, even if they enjoy some quirkiness. So stuff like the barely explainable rain of fish in season 1 or, far more off the rails, the completely unexplained and inexplicable UFO encounters of season 2 are real irritants.

Not me, though - I’m firmly pro-weird goings on in this context ;). This despite being a total rationalist in real life. Hawley’s series has a more surreal and dream-like feel than the original film and I rather enjoy that. Not everything has to make sense and I often like my fiction with a soupçon of unreality. Do I think two normal people could garrotte and normal guy’s head off with a chain? Hell no. But it was a great gory image, so I’m fine with it. All the more so if it turns out it happened because said normal guy was actually made out of clay :).

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/258 "2017-06-10T03:58:12Z")

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I was fine with the fish (which can happen from a tornado getting them out of a lake) and with the UFO (which is, after all, just a space ship that a bunch of engineers and people working in factories made on a different planet than ours). I would have been fine with the bowling alley, if he didn’t know people’s names and other things he couldn’t know, and just gave them the car–as weird as that would be. I would have even accepted the whole thing, impossible knowledge and all, if it wasn’t a deus ex machina to get them out of a life or death struggle. That takes away their own agency, and it makes the struggle they had before that seem pointless.

ETA: BTW, on the “Judaica” front, there was a good bit of that personified in the neighborhood watch neighbor character in the first season.

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**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/259 "2017-06-10T04:01:27Z")

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> [@Alan\_Smithee](#):
>
> …
> 
> It was a pretty desolate stretch of road. It would make perfect sense for the criminals to have chosen that spot partly because they knew it didn’t have any cell service.

Was there any part of Minnesota without cell service in 2010? We get a lot of mileage out of cell towers in flat county.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-s3/784313/260 "2017-06-10T06:57:04Z")

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> [@Shamozzle](#):
>
> Was there any part of Minnesota without cell service in 2010? We get a lot of mileage out of cell towers in flat county.

Quite a bit of northern MN is still dead on Verizon and US Cellular maps:

[https://vzwmap.verizonwireless.com/dotcom/coveragelocator/](https://vzwmap.verizonwireless.com/dotcom/coveragelocator/)

> **[Coverage Map | UScellular](https://m.uscellular.com/coverage-map)**
>
> View the UScellular cell phone coverage map to see the strength of signal where you use your phone the most. Our wireless coverage map is available online.

(Per your point though, I have long wondered what the problem is in western Illinois and southeastern Missouri.)

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