Only two episodes have aired, but no reason to think you would have to have watched anything else to understand it. Each season is stand-alone.
Not at all, they are unrelated and at different times. I have seen them all and agree despite Chris Rock bringing everything he had to a dramatic role the gimmick for Season 4 didn’t work (see also Roanoke AHS). It’s a hazard of the ground breaking stuff these shows are attempting, and while I never need to see this season again I can’t wait to see Rock play any other serious role in the future.
I haven’t watched any Fargo – other than the movie – not because I was avoiding it or anything. But we decided to try this season. The first episode really hooked me. Man, that was intense. It was reminiscent in some ways of both the original movie and The Long Kiss Goodbye. Since I have no history with the season, is there anything that needs to be known? I know they’re stand-alone seasons, but are there are through-lines?
[quote=“carrps, post:3266, topic:946108, full:true”] I know they’re stand-alone seasons, but are there are through-lines?
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Not really, but the themes are familiar to anyone who has seen the film. The potential for brutality in the everyday common man, harsh climate, warm people, crime in Midwestern rural America, etc.
I am from the area so wince at the accent as portrayed, but on the whole the film and every season did us proud.
It seemed to us that Dot was putting on her accent when she was at home, but because the actress is British, we didn’t know if it was significant to the story or she just was doing an over-the-top accent.
I forgot to mention the first episode had hints of Blood Simple as well. Especially, the nighttime countryside around that Kwik-E-Mart. I’ve seen most of the Coen brothers’ oeuvre so the violence is not a problem for me. My sister’s more sensitive that way.
Oh, and one more question: the opening credits say it’s based on a true story, but the movie Fargo also claimed to be a “true” story, and it wasn’t. So, I’m assuming this is the same kind of false disclaimer?
Season 1 is not really the first story of the series. While you can watch each season as a stand-alone, chronologically the story line actually goes 4, 2, 1, 3. There are references in each season that point to what came before, e.g. in season one there is a reference to something that actually happens in season 2, so if you watch season 2 first, you’ll understand what they’re talking about.
The same opening is used in every episode of every season.
BTW, if you want to be complete in your Fargo-adjacent media, don’t forget this movie.
Ha, that sounds great!
Thanks! I might go back and watch the earlier seasons if folks think it’s worth it.
IMHO Fargo is consistently pretty strong television. It is also very…hrrmm…idiosyncratic? Weird shit happens and characters can be fairly nuanced or very broad caricatures (or sometimes both!). Plots can meander in odd directions and can get pretty dark or cartoonish (or sometimes both!). I really like most of it, but more than a few people have disliked one or more seasons.
Yeah, I could have done without S4, honestly.
pretty much like the game series eh ?
I just watched the first episode of Fargo, Season 5. Dot is that funny girl from Ted Lasso. I like her. I’m very keen to watch the rest of this.
Season 1 of Fargo has Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, and Martin Freeman and it the best. Fantastic.
This season is looking crazy but good so far.
The worst.
S3 is very very good.
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Only two episodes have aired, but no reason to think you would have to have watched anything else to understand it. Each season is stand-alone.
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Thanks both, I will give it a go (if I can find it!)
Season two for me. Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, Jean Smart, Ted Danson, Zahn McClarnon, etc.
We’ve been watching Special Section, Armenia
on MHz Choice. Really well done. The characters are smart, the hacker member of the team doesn’t do impossible things, good intricate plots, well written. The bulky dangerous looking cop in the squad is a vegetarian. There is one season of 8 two-part episodes. In Armenian with subtitles. We watched the first one, thinking, “what the hell” are were drawn in. We’ve watched 7 of the 8 cases so far.
Made in 2015.
My sister was watching a biopic on William Friedkin last night, and they talked about a movie called Killer Joe that I’d never seen (or heard of, I think). But Juno Temple was in it, and her character was named Dottie. I wonder if this Fargo is a call-back to that.
Thanks to all for the recommendations.
How? Doesn’t seem to stream anywhere.
MHZ Choice. Mostly European foreign language programming, all with captions. We found it on a local PBS station, but it is now streaming only. We watched an episode last night, so it is there. (You may need to search for Armenia.)
Other cool stuff: German Brunetti (Donna Leon’s detective, set in Venice.) An Italian Nero Wolfe. Murder In - each set in a region of France. Inspector Montalbano, set in Sicily. There was a German series set in Istanbul, but that is gone now.
Also an interesting Italian documentary series set at night in various tourist attractions - Venice, Florence, Pompeii (excellent,) the Egyptian museum in Florence, and St. Peters.