Shaun Munro reviews the third episode of Fargo season 3…
If the first two episodes of Fargo‘s third season leaned a little too eagerly on established formula, “The Law of Non-Contradiction” keenly throws it all out the window. This is easily the most distinctly singular episode from any of its three seasons so far, entirely ditching the Stussys’ shenanigans for a one-off bottle episode following Gloria’s investigation of her step-father’s death.
Gloria heads to Los Angeles to figure out the connection between Ennis and his sci-fi writer pseudonym Thaddeus Mobley, while 1970s flashbacks are peppered throughout, featuring the terrific, mustachioed Thomas Mann as a young Mobley, the hilarious Fred Melamed as a big-shot movie producer keen to adapt Mobley’s book into a film, and Francesca Eastwood (daughter of Clint) as a beautiful ingenue set to star in it.
There’s such an incredibly bizarre pull to Mobley’s story, from these knowing flashbacks, to a series of animated sequences telling the tale of Mobley’s novel The Planet Wyh (revolving around an android spending millions of years observing life on a far-flung planet), and of course, Gloria’s ultimately fruitless detective work in the present.
It’s somewhat apt that what could bluntly be called a filler episode – albeit a very, very good one – has meaninglessness as one of its central themes. Little new is learned here and the series could basically have survived without it, but as an experiment in character and more ambitious methods of storytelling, it is absolutely a success.
Though Ewan McGregor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Michael Stuhlbarg and most of the ensemble cast members are missing this week (though David Thewlis does provide a sneaky voice cameo during one animated sequence), the episode impressively doesn’t want for their absence.
It helps that Carrie Coon is so fantastic as Gloria, bringing plenty of neurotic energy to the part, which once again proves to be much less squeaky-clean than her cop predecessors from previous seasons; she darts off to L.A. without prior approval from the new Chief, and doesn’t seem to much care about any potential repercussions.
This week’s instalment is also blessed with some fantastic bit-parts; Ray Wise is very much welcome as a kindly, overworked businessman Gloria meets on a plane ride (and again at a bar), while It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Rob McElhenney is hysterical as a dudebro cop looking to get into Gloria’s pants, and Frances Fisher brings a quiet sadness to a middle-aged version of Eastwood’s actress.
Gloria’s L.A. trip has a minuscule impact on the overarching plot at best, explaining why Ennis changed his name and introducing a peculiar, literal mystery box, but only truly moving things forward in its final few moments. That said, it veered away from the series’ formula and dug down deep with the show’s plucky new cop while making the most of its temporary sun-kissed setting. And there was even a cute animated robot; what more could you possibly want?
Shaun Munro – Follow me on Twitter for more TV rambling.
Originally published May 5, 2017. Updated April 11, 2018.
