Originally published May 25, 2017. Updated April 11, 2018.
Shaun Munro reviews the sixth episode of Fargo season 3…
The latter half of Fargo‘s third season hit the ground running this week, building on the previous barn-burner of an episode with perhaps its most shocking and suspenseful instalment yet.
From the outset, Ray means business when it comes to avenging Yuri and Meemo’s brutal assault of Nikki, yet Ray’s general incompetence and Nikki’s current vulnerability makes the audience nervous for their survival above all else, particularly when Ray leaves Nikki alone in the motel to go grab their getaway money. In a double dose of irony, it’s ultimately not Nikki who gets got, but rather Ray, who ends up accidentally killed by his own brother when Emmit offers him the prized stamp as a peace offering, and in a moment of frustration smashes the glass frame into his neck.
It’s surely one of the most surprising deaths in the show’s history so far, and makes for an interesting dramatic switch-up, as Emmit’s first call for help is to the man he could otherwise do without – Varga. That Varga is looking to frame Nikki for Emmit’s misdeed crisply undermines Emmit’s earlier statement that he’s a good man, when it’s really more apt that he’s a classic coward.
There were so many fantastic dialogues this week, be it Varga shattering Sy’s world by claiming the moon landing to be faked, Meemo posing as a lawyer to give IRS Agent Dollard the runaround, or in the episode’s spoken centerpiece, a fantastically loaded stand-off between Varga and Gloria. Varga smoothly deals with Gloria and Winnie like the pro he is, though it’s clear he’s underestimating a pair he has readily dismissed as ineffectual country bumpkins. That Gloria has zero online presence is only sure to aid her getting under Varga’s skin over the next few episodes.
Gloria again had a small role this week, but it’s clear she and Winnie are going to be kicking down doors from this point on. The episode ultimately belonged to David Thewlis and Ewan McGregor, the former of whom fielded out delicious monologues with the best of them, while McGregor’s double act came to an inevitable end with a riveting final reminder of just how well he differentiated his performances as the two men. They really felt like two distinct people, and the tricks employed to have him share the screen with himself almost never drew attention to themselves.
Clocking in at just 44 minutes, this was a rather short episode for Fargo‘s standards, but it sure as Hell made the most of its time, with Noah Hawley and Dearbhla Walsh respectively turning in some of the season’s best writing and direction so far. As great as season three’s more experimental episodes have been, sometimes the show just needs to take viewers on a sprint, and the taut, economic “The Lord of No Mercy” did a fantastic job of just that.
Also, as great as the Gloria-Winnie team-up is, we’re all in agreement that Nikki is the series’ de facto protagonist now, right?
Shaun Munro – Follow me on Twitter for more TV rambling.
