Following the classic “This is a true story” text — even though it’s not — the second season of “Fargo” begins coldly as actors in the black and white western, “The Massacre at Sioux Falls” impatiently await the film’s star, Ronald Reagan. Not only does this scene display a classic Coen Brothers sense of humor, but it also provides a tentative name for the events that are about to unfold.
In Sioux Falls, Minnesota the Fargo mob is trying to take advantage of the power void, while the local police, led by Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson) and his father-in-law (Ted Danson), remain unaware of the impending chaos. A butcher, Ed (Jesse Plemens), and his sociopathic wife, Peggy (Kirsten Dunst) are drawn in by an ill-timed hit and run — it is this latter couple that is especially intriguing, driven by the dynamic between Ed’s mundane ambition to take over his butcher shop and Peggy’s constant manipulation and erratic behavior. It is not yet clear how they will fit in, but they will likely have a big role to play.
The events of season two, though alluded to in the first season, represent the anthology’s first true departure from the movie that inspired it. Though season one was certainly not a shot-for-shot remake, with its original characters like Billy Bob Thornton’s Lorne Malvo actually thriving, it was clear how many central characters found their origin in the movie. Other than displaying younger versions of season one characters Lou Solverson and his daughter Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman), the show finds itself in completely new territory. While it is still unclear where the story is heading, it lives up to the high bar set by the previous season.
The main focus of the premiere is introducing the initial crime, featuring the series’ familiar messy violence and connecting it to the various groups of new characters. While the cast doesn’t quite have the star power of Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman, it nonetheless boasts a great cast full of recognizable faces — the biggest star being Kirsten Dunst. If the show’s history of cameos is any indication, there are probably more to come.
Fargo continues to be a love letter to the work of the Coen Brothers, with little touches like the inclusion of the Waffle Hut franchise from “The Ladykillers,” Nick Offerman’s conspiracy theorist war veteran Karl Weathers, who recalls Walter Sobchak from “The Big Lebowski,” and the choice of the siren song from “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” for the credits. The story itself has only barely started to develop, but it is certainly off to a good start.
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