The TV series “Fargo” effectively closed out the first act of the second season last week. With all secrets now out in the open, the conflicts the show has been holding back are now imminent feats rather than unconfirmed suspicions: Ed (Jesse Plemons) and Peggy (Kirsten Dunst) inevitably find themselves caught between the crosshairs of the police and the mob, emphasizing the show’s criminal element.
After giving a lot of love to the out-of-town faction in the last few weeks, this episode fleshes out the native Gerhardt crime family. The internal power struggle between the family matriarch, Floyd (Jean Smart), and her eldest son, Dodd (Jeffrey Donovan), has been an ongoing thread, but this episode adds the necessary context to make it much more compelling. The episode’s opening flashback justifies Dodd’s claim to the throne— previously, his only claim was that a woman couldn’t be the boss. Likewise, while Floyd has badass moments, her soft spot for her sons is clearly an Achilles heel. Though the bickering from previous episodes is still present, the show also includes a much-needed tender moment between the two.
This episode also shows Peggy coming into her own as the show’s real monster as she drags Ed down with her, taking the time to individually thwart each one of his hopes and dreams. While she quickly becomes unbearable, the character is much more Daisy Buchanan than Skylar White. Many fans hated Skylar because she was a poorly written character; Peggy, however, is a much more intentional “love to hate” character: she is simply a psychopath. This civilian element is an interesting reversal of the movie’s gender dynamic echoed in season one. Peggy channels the same destructive selfishness of the pathetic male character who tears his family apart, but does so in her own manipulative and deceitful way.
Another highlight is the latest development in Lou Solverson’s (Patrick Wilson) domestic saga as his wife, Betsy (Cristin Milioti), enrolls in a drug clinic for cancer. Even though the chances of death are fifty-fifty, Betsy remains positive and extremely likeable. She continues to be one of the show’s most underrated characters, but, unfortunately, due to her absence from the first season, the prognosis for her does not look good.
Also present in the show is a welcome return of the series’ dark humor that had been on the backburner for the past few episodes. At its best, “Fargo” seamlessly mixes violence, drama and comedy, and this episode does a great job of balancing these elements. With all the groundwork behind it, Fargo is poised to push the tempo in the coming episodes.
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