After appearing only briefly in the last episode, Ed (Jesse Plemons), Peggy (Kirsten Dunst), Dodd (Jeffrey Donovan) and Hanzee (Zahn McClarnon) catch viewers up on their recent antics in the newest episode of “Fargo.” Much like the previous week’s, this character-driven episode takes a breather and anticipates the building conflict that will play out over the season’s final two installments.
Just as the previous episode added depth to wild-card character Mike Milligan (Bokeem Woodbine), “Loplop” parallels this development with Hanzee. The writers have started to push Hanzee in a similar direction — whereas Milligan was cut loose against his will, Hanzee runs by choice, clearly fed up by those around him.
Like Milligan, Hanzee’s race comes into play in this episode. In a key scene, his simple request for a glass of water in a bar quickly escalates, and violence ensues.
Referenced in the previous episode, the event is shown here in a completely different light. Hanzee is given both a layer beneath the cold-hearted, murderous exterior and a new motivation — escape. While the season will likely end with a high body count, Hanzee has an avenue to a relatively happy ending. The discovery of ransom money in the last season tied the TV show into the movie — similarly, Hanzee may be set up to adopt the identity of film character Shep Proudfoot, but this remains to be seen.
On the Ed and Peggy front, the show’s humor comes to the forefront as the bumbling kidnappers try to find a way out of their situation. The episode overtly parallels the kidnappers from the movie, Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare), with numerous instances of borrowed dialogue and visuals making this drama particularly compelling. The show made a connection earlier this season with its own version of the movie’s infamous woodchipper scene, adding a nice touch to the already entertaining portrayal.
The episode marks Peggy’s emergence as a much more compelling character. While early in the season she seemed to be a deeply manipulative sociopath, her characterization has evolved over the past few episodes. She is not necessarily evil — though still a sociopath. Lately, Peggy has become much more of an asset to the show, as the writers have played heavily on her comedic potential rather than the way she systematically ruins Ed’s life.
With too many great characters to fit in every episode, “Fargo” has done a great job over the past few episodes taking the time to give all the characters their dues. “Fargo” continues to be the best show on television, featuring phenomenal writing episode after episode.
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