It's hard to imagine a show as sinister and intricate as FX's "Fargo" is based on real life events. Instead of a theme song, each episode starts with a simple statement: "This is a true story. The events depicted took place in Minnesota in 2006. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred." Exactly? Uhh....
There were multiple times when I've gasped out loud and uttered "what the fuck" under my breath a time or two. The show gave me high levels of anxiety and my eyes widened with fear many times. I would find myself sitting straight up while watching tense scenes. I had thoughts like "Why do you keep doing this? Don't you get tired of running? Why did you just kill a dog?!?!?" Then none of the anxiety the show gave me ended up being worth it because none of it was true.
How is a show based on a movie made in 1996 based on real life events that happened in 2006? Like any good journalist, I did some research. I googled "How much of Fargo season one is true?" According to the website snopes.com, "Great opening. And not a word of truth to it. Fargo's creators, the Coen brothers, are known for their playfulness, the inclusion of 'little touches' that add to a film." WHAT?!?! I watched 10 episodes of a show under the impression that every fucked up thing that happened was true and then the entire thing ended up being a lie?!?! WHAT?!?!
I don't even know where Minnesota is. Midwest? What happens there? I now know the accents are funny. After watching two or three episodes a night, I found myself dreaming of the characters' weird accents. Their niceness in real life would make me uncomfortable. Even when the characters are mean, they're nice. They say stuff like "for Pete's sake" and "yah" too much to the point where I walk around yelling "yah" at everyone. I didn't recognize certain actors, like Bob Odenkirk ("Breaking Bad") and Glenn Howerton ("It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") because they were drabbed down by Minnesota dullness (and had weird accents).
Innocent and wholesome Martin Freeman ("The Hobbit," "Sherlock") plays the main character Lester Nygaard and he's perfect in the role. There's character development which I always love in a film or book, but while I was admiring the character development I couldn't help thinking that this was a real person and I shouldn't be admiring the character development of such a cynical and crazy person. Then Lester Nygaard wasn't based on a real person and I went back to admiring the writing of the show. He gets rid of his dead wife's possessions, her clothes, her sewing machine, her spoon collection (how dare he!). Then he buys a new washing machine. A washing machine. The very appliance which caused him to kill his wife.
A path of destruction follows every character all in different ways. Lester snowmobiles away from his problems and is chased by the police. There's a shootout in the middle of a snowstorm involving Don Chumph (Howerton). Gina Hess' (Kate Walsh) son beats his brother over the head with a hockey stick because he thinks he'll get no money after his dad died. And all of this happens because of the malicious doings of Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton). It's like he wants to cause problems. Which he does. Malvo is a good looking older man who doesn't belong in Minnesota. He wears a long peajacket coat, has attractive gray hair, and plays an innocent church minister perfectly when framed for murder. I'm not sure where he belongs, but I know it's not Minnesota.
I'm not as stupid the second time around when I start the second season, where the show takes place in 1979, as a prequel, with a few characters from the first season. I've made fun of myself for thinking it's based on a true story and I've done my research. I liked this season but I think I looked at it a different way. I wasn't as invested but I still found myself swearing at my TV screen and gasping.
As someone who has a special interest in organized crime, this season and the Gerhardt family were for me. But too many unnecessary deaths happened the second season. Think about the old man driving through Sioux Falls during the massacre as the Blumquists (Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst as Ed and Peggy) are running from Hanzee (Zahn McClarnon). Ed tries to take the man's car but a bullet gets to the old man first. And think about the other old man who didn't believe in global climate change but believed in aliens. He died at the hands of Hanzee too. Neither of them had to die.
Nick Offerman played The King of Breakfast, Karl Weathers (King of Breakfast, perhaps an ode to "Parks and Rec" character Ron Swanson?) while Ted Danson ("Cheers," "CSI") played a wonderful Hank Larsson who attempts to invent his own form on communication. A twitchy Kieran Culkin ("Scott Pilgrim vs. the World") plays the Gerhardt who starts everything and gets himself killed first (as the entire family dies off throughout the season). This season also had all the classic rock goods from Jethro Tull to Black Sabbath.
There were small references to the time it took place in, from the simple reference to the energy crisis of 1979, Ronald Reagan running for president, and the even weirder UFO sightings in Minnesota. Peggy wants to chose where she does her time, saying she wants to go where she can overlook San Francisco. Was she hinting at Alcatraz? This isn't a study abroad opportunity, Peggy. You can't decide where you want to spend your sentence. I had the same look as Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson) on my face.
