Fargo Season Premiere - “The Crocodile’s Dilemma” Review. You Betcha.

Season 1, Episode 1

Air Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2014, 10PM E/P on FX Networks.

Rating: ★★★★★

“Ah, jeez. Here we go again.” – Fargo

Billy Bob Thornton as Lorne Malvo

It has been years since I saw the film Fargo and the only things I really remember about it is a scene that took place at the parking ramp of the church I attended — the infamous wood chipper scene — and, of course, the so-called Minnesota accents. When FX sent me screeners of the first four episodes of Fargo, I decided to re-watch the film first to refresh my memory. The series isn’t a remake or a reboot of the movie, and it’s not necessary to see the movie to follow the series.

While the film was written and directed by the Coen Brothers, they take a back seat with the series, so to speak, serving as executive producers. Noah Hawley developed and wrote the series. Despite the name of the series, most of Fargo takes place in Bemidji and Duluth, Minnesota, although it was filmed in Calgary, Canada.

None of the original characters from the movie appears in the series, yet there is a familiar feel to it. It’s almost as if the filmmakers said “Let’s see what else is going on around town.” People who have seen the trailers and commercials have mentioned the similarity the TV characters share with the movie characters but having seen the first few episodes, I can assure you any similarities quickly vanish, with each character bringing their own uniqueness to the show.

Allison Tolman as Molly Solverson, Shawn Doyle as Vern Thurman

Living in Minnesota, only a few hours’ drive from the two cities where the show takes place, it’s hard not to notice the heavy accents used. I had a chance to talk to Martin Freeman, one of the stars of the series, about his accent and he told me, “I didn’t want to make a gag of it, and I didn’t want to kind of laugh at it, and I wanted to get it right. I wanted to kind of honor it in a way and not do a sketch version.” You may read the entire transcript of the conference call here. While I think there is still an element of stereotyping with some of the characters’ accents, there is an element of truth behind those stereotypes. It may not be perfect to all Minnesotans but Freeman and the cast capture the essence of the accent in a way that isn’t meant to be insulting.

“The Crocodile’s Dilemma” opens much like the movie does, claiming to be based on a true story. It’s not. (The Coen brothers admitted as much following the release of the movie.) Lorne Malvo, played by the extremely talented Billy Bob Thornton, is driving down a dark, snowy road when he hits a deer outside of Bemidji, Minnesota and crashes his vehicle. When the car finally stops, a man dressed only in his underwear pops out of the trunk and starts running into the woods. Malvo seems more concerned about the deer he hit and lets the man run away. Forced to spend a few days in town, Malvo’s arrival sets off a chain reaction of murder and violence that will change the town forever.

Martin Martin as Lester Nygaard

One of the townspeople is Lester Nygaard (Freeman), a timid insurance salesman who seems to let everyone push him around, including his wife Pearl (Kelly Holden) and his brother Chaz (Joshua Close). That is, until a chance meeting with Malvo at the hospital. Lester explains his nose was broken during a “misunderstanding” by Sam Hess (Kevin O’Grady), a bully who has tormented Lester since high school. The hospital scene is absolutely brilliant, both in its writing and acting.

Meanwhile, Officer Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) and Police Chief Vern Thurman (Shawn Doyle) come across Malvo’s vehicle, which turns out to be stolen. They follow the footsteps in the snow and find the semi-nude man who got away from Malvo frozen to death. Eager to prove herself, Molly visits the hospital and learns Lester was talking to a patient being treated for a head injury. Could that man be the owner of the stolen car? Vern offers to pay Lester a visit to find out more.

What follows over the next few episodes is murder and mayhem that is both disturbing and funny in a dark, twisted way. Rounding out the cast is Bob Odenkirk as Officer Bill Olson. Bill is next in line to become chief but he and Molly don’t always see eye to eye. Colin Hanks plays Duluth Deputy Gus Grimley, a single father who has a run in with Malvo, and Adam Goldberg and Russell Harvard play Mr. Numbers and Mr. Wrench, respectively. Goldberg and Harvard are sent to Bemidji by the Fargo crime syndicate to look into the murder of one of their own.

One of the things that makes “The Crocodile’s Dilemma” so enjoyable to watch is Thornton’s portrayal of Malvo. Malvo seems to find pleasure in riling people up and then letting them go just to see what happens; usually, it’s not good. Martin, who was digitally made to look smaller in the Hobbit films, actually seems smaller in Fargo, only without the special effects. The way Martin walks and talks conveys a small, weak man. I am curious to watch his evolution into a more confident person, all at the hands of Malvo.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the first four episodes of Fargo, and can’t wait to see where Noah Hawley takes these characters over the next nine episodes.

Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “The Crocodile’s Dilemma”

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.