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<i>Fargo</i> Season Premiere – “Waiting for Dutch” Review. Murder, Mayhem, UFOs?

Season 2, Episode 1

Air Date: Monday, October 12, 2015, 10PM E/P on FX Network.

Rating: ★★★★★

“There’s a shoe in that tree. Suppose we oughta get that down?” – Sheriff Larsson

 

Ted Danson as Hank Larsson, Patrick Wilson as Lou Solverson

One fateful wintery night in a small Minnesota town in 1979, the Gerhardt and Blomquist families cross paths leaving behind a trail of blood and mayhem. As the body count rises, police officer Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson) and Sheriff Hank Larsson (Ted Danson) are called in to investigate. The bloodbath means only one thing — the return of Noah Hawley’s Emmy® winning series Fargo.

It’s never easy being the youngest in the family especially when your parents, Otto (Michael Hogan) and Floyd (Jean Smart), head the notorious Gerhardt crime family, and your older brothers are Dodd (Jeffrey Donovan) and Bear (Angus Sampson). Despite that, Rye Gerhardt (Kieran Culkin) is determined to prove he’s an asset by making a name for himself.

Kirsten Dunst as Peggy Blumquist, Jesse Plemons as Ed Blumquist

Then there’s the Blomquists—Peggy (Kirsten Dunst) and her husband Ed (Jesse Plemons). She’s a beautician with big aspirations and he’s a butcher’s assistant. Ed wants to support Peggy as she tries to discover herself even if he doesn’t always understand her. Little do they know, their lives are about to be turned upside down after a run-in with Rye.

Anthology series appear to be on the rise as franchises like American Horror Story, True Detective, and now Fargo present different stories with new characters each season. This narrative poses some risks as it might turn off fans who grow fond of characters from previous seasons. Whether that will happen with Fargo remains to be seen.

While the cast is entirely new for Fargo’s second season, some familiar characters return. Wilson’s character is a younger version of the retired cop played by Keith Carradine in season one. Lou’s daughter Molly, originally played by Allison Tolman, is now a four-year-old (uncredited). The story line for season two stems from a brief conversation about an incident in Sioux Falls back in 1979 that Lou had with Molly during the first season episode, “A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage.”

Kieran Culkin as Rye Gerhardt.

Fargo has a extremely talented cast; in addition to those previously mentioned, Cristin Milioti plays Lou’s wife Betsy; Bokeem Woodbine is Mike Milligan, the enforcer for the Kansas City mafia; Brad Garrett portrays Joe Bulo, the mafia’s chief negotiator; and Bruce Campbell plays Ronald Reagan. I don’t know about you but I can’t wait to see Campbell as the Gipper.

“Waiting for Dutch” opens the second season with perhaps the oddest opening of any series in recent memory. While the scene has nothing to do with the story line for the season, it does serve two purposes. The first pays homage to the unique filming style of the Coens’ film Fargo, which inspired the series. While the brothers have little to no creative input, fans should appreciate the Coen-esque open. The beginning also serves as an ominous, cautionary warning of things to come.

Being set some 27 years before the first season isn’t the only big difference viewers will notice. The shooting style has also changed as split screens are often used to help drive the narrative. Unfortunately, they often diminish the stunning visuals seen throughout the episode. The cinematography in “Waiting for Dutch” is breathtaking, especially some of the aerial shots, while the frosty Calgary landscape, which serves as a stand-in for Minnesota, is beautifully captured through the use of drones.

Larsson, on the case.

With the change in time period comes all new sets. As someone born and raised in Minnesota, I appreciate the small Midwest town look provided by the Canadian locales. No detail has been spared as cars, signs, and clothing seem ripped directly out of the 70s, making “Waiting for Dutch” a visual masterpiece.

I thoroughly enjoyed composer Jeff Russo’s opening score for “Waiting for Dutch.” The bold, in-your-face beats set the tone perfectly for the season, especially when compared to the softer methodical score used during season one. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is a different story. When the second season trailer was released, I loved how it was set against “Right Place Wrong Time” by Dr. John. The song fit perfectly so I was looking forward to what other music would be used for the series. Unfortunately, the song choices are too bold and I often found myself focused on the lyrics, which became a distraction to what was happening on the screen.

What hurts “Waiting for Dutch” is the lack of someone to root for, like fans had with Lester (Martin Freeman) in the first season. Sure, Lester accidentally killed his wife but you still felt for the guy. But, it’s only the premiere so hopefully, the audience will become invested in the characters as the season evolves.

“Waiting for Dutch” is different than anything we saw during the first season, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Although, there are some head scratching scenes that hopefully will be explained as the season progresses. Lou Solverson is the only character bridging the two seasons but everything else is totally new. Despite all the changes, Fargo is definitely worth checking out.

Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “Waiting for Dutch.”

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Photos ©2015 FX Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

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.

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.