Season 2, Episode 9
Air Date: Monday, December 7, 2015, 10PM E/P on FX Network.
Rating:
“I’m responsible for you.” – Lou
Keystone Cops?
Having apprehended Ed (Jesse Plemons) and Peggy Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst) outside their jurisdiction in South Dakota, Lou (Patrick Wilson) and Hank (Ted Danson) reluctantly hand the couple over to Captain Jeb Cheney (Wayne Duvall). With Ohanzee (Zahn McClarnon) on the run and Mike Milligan (Bokeem Woodbine) heading to Sioux Falls, Cheney decides his best bet for capturing those involved in the ongoing war between the Gerhardts and the Kansas City Mafia is to use Ed and Peggy as bait. Will Cheney’s plan work or will it lead to the massacre we’ve been anxiously awaiting since season one?
Director Adam Arkin changes things up with his use of a frame narrative to help tell the story of “The Castle.” The episode opens with Fargo the book. The book opens, flipping through the pages where the audience sees drawings of key scenes from the season. Eventually, it stops on a page, the drawing becomes real, and the scene begins. Martin Freeman, who played Lester Nygaard during season one, serves as the narrator for the episode. Fans of the show shouldn’t look too deeply into Freeman’s involvement given the actor uses his native accent as opposed to the American one he used as Lester. As different as the storybook approach is, series creator Noah Hawley pulls off the look of the literary technique seamlessly.
Outstanding performance by Wilson
Knowing what both sides are capable of, Lou is vocal about his concerns with Cheney’s plan. Perhaps it’s my Minnesotan pride talking but I thoroughly enjoyed how Lou butts heads with the various members of South Dakota’s law enforcement team. Watching Wilson, it’s impossible not to feel inspired by the way he showcases the integrity of his character. He gives an Emmy® winning performance in his best episode of the season yet. Great acting, along with wonderful writing, makes Lou heroic, not just by his actions but by his words. Being moved by a character is a feeling I haven’t experienced since Damian Lewis and his stoic portrayal of Richard Winters on the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
Since the beginning of Fargo, Lou seems to have had a way of getting caught up in a massive shootout that turns into a massacre. The only question was how and why. The buildup to the impending confrontation at the hotel where the Blumquists have arranged to meet Milligan is intense. Things go from bad to worse when the Gerhardt family also shows up at the hotel searching for Dodd (Jeffrey Donovan). The tension continues to intensify until finally all hell breaks loose. As the carnage escalates, the bloodbath appears destined to continue until only one person is left standing; that is, until the unthinkable happens.
As violent as the skirmish is, the writers are able to inject a surprising amount of humor to ease some of the horror. One of those moments comes when Milligan finally arrives. As he exits his vehicle, ready for a fight, he sees surveys the quiet aftermath of the annihilation. Milligan sums up things perfectly when assessing the scene before returning to his car. “OK then.”
Who will survive?
One of the things that has bothered me all season is the mystery surrounding the unidentified flying object (UFO) as it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the story. Was it really a UFO that distracted Rye (Kieran Culkin) and contributed to his demise? Some fans have questioned whether the mysterious lights were simply a metaphor for the unease that was taking place across the country following the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal in the 70s. Either way, I found the plot point to be a distraction.
I completely lost it as the answer finally becomes definitive when a UFO appears and hovers above the carnage causing everyone to give pause. What is a spectacular shootout is instantly reduced to an eye rolling farce that defies all logic. Sure, it provides some moments of levity; after all, it is a UFO but when did Fargo become the X-Files?
Much to the chagrin of Minnesotans, one of the running gags used throughout Fargo has been the “This is a true story” tagline used during the opening of the film and every episode of the series. In actuality, nobody was killed by a wood chipper or chopped up by a meat grinder, nor was there a massacre. Simply put, the events of Fargo have not been based on actual events — until now.
As much as it pains me to say, the UFO story line draws from actual events that happened in 1979, the same year in which season two is set. In a small town in Minnesota, Officer Val Johnson was on patrol when he encountered a beam of light above the road. His car was suddenly engulfed in the light and his windshield smashed, knocking Johnson unconscious for 39 minutes. When he awoke, he realized his watch and the car’s clock had stopped for 14 minutes. These strange happenings are very similar to events seen throughout the season by various characters.
Despite how infuriating the conclusion of “The Castle” is, I still find myself incredibly curious to know what will happen in next week’s season finale. Will the UFO’s arrival be explained or was it simply a gimmick to grab the audience’s attention? I guess we will just have to wait to find out.
Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “The Castle.”
Tune in to the season finale of Fargo Monday,s December 14 at 10PM E/P, only on FX.
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Photos ©2015 FX Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Greg Staffa
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