Fargo Series Review (Season 3)

Released: May 31, 2017 (UK)

Created by: Noah Hawley

Number of Episodes: 10

Where to watch: Channel 4 (Netflix release likely to follow)

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, David Thewlis, Goran Bogdan, and Shea Whigham

Taking place across twenty years from 1996 to 2016, the Fargo series went beyond the original Coen Brothers film to provide a tremendously engaging anthology. For its first two seasons, it proved a near perfect fit for the small-screen but moving into more recent times, season three finds itself with a hard mountain to climb.

In modern-day 2010, Emit Stussy (Ewan McGregor) is a successful businessman with more than a few problems; a shadowy company who he borrowed money from some time ago now wants their investment back and his grudging brother Ray (also played by McGregor) wants his share of the wealth, all the while being egged on by his devious fiancée Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). From these feuds, a collection of awkward circumstances unfolds involving and a creepy visitor with false teeth and a penchant for blackmail and all the connected deaths and police investigations in-between. The unpredictable nature of the show is once again in full swing here, providing plenty of surprises across the ten episodes but there definitely some weaknesses for this third outing. The biggest problem though comes with episode three, which moves the action away from Minnesota for the first time; it’s meant to be a diversion, a means to add detail to the crime story while building the strong female archetype the series has become known for. Instead, it goes nowhere, which takes away from the otherwise engaging narrative. The ending also feels quite abrupt too, with a key character or two breaking off from the narrative completely.

Leading the proceedings with a dual performance, Ewan McGregor plays the brothers Stussy with very distinctive characteristics that set them apart and emphasise their feuding ways; Emmit is high and proud, calmly disdainful as he pushes his sibling down while Ray is rugged and uncaring, filled with an unending jealousy that pushes him beyond the boundaries of ethics. Mary Elizabeth Winstead brings a tomboyish sensuality to Nikki that ends up deceiving many characters throughout the season. David Thewlis as the antagonist (who I’ll leave you to discover on your own) is also brilliant, bringing a very slimy, repulsive presence to every scene he’s in. Sadly, when compared to previous seasons some of the other characters stick out for how underdeveloped they are. Carrie Coon’s Gloria Bungle, the main police officer this time around, just doesn’t have much to her as a character; she has that same grit and determination to see things through but not so much to set her apart from her predecessors. The same also goes for Chief Moe Dammik (played by Shea Whigam) who mostly exists to put Gloria down and tell her she can’t do one thing or another due to police regulations. This results in the characterisation being somewhat unbalanced here; you’ll still be rooting for Gloria just as you did for previous deputies Molly and Lou Solverson but the level of investment is undoubtedly lower.

Compared with the look of the nineties and seventies, season three’s modern day setting of 2010 features a very washed-out colour palette, almost signifying a disconnect with the technology driven society we live in today. Dull whites and greys permeate many of the office environments and the brighter backgrounds of the outdoor environments have been replaced with a dimmer, almost depressing look. This disconnect is further personified with Gloria’s tendency to run into technology that simply doesn’t work for her most of the time; it suggests an over-complication that technology has brought to modern life. Some of the more unique presentation techniques this time around include a symbolic narration by Billy Bob Thornton from the first season that really gets the audience into the characters and the roles they have to play. The costume work is very conforming and on the whole, there’s a very palpable tying into today’s issues with references to off-shore accounts, back-room dealings, and a bit of hacking here and there to ground the setting seamlessly. Fargo’s season three doesn’t have the brightest or most appealing look, but it makes effective use of it to create a distinctive look.

It feels very unremarkable when compared to the seasons that came before but Fargo’s third season is still worth a watch. Most of the performances are still brilliant and the modern setting distinguishes itself with its intentionally drab look. The overall narrative and some main characters have taken a sizeable step backwards, however, and that’s a shame considering how strong the first two seasons were.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars (Good)