Fargo | Season 3 Review | Well, That Was...Strange

Fargo is an anthology series created by Noah Hawley, exploring a disparate collection of characters who deal with a plethora of crimes in different time periods, the only thing in common being their connection to the Midwest USA.

Fargo season 3 stars Ewan McGregor – playing two roles – Carrie Coon, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Michael Stuhlbarg and David Thewlis.

This season is set in 2010, making it the season closest to us in terms of its timeline. The story is a lot more detached from the first 2 seasons. Where season 2 can be seen as a straight up prequel of the first season, season 3 is pretty much its own thing, aside from the odd easter egg here and there and one character from season 1 who pops up in a supporting role.

So the story here follows two brothers, Ray and Emmit Stussy, both played by McGregor. Emmit is a successful businessman who has a cagy relationship with his younger brother. Ray feels wronged and slighted at how differently the two brothers’ live have panned out, believing himself to have been scammed by Emmit over a valuable stamp the duo traded years ago. Ray and his ex-con girlfriend Nikki plan to rob Emmit as revenge. Meanwhile, Emmit tries to cut ties with a shady organisation his business borrowed money from a year before, but the company has other plans. A mysterious representative, V M Varga, a man with emaculate charisma but horrific dental hygiene, arrives at the business and essentially begins to stronghold Emmit and his partner, all the while Emmit has to deal with his brother.

[midnightninja]

I didn’t like season 3 the first time I watched it but after rewatching I thought it was great. It’s very different from the other seasons but in a really good way.

[WithoutRemorse]

2:49 In season 1 we saw a more hopeful outcome of a individual against a bureaucracy. In season 3 the bureaucracy basically wins out and ends up covering up the crimes of the villain.

[felixwinkler]

I loved season 3. Varga is one of the most realistic and frightening personifications of evil I've seen to date. You almost have Sympathy for the Devil. It's obviously inspired by the international events around the production year. Democracy being undermined by moneyed interests, meddling in elections through disinformation and hateful rhetoric and a deeply divided democratic sovereign. 2016 was the year of Brexit, Erdogan, Putin and Trump and was the year the term "fake news" was coined. A horrible year for democracy and a great year for those interested in a "deconstruction of the administrative state" (Stephen K. Bannon) and just the beginning of more to come. And as Fargo is always dealing with motivations for evil, this season tackles greed. Follow the money...

The theme of the brothers - a metaphor for all humans being born equal - makes an argument for the rich vs. the poor people in the world being mostly in their positions because of lucky breaks and powers beyond anyone's control. The rich brother feels deserving of his life, having followed what he perceives as the rules (self-justifyingly bending it a little here and there, of course); he worked hard and got the rewards for his competence. The poor brother feeling having been tricked and cheated out of a different kind of life; he also works hard, even works in a job that makes sure the rules are upheld (and also feeling forced to not following them at some points), but never got that break his brother got early on. And as wealth grows exponentially the rich brother started out with a leg up while the other with a broken one.

Both don't recognize that neither of them is truly wealthy. They are both on opposite ends of the middle class compared to the billionaire in cheap's clothing Varga. They both think they're doing what they can to abide by the rules and the other one is ungrateful for what they have in each other. Both feel the other one is to blame for a broken relationship. And while they're fighting each other, the wolves are on the hunt. Divided and eventually conquered they both end up crushed by those with true power who only see value in the money they can create for them. They're mere pawns in a game that has no rules, losing because they try to play fairly and don't know who they are actually playing against - until they Kain and Abel each other.

The last scene with Varga pointing out that laws and facts are for the poor. For him the rules don't apply. He is protectd by the rich and the powerful because he is of use to them. The winners write the history books and might makes right. Ethics are the opium of the people and there are always "alternative facts" (Kellyanne Conway) as "truth isn't truth" (Rudy Giuliani). The smart make their own luck. And if he ever were to go to prison then only for one purpose: So that he would be taken off suicide watch, the guards falling asleep at the same time, all the cameras going off and him ending up killing himself as he somehow has lost his value to other billionaires.
Well, he didn't say all of that, as it would have been a little too prophetic. But the scene ends with us doubting whether or not he is right.

The season is about the injustices a system creates in which money is power and the greedy control everything. A system built on the broken backs of the suffering masses that are conditioned to follow rules designed to uphold hierarchical structures and fight among each other (based on things we don't control like place of birth, skin tone, sex or gender, religion, sexuality, ...) so that they won't fight those holding them down.

The season is kind of about whether to be woke from our slumber or keeping our Eyes Wide Shut.

[MatthewJHunt]

Season 3 was so weird and to me made no sense. Varga getting away with everything, Stussy getting murdered in the end when in reality he was a victim himself, some random person is arrested for the stussey murders and the case is never truly solved. The whole thing was strange.

[keveardo]

This was my favorite season in the Series tbh, even more so than the first one, I actually love the depth and atmosphere in this one, the story of how this shady company takes over a normal one and turns it into a shell company is so interesting to me since the CIA and other organizations do it all the time, the mystery behind who Varga really is and who his underlings are is great even the beginning with the Berlin interrogation over the death of a woman and framing a person as Yuri, and Yuri was an interesting character with his thick Russian accent, and I absolutely loved the whole weird almost dreamlike scenarios with the guy from Twin Peaks almost playing a guardian angel of sorts to the characters, it was truly great, this was also one of the most action packed seasons in my opinion,

Even all the performances were great from David Thewlis as the British villain to Carrie Coon as the former Chief of police and especially Ewan Mcgregor playing both Stussy brothers, I truly forgot they were the same actor at times, truly a brilliant season in my opinion

I think you should give it a second chance and really analyze it so you can enjoy it

[joerickards]

It is the best season for me. It improves on a second or third watch.

[davezedman]

Season 3 of fargo, is in my top 5 of any season of any show of all time. The writing was incredible. It was way better than season 2. I think of this season a lot actually. Varga and swango are 2 of my favorite Characters of any show. The way they intertwined 'peter and the wolf' into the story was simple but fascinating, and ingenious in my opinion. I haven't seen this show in 6 years and i still think about it often.

[yggdrasil]

I kinda disagree in your assessment on what the seasons are about. To me the core elements can be posed as questions:
1. What is a man?
2. What is language?
3. What is the truth?
4. What is America?

[LM-Whit-]

I see what your saying there was some weak points and weak characters. But i still really enjoyed it honestly. Also because i really enjoyed Nikki Swango. I thought for sure her being so hot and ray looking the way he did she was going to have another boyfriend, screw him over or leave him but when she didn't and you see she really loves him and gets revenge for him made her a great character. For me anyway. Thats my humble opinion.

[captainrex]

Dont like how stupid and passive they make Emmit and Sy. These guys are buisnesses tycoons but the writers make them act like children.

[Pumpkinking]

When you brought up Saul Goodman I was super confused and then I remembered that Odenkirk is in season 1 of Fargo

[alexthrailkill]

This season was instantly my favorite when I watched, but I love all of them for their own reasons. Varga, the brothers, Nikki, and even Emmet’s business partner were all scene stealers. Gloria’s episode about her step-father’s book was so interesting. I feel like this season gave so much to think about, especially with how open-ended they left the finale.

[torizino]

I too loved this season. I love the VM Varga character and the whole company absorption plot line. Loved it. I thought Mary Elizabeth Winstead was terrific. I thought it was very engaging. Just the scene where the lawyer searches for Varga online and the computer crashes was eerie and suspenseful. Loved it.

[Void..]

I gotta disagree, this one gets better with a rewatch even though I do think it surfers from some pacing issues, stories that go nowhere, and weird detours. The core of the story is great. And season 4 absolutely doesn't go downhill in quality, it just kinda inexplicably becomes a different show entirely lol

[yggdrasil]

To the point you made about contrivances, this is kinda what Fargo the show always has been based upon in a way. It builds a realistic world, yet the stories are driven by mindblowing coincidences with a lot of thematic irony and things that are mysterious or completely unexplainable sprinkled on top. If you don't feel it works right here then that's fine, but I love it.
EDIT: Like is Emmit's car malfunctioning (in a season where hacking has played a big role) really any more of a deus ex machina than the flying saucers in season 2?

[christianzafiroglu]

It was an odd season at that. Varga was great. I loved the ambiguous ending. And Michael Stuhlbarg is typically great to see in anything.

But ultimately I felt it added up to solid pub food dressed up as gourmet.

Why was Varga a bulimic? What was the point of casting Ewan McGregor as twins? Why not two different actors? Or actual twins? What was the point of being a multimillionaire with private jets and a cheap suit? To escape what? When?

[itzdono]

I'm still trying to figure out that bowling alley scene. I love it - I've watched it & the previous chase scene numerous times. It's an awesome chase scene. & I love that the mute guy is a crossover from the other seasons. But I don't know what that supernatural stuff was all about. I keep waiting for someone to do a deep dive into what that was trying to say. The kitten was upstaging everybody & I didn't know what was happening. It's one of those inside joke lines that I say, though, all the time with my friends, "A bowling alley? Is that what you see?" So weird.

[Underscorezeus]

I love the vibes of this season ngl. Everything feels just the slightest bit uncanny, and it made even the calmer scenes feel incredibly tense

[serveandprotect]

Mike Stuhlbarg ??? ...oooh, NOW I remembered where I saw him before!! 😂 - Arnold Rothstein from "Boardwalk Empire"! DAMN! He's UNRECOGNIZABLE ! One of most under-rated actors EVER!

[paisan]

I liked all seasons.

But I think it goes:

Season 2

Season 5 (so far)

Season 1

Season 4

Season 3