When it was first announced in 2012 that the Coen Brothers’ critically acclaimed film Fargo would be adapted into a TV series, there was no shortage of skepticism that such a feat could be accomplished. Almost a decade and three seasons later, Noah Hawley has showed time and time again that not only could the series capture the spirit of the original film, it could expound upon Fargo’s original themes and take them to new heights.
The series has been marked by lengthy breaks between seasons, but the wait for the newest season is almost at an end. Let’s take a look at a few things we’d like to see from Season 4.
COPS WITH GREAT LAST NAMES
Whatever your feelings may be toward the law enforcement characters represented on the show, each season has endowed us with at least one cop with an unusual last name: the Solversons and the Burgles. We haven’t heard anything about who might be portraying a law enforcement character, but IMDb might have a clue. Actor Glynn Turman is listed as playing “Doctor Senator.” Wouldn’t that be quite the name for a cop? There’s still not a great deal we know about season 4, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that there’s an Officer Loiterson or Lieutenant Clue to appear at some point.
WORLD WEARY CHARACTERS
It’s important to note that the main characters that appear in Fargo are not just miserable, pathetic individuals. They have had to endure a lot over the course of their lives before we meet them. Whether it’s Lester Nygaard, Ed Blumquist, or Ray Stussy, each of them is a respectable member of society, if not having received more than their fair share of punches from life. We root for these individuals not just because bad things have happened to them, but also because they feel they must go beyond the natural order of their lives and create a little chaos to shift their course. It’s in the midst of that chaos that things really get interesting.
FRANCES MCDORMAND
Over the course of the last three seasons of the show, we’ve been lucky to see a number of former Coen Bros. collaborators show up in supporting roles. From Billy Bob Thornton in the inaugural season to Michael Stuhlbarg, Noah Hawley has ensured that we get some of the best actors on the show that have also had experience in Coen Brothers movies (The Man Who Wasn’t There, Barton Fink, A Serious Man etc.).
However, up to this point, we still haven’t seen the queen of them all, Frances McDormand. While the Oscar-winning role didn’t end up becoming a character on the show (arguably for the better), there’s a number of ways she could be integrated into the show given that every season is its own unique story. This is a long shot, but we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed.
POWER COUPLES
While the first season saw Lester Nygaard killing his first wife in the first episode (that’s a lot of firsts!), the second and third seasons departed from that concept with Peggy and Ed Blumquist in season two and Ray Stussy and Nicky Swango in season three. Despite things getting intense at times between these couples, they have generally stuck by each other and tried to help each other, regardless of how far into a hole they’ve dug themselves. While these couples have had different dynamics, they have both been fascinating to watch as they try and pull themselves up by their bootstraps only to find that it’s easier said than done. We’re hoping season four brings us another couple to be reckoned with.
MINNESOTA…IN THE SUMMER?
This one is definitely a long shot, but one thing that we haven’t seen yet from the series is a lack of snow. Wherever you decide to watch Fargo, you always want to grab an extra blanket and sweater because you can tell that the cast and crew must have had chattering teeth between takes. It was certainly important for the first season to establish that yes, indeed, this Fargo could hold its own with the film, and to have too big of a change of scenery would have been jarring. The last season flirted with the idea by taking Chief Gloria Burgle to Los Angeles for an episode, maybe a few more episodes like that wouldn’t be so bad?
STRETCHING COMEDIC ACTORS INTO DRAMA
Prior seasons of Fargo have been marked by having great actors, some of which are better known for their comedic chops. From Jordan Peele to Nick Offerman to Ted Danson, we have had a chance to see actors like these stretch in ways that we previously haven’t seen or at least haven’t seen much of.
With Chris Rock set as one of the leads for next season, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that Fargo remains a serious contender for those who like their coffee black and their comedy even blacker.
CREATIVE EPISODE TITLES
We have no dearth of TV shows on the air right now. More often than not, when discussing a particular episode of a show, we resort to the Friends-style of wording them like “The One Where Ross Gets a Tan.” In the day and age of the internet, we can find just about anything, and that adds another layer of dimension to Fargo’s multiple layers.
Take the first episode of Fargo’s latest season bearing the title “The Law of Vacant Places”. This is a reference to a rule in the card game bridge “estimating the probable location of any particular card in the four hands.” The episode, however, has nothing to do with bridge and instead sets the stage for conflict between brothers Emmit and Ray Stussy. In a show that always gives you plenty to think about, the titles alone warrant multiple viewings and plenty of water cooler discussion.
ANIMATED SEQUENCES
While the vast majority of Fargo is live-action, a segment in the third episode of season 3, “The Law of Non-Contradiction,” depicts part of a book within the show, “The Planet Wyh.” While the show certainly could have just had Gloria Burgle reading the book out loud to herself, they instead chose to make an animated sequence. One critic suggested that this gave the audience the opportunity to feel some of the same feelings of confusion and frustration that she was likely experiencing. Fargo is no stranger to taking risks and the addition of a brief animated sequence was one we wouldn’t mind seeing again.
BACKFIRING SCHEMES
With every Fargo protagonist comes a backfiring scheme. If only they can carry out this one plan, all the other puzzle pieces in their life will come together. But, whether it’s hiding a corpse, stealing a stamp, or trying to stick it to the man, nothing ever goes as planned. EVER.
More often than not, that plan leads to another, and another, and another. It simply wouldn’t be Fargo without some hair-brained scheme that seems foolproof but indeed turns out to be anything but. When it comes down to it, though, we want these underdog schemes work for once.
COEN BROTHERS’ EASTER EGGS
While Fargo the series has made itself a show that completely separates itself from the original film, it has shown foresight and wisdom by embedding references not only to the original film, but to virtually the entire canon of the Coen Brothers. Not an episode goes by without an Easter egg or two reminding us that the makers of the show know their Coen Brothers trivia. You might even say that Fargo is the embodiment of a Coen Brothers cinematic universe. It wouldn’t ruin the series if these references suddenly came to a halt, and certainly you can enjoy the show without having a minor degree in the Coen Brothers’ filmography, but these references keep us from ever getting bored.
