Margaux and I spend Tuesday doing what we love best: gushing about Fargo.
Trevor: Fargo has really become more of an ensemble show this season – tellingly, Noah Hawley isn’t writing every episode by himself, as he did last season – and “Rhinoceros” is a great example of that mentality at work. It was a great hour for two characters who have more or less existed on the periphery of the narrative: Bear Gerhardt and Karl Weathers. Bear is shown to be as gruff as his namesake, but he’s still the more reasonable of the two living Gerhardt brothers. And Karl – well, someone call Lou Solverson, cause Nick Offerman stole this entire episode. His facility with Karl’s flowery dialogue makes me really sad that we never got the chance to see him on stage as Ignatius J. Reilly in A Confederacy of Dunces.
Margaux: “Great Caesar’s ghost!” was not only one of many hilarious lines uttered by Offerman, but also a subtle (I think) nod to the Coen Bros. It was an interesting showdown between two burley men, Bear and Karl, who have much more in common than meets the eye. I was glad their tense meeting to negotiate the release of Charlie Gerhardt didn’t end in a torrential downpour of bullets. Actually, I was surprised that for the amount of suspense and tension “Rhinoceros” had, the body count stayed fairly low.
I really enjoyed the deeper dive into the Blumquists’ delusional little family; from Peggy’s hoarder tendencies (“you’re a little touched, aren’t ya?”) that lead to her greater homicidal instincts. Kirsten Dunst is killing it (literally) at Peggy Blumquist.
Trevor: She really is, and between Peggy, Floyd, and Simone, “Rhinoceros” was this show’s most overtly feminist episode so far. Not only does it help with setting, but it strengthens all the female characters, some of whom (Peggy and Floyd) are a few of my favorite characters on TV right now.
I liked the dual standoffs too – not just Lou and Karl vs. Bear, but the more climactic Dodd vs. Hank and Peggy. First of all, Hank and Lou are take-no-shit badasses, which is always a thrill to see. And Jeffrey Donovan knows how to chew just the right amount of scenery.
Margaux: Dodd’s front porch showdown with Hank was a pretty high point of the roller coaster episode, Hank may not find any of the Gerhardts to be particularly bright, but doesn’t mean that doesn’t take their threats less seriously. I couldn’t of been the only one holding my breath when Hanzee snuck up behind him and knocked him out cold. There was a genuine sense of not knowing which way the scene would play out, which fed into the greater anxiety of the high stakes.
Trevor: Couldn’t agree more. Hanzee is a very effective boogeyman – I still think of him growling “They called me mad dog!” at Sonny – and with the tenor of this show (and the movie of the same name), where violence can erupt out of any situation, I fully expected him to shoot Hank in the chest. And that moment showed so much about Hank’s character: in the middle of a standoff, he turned to tell who he thought was Peggy to go back inside because it’s dangerous out front. Which is pretty damn gentlemanly of him.
Margaux: I would never guessed in a million years that Ted Danson and Kirsten Dunst would have such an easy on-screen chemistry together, obviously not in the romantic sense, but more like their interactions felt really natural. Their exchange before the Gerhardt’s show up, how Peggy sorta admits to running over Rye, felt more like a therapy session than line of questioning. He feels truly sorry for Peggy, sorry that she lives in the same house that Ed grew up in – Peggy makes it seem like the most miserable existence, she should hang out with Noreen. And on the flip side, watching Ed get grilled by a very no nonsense Lou, it completely makes sense how these two weirdos ended up together; “I want a lawyer…I’ve seen Ironside!” Ah yes, the good old Ironside clause.
Trevor: I’m sure Karl Weathers could turn that into some legal precedent. What “Rhinoceros” did very effectively was pair up characters who haven’t had a ton of screen time together (Lou/Ed, Hank/Peggy) or who haven’t had any screen time together (Lou/Bear, Hank/Dodd). It expands the world nicely, and does a good job of showing us all the pieces on the board. And you know how I won’t shut up about how fast-paced this season is? If I understand Hank right – “We’ve had five dead since Saturday” – Fargo takes place in about a week. The scope of the show is amazing for having such a compressed time frame. Sometimes I think about what Noah Hawley has accomplished with these two seasons and I’m frankly in awe.
Margaux: Pretty sure “Rhinoceros” marks the halfway point of the season, which, as you said, happened really quick thanks to Fargo’s fast pace., we’re still on the same day that the butcher shop burned out. It being the middle point episode is fitting because it feels like we’re in the middle of some shit. As a writer for AV Club put it, it feels like all the characters are standing in front of an open grave, waiting for the final push in. Over at the Gerhardt compound, Floyd and Simone, mid heart to heart talk have to duck out of the way of flying bullets. The timing couldn’t of been more perfect, Floyd was about give Simone a bit of advice on sticking with family when Mike Milligan and The Kitchen Brother open fire. Can’t I expect poor, old stroke-y Otto to of survived that one, sadly.
Trevor: If he doesn’t, I’m sure it’ll put Floyd on the warpath, and I’d love for her to have a bigger role in the back half of the season. Because the mob war is fully on now.
This should come as no surprise, but I loved this episode. I love Fargo – there, that’s my version of trenchant, insightful criticism.
Margaux: There isn’t much this show can do wrong, and “Rhinoceros” is one of my favorite episodes of the season so far. Not only was there a lot of character development for those who’ve been on the fringe so far, but it also had a lot of cinematic camera work happening, including but not limited to the split screen effect they used more than in just the cold open and exterior POV shots with Hanzee.
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