Drish
Badass
Posts: 2,017
Likes: 1,752
|
Post by Drish on Jun 22, 2017 16:27:41 GMT
Well, that was ... incomplete. I just read a review of this finale that pointed out the similarities between Fargo's last scene and The Leftover's last scene: Carrie Coon having a conversation with a man across the table from her, with the nature of truth and reality in the balance. Sort of interesting that both shows played out that way, with Carrie Coon's changing hair length constantly reminding us of when time jumps did or did not happen. I generally liked the idea that it all came down to Gloria and Varga, as I had expected it to -- especially if you consider that Gloria likely took up the DHS job at least partially because she believed it would eventually lead her to him -- but the ending didn't really stick the landing for me. In many ways, this episode sort of felt like Hawley just giving up, and that conclusion in particular left many things to be desired. The episode as a whole was running really smoothly up until Nikki's death scene. I think it would have been better had the cop whom she had a standoff with been Winnie. It would have added a lot more weight to the situation. I get that Hawley likes to play with that 'randomness' theme, but there's a point where randomness starts to take the form of meaninglessness. It would have been much more impactful had Nikki had that final standoff with a character we actually knew and cared about (though I do still think that the Gloria/Winnie scene from last week should have ended this episode, and Winnie's death would have prevented that from happening -- but still, that just shows how many different directions this season could have been taken and have been improved ever so slightly). And yeah, it's incredibly stupid that Emmit was just able to drive off in a car that had literally just broken down. It was also strange that we got those "This is what happened afterward..." texts regarding Emmit as the time jump occurred. I guess the show's/movie's "true story" format allows for pulling out that biopic cliche, but it's never been done before and felt really out of place. Especially considering it wasn't done for any other character/aspect of the story, and just felt like a shoehorned way to fill us in on information that was skipped over. Eh... But Emmit's death scene was top-notch, as Mr. Wrench finishes what his friend had started, and leaving another Stussy dead in front of the refrigerator. (In regards to Mr. Wrench, I was waiting for the scene in which he buries his briefcase of cash and brings the whole story full circle. That would have been a nice touch.) Overall, this season felt like a strong first draft that needed a whole lot of revising to be on the same level as the first two seasons, which it very well could have been with a few improvements here and there. The story just didn't have the same fluidity as the others, leaving the whole season to become something of a jarring experience that felt more like the writers coming up with things on the fly rather than having a nicely crafted story. This season showed favoritism of events over arc, and while some of those events were really, really well-done, in the end, it's the arc that makes for great television. And this season came up short. I didn't read the first paragraph to avoid any Leftovers spoilers but god damn such a great read. You're a damn good writer I must say. Agree on everything you've written 🙌🙌 I was underwhelmed with this finale. Thought it lacked the punch that the first two had but it was still a pretty good season overall.
|
|
|
Post by DeepArcher on Jun 22, 2017 16:31:46 GMT
I didn't read the first paragraph to avoid any Leftovers spoilers but god damn such a great read. You're a damn good writer I must say. Agree on everything you've written 🙌🙌 I was underwhelmed with this finale. Thought it lacked the punch that the first two had but it was still a pretty good season overall. I didn't get too spoiler-y with The Leftovers, but you'll definitely want to go into the ending as blind as possible, so that was probably a smart move. But long story short: The Leftovers has one of the best endings I've ever seen, while this season of Fargo's was just a bit of a letdown.
|
|
|
Post by Pavan on Jun 22, 2017 19:46:31 GMT
Well, a solid episode with an interesting ending. Nikki's death came as a surprise but it was well done and her partner finishing things was a nice touch. Overall, it was a disappointing season. The first two were great. This one is nowhere near those.
|
|
|
Post by DeepArcher on Jun 22, 2017 20:35:45 GMT
Another thing about this season: Was the story ever connected back to the city of Fargo? Seems like a really inept oversight to make.
|
|
|
Post by Christ_Ian_Bale on Jun 22, 2017 21:16:59 GMT
I think the last scene ultimately worked for me, because I didn't really find it that ambiguous. I do think the "ambiguous ending" in general is often an overrated idea that's just an easy way for writers to get out of coming up with an ending, but having said tat, it seemed quite clear to me that Varga is going to prison. Through the whole season, Varga had an almost supernatural power over everyone, particularly when he'd intimidate them by telling a story and getting inside their head. Then that power started to die down when Nikki got the better of him, putting up a legitimate fight the likes he likely hadn't had to face prior to that, then finally coming face to face with Gloria, where he attempts the "there's a German expression" thing, to which Gloria immediately dismisses with "You probably just made that up." It's at that point that Gloria renders him powerless, thus no one will be coming through the doors to free him. That's how I took it anyway.
That makes a lot of sense, but I also kind of like how it generally seems to symbolize the scrambling of expectations the world can bring. How Nikki came so close to "punishing the wicked" as she was supposed to, and what's more unexpected to stop such a mission than a cop doing their job, something that in the Fargo world is typically a sign of hope. I also like how Nikki's death kind of mirrors Ray's, in which they both died in such mundane, preventable ways that resulted from nothing more than bad luck.
|
|
|
Post by DeepArcher on Jun 22, 2017 21:57:10 GMT
I think the last scene ultimately worked for me, because I didn't really find it that ambiguous. I do think the "ambiguous ending" in general is often an overrated idea that's just an easy way for writers to get out of coming up with an ending, but having said tat, it seemed quite clear to me that Varga is going to prison. Through the whole season, Varga had an almost supernatural power over everyone, particularly when he'd intimidate them by telling a story and getting inside their head. Then that power started to die down when Nikki got the better of him, putting up a legitimate fight the likes he likely hadn't had to face prior to that, then finally coming face to face with Gloria, where he attempts the "there's a German expression" thing, to which Gloria immediately dismisses with "You probably just made that up." It's at that point that Gloria renders him powerless, thus no one will be coming through the doors to free him. That's how I took it anyway. That seems like a fair way to take the ending. I did enjoy how Gloria and Nikki sort of inadvertently worked together to weaken Varga, despite his seeming unbeatable from the start. However, we still don't know how high up Varga's influence reaches, which is why I think what he claimed about being freed may still have held some validity.
|
|
|
Post by notacrook on Jul 9, 2017 23:11:17 GMT
I loved S3's main cast, with all of them nailing their chances to shine, but ranked I'd say:
1) Winstead 2) Thewlis 3) Stuhlbarg 4) Coon 5) McGregor
|
|
|
Post by thomasjerome on Jul 9, 2017 23:12:33 GMT
Thewlis Winstead Coon Stuhlbarg McGregor
|
|
|
Post by DeepArcher on Jul 10, 2017 0:07:10 GMT
1. Stuhlbarg 2. Coon 3. Thewlis 4. Winstead 5. McGregor
McGregor is the only one even remotely close to a weak link, but even he was a pleasure to watch from start to finish, and also improved considerably once his role was cut in half. Thewlis and Winstead both seemed to run out of steam a bit after spectacular starts, but they still never hit any rough patches. The entire ensemble was strong throughout, which is made more impressive by the fact that they more often than not didn't have great material to work with for their characters.
|
|
|
Post by DeepArcher on Jul 10, 2017 0:38:22 GMT
1. Stuhlbarg 2. Coon 3. Thewlis 4. Winstead 5. McGregor McGregor is the only one even remotely close to a weak link, but even he was a pleasure to watch from start to finish, and also improved considerably once his role was cut in half. Thewlis and Winstead both seemed to run out of steam a bit after spectacular starts, but they still never hit any rough patches. The entire ensemble was strong throughout, which is made more impressive by the fact that they more often than not didn't have great material to work with for their characters. Did you feel like Coon was sidelined too much at all? i at times forgot she was even a part of the story as her character didn't feel as essential. She certainly was in the first half of the season; even the entire episode devoted to her character felt like we were still being kept at a distance, and it certainly didn't help that the entire story arc of said episode felt inconsequential. She had more to work with later on, but her character, like many others from this season, was thinly-developed and even hard to connect to until later on in the season. Coon was always top-notch, and was the standout of the last handful of episodes, but it was constantly nagging that the writing of the character hindered her from reaching her full potential.
|
|
|
Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Jul 11, 2017 12:36:42 GMT
Thewlis - Brilliant Winstead - Very good McGregor - Decent Coon - Decent Stuhlbarg - Meh
|
|
forksforest
Junior Member
Quit your shit-spitting
Posts: 492
Likes: 212
|
Post by forksforest on Jul 13, 2017 0:07:31 GMT
Winstead Stuhlbarg
Meh: McGregor (mixed feelings) Coon (a let down, not super complex a role) Thewlis (I found him boring by the end of it)
|
|
|
Post by FrancescoAbides on Jul 13, 2017 0:38:50 GMT
Thewlis Stulhbarg Winstead Coon McGregor
They were all good, particularly Thewlis. However, they were all dragged down by this season´s sloppy writing, not enough juice
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2017 1:55:11 GMT
1. Mary Elizabeth Winstead
-----
|
|
|
Post by getclutch on Jul 21, 2017 17:52:51 GMT
The cinematography in the last episode in particular was fantastic. Varga fading to black was terrifying.
|
|
|
Post by getclutch on Jul 22, 2017 2:03:45 GMT
Winstead Thewlis Stuhlbarg McGregor Coon
|
|
|
Post by pessimusreincarnated on Jul 24, 2017 17:44:58 GMT
Thewlis McGregor Stuhlbarg Winstead Coon
The girls didn't really impress me that much this time around.
|
|
|
Post by HELENA MARIA on Aug 3, 2018 17:19:50 GMT
|
|
|
Post by theycallmemrfish on Aug 3, 2018 17:21:06 GMT
I'm honestly having a hard time not keeping a straight face trying to picture Rock with a Minnesota accent.
|
|
|
Post by Sharbs on Aug 3, 2018 17:23:15 GMT
I'm honestly having a hard time not keeping a straight face trying to picture Rock with a Minnesota accent. *an over-exaggerated, superfluous* Minnesota accent
|
|
|
Post by theycallmemrfish on Aug 3, 2018 17:28:18 GMT
I'm honestly having a hard time not keeping a straight face trying to picture Rock with a Minnesota accent. *an over-exaggerated, superfluous* Minnesota accent I don't think it's exaggerated at all. It's based on a true story. They just change the names out of respect.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2018 17:57:27 GMT
I'm honestly having a hard time not keeping a straight face trying to picture Rock with a Minnesota accent. *an over-exaggerated, superfluous* Minnesota accent In my travels, I have found that Minnesotans are very sensitive about their accents. I mentioned Fargo, and, well, if looks could kill...
|
|
|
Post by Sharbs on Aug 3, 2018 18:38:57 GMT
*an over-exaggerated, superfluous* Minnesota accent In my travels, I have found that Minnesotans are very sensitive about their accents. I mentioned Fargo, and, well, if looks could kill... part of it is because we know it's true, especially the Canadian comparisons. I lived in Fargo and they hated to be compared to Minnesotans in dialect just aboot as much as we hate the Canadian comparisons
|
|
|
Post by Sharbs on Nov 2, 2018 21:02:33 GMT
FINALLY watched s3. Huge fucking lol @ Ewan beating Kyle. Overall I'm pleased w/ the season, nowhere near the first two but that's a tall order
|
|
|
Post by mhynson27 on Dec 28, 2018 1:16:29 GMT
A Season 4 is planned, starring Chris Rock, but right now Hawley is busy with his film debut.
|
|