BWW Recap: You Betcha FARGO is Back in 'Waiting for Dutch'

FARGO's second season returned tonight, and at a place in TV where anthology series have been tested, with TRUE DETECTIVE'S abysmal second season and AMERICAN HORROR STORY'S decline, FARGO was our last hope to prove the genre is still alive. Thankfully, FARGO delivered.

This time, the show is set in 1979, and Lou Solverson, diner owner and Maggie's father from Season 1, is one of the main subjects of this season. Now, obviously younger and played by Patrick Wilson, Lou is a police officer in Minnesota, and his father-in-law, Hank, is the Sheriff of Rock County, Minnesota, played by Ted Danson. Lou also is dealing with some personal issues, as his wife, Betsy, is undergoing chemo. Even sick, Betsy (Cristin Milioti), is a strong and witty woman to juxtapose Lou's more stoic demeanor.

Lou and his father-in-law come together when they are at the crime scene of a triple homicide. The murders were carried out by Rye Gerhardt, the youngest son of Otto and Floyd, a crime-family. Rye, the chaotic and essentially useless member of the family is tasked with convincing a judge to unfreeze funds so his business partner can go on selling the new "miracle contraption" typewriters. However, things go wrong and Rye ends up killing everyone in The Waffle Hut, when the judge refuses to see things his way. Before Rye can get away, though, a car hits him, and the driver drives off with his body on the hood.

We come to find out that driver is Peggy Blomquist (Kirsten Dunst), wife of butcher Ed (Jesse Plemmons). Instead of going to the police or the hospital, "scared" Peggy drives the body home, and proceeds with her normal routine, before a sound from the garage perks Ed's interest. In the garage he finds the bloodied car, and soon after, an angry Rye, who Ed has to stab. Now, faced with a dead body and a threat to his livelihood, Ed agrees to help Peggy hide the body.

Meanwhile in Kansas City, Joe Bulo (Brad Garrett), the front man for a new crime syndicate, gives a presentation on why the syndicate should go after the Gerhardt family's holdings, and the episode ends with it "approved."

The second season of FARGO started off with a bang, well many. First off, I like the general similarity to Season 1: a seemingly harmless couple that ends up involved with murder, a cop, and a crime family. However, instead of there being a villainous character like Thornton's, now it seems as if Floyd, the matriarch of the Gerhardt crime family, will be our main antagonist. I'm interested to see how things play out between her and her sons against Joe's crime syndicate.

This time, instead of a meek and generally pathetic Lester, we have Peggy, a seemingly normal Midwesterner woman who is obviously much more than that. All of her scenes screamed sociopath; especially the split screen following the accident, where she goes about her day like nothing happened. Also, magazine hoarding is definitely a sign of something more, and finally her obsession with Hollywood seems to point in the direction of her need for something more than her small-town life. Playing opposite Plemmons' Ed, who is the epitome of a small-town guy who wants a simple life, I expect a lot of friction between them now that they have something to hide and for Peggy's character to escalate very quickly.

Over to the another questionable character: Rye. The youngest, and least important, Gerhardt son, Rye doesn't have the respect of his older brothers. He owes his collection money, and has until the next day to get it to his eldest brother, Dodd. Trying to make something of himself, he goes after a plan to make money on typewriters, but his one task goes horribly wrong. After unsuccessfully convincing the judge to unfreeze his business partner's funds, and obviously irked by her lack of respect for his power, Rye shoots her out of anger. He then shoots everyone else in the restaurant, but is stabbed himself before finally killing the judge. After chasing after and killing the waitress, Rye finds himself outside, where he sees bright lights, like a UFO, before the car hits him. This leads to the question of whether or not that UFO is real, or a part of his disturbed imagination, and if so, what is the later significance of that going to be? Especially since there has already been an obvious mention of conspiracies, when Lou's friend (played by Nick Offerman) goes into a long rant about the "girl in the polka dot dress." Since this season takes place in the 70s, deals with a lot of post-Vietnam issues, and the mentions Reagan, who will become more important as time goes on, there might be more to the conspiracy aspect of the show then expected.

Not only did I enjoy this episode from a story standpoint, but also from a visual standpoint. I loved the use of split screens with Rye, Lou and Peggy as it added a lot of drama to the scenes, and made for very interesting moments. The split screen with Peggy really helped illustrate her personality and gave an important glimpse at her character. I also loved the audio-only depiction of Otto's death layered with the calm shot of his lifeless body on the bed surrounded by his family. It was a great way to show the chaos of the family hidden beneath their cool demeanor. The use of flashbacks were interesting, because they chose to flash to seemingly meaningless scenes, like the one in the butcher shop, but the decision added for an emphasis on those little moments, and I really liked that. Also, in the final scene, the choice to shroud Joe's boss with light and then hide him in shadow was a very interesting choice, and immediately draws importance to that currently nameless character.

One episode in, and I am already hooked on this season of Fargo. It's building off of last season and growing in scope, while still holding on to that feeling of intimacy. I look forward to the chaos that ensues!

Quotes from "Waiting for Dutch"

-Film Producer: "Look, I'm a Jew, so believe me, I know tribulation"

-Dodd to Rye: "You're the comic in a piece of bubble gum."

-Waitress: "Sugar? -Rye: "You're freaking me out a little."

-Judge: "Is one of them the hard way?"

-Lou: "Yeah."

-Hank: "There's a shoe in that tree."

-Everyone at the Butcher's: "Okay then."

-Peggy: "Didn't I tell ya? I hit a deer."

-Joe: "His wife, Floyd, she's tough, but you know, she's a girl."

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Let me know your thoughts on the premiere of FARGO in the comments below, or tweet me at @kaitmilligan! Make sure to come back next Monday as I recap another epsiode!

Photos Courtesy of the Fargo FX Twitter

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