I feel like a junkie who needs more of this type of story. But nothing I try seems to fit. Is there anything of Fargo sort where there are so many profoundly weird characters. What amazes me in Fargo is that besides so called psychotik antagonist there Is always some normal guy who surpasses him. Like the butcher and his wife in season two. So, please, Help!

When I first watched S2, I thought it was a real bunch of malarkey how they reveal Hanzee becomes Moses Tripoli after the events at Sioux Falls. As far as I can se, this twist is one of very few things about S1-3 and S5 which is panned by an overwhelming majority of fans. On some reflection and a rewatch, it makes a lot more sense to me.

Before I explain why, I want to say I think I understand why people hate this twist. It's a confluence of two reasons. Firstly, Hanzee earned his place as a fan favourite with perhaps the most badass characterisation in the entire series. He's as lethal as Malvo but we root for him because instead of being evil, he embodies a degree of injured nobility despite his antagonist role. He never knew anything but harsh discrimination from white American society at large and the Gerhardt crime syndicate was the only family he ever had. He gives me lost knight vibes - if he had been accepted or even not actively shunned and discriminated against, he could have been a mighty soldier on the right side of Fargo's absurdist universe, kind of like what Mr Wrench becomes. He falls into the same category as the latter, a ruthless killer who is also a fan favourite and the degree of whose villainy is up for debate. He is a standout S2 character for me along with Lou, Hank and Betsy.* The point is, fans don't want him to fall off as hard as he seems to between S2 and S1 and that's understandable.

Secondly, on first blush it makes no sense and seems like a contrivance which is at odds with the rest of the Fargo story and universe. Anybody who rolled their eyes when the last episode told you that lean, mean killing machine Hanzee is the same person as the old glutton Mr Tripoli, I feel you. And I have seen people say things like, 'But why would he do that?'

But there are a few different reasons it actually fits seamlessly, with what TV Tropes would call 'fridge brilliance.'

(1) Why would Hanzee radically change his identity on a physical level? Because he just became the FBI's most wanted man. Plastic surgery would allow him to simply vanish and pursue his new goals of building his own criminal empire instead of living out a short and miserable life on the run.

(2) Why would he choose to be white? (Yes, this is an argument I have seen made in the comments.) Because he has known nothing but discrimination as a Native American his whole life and has finally snapped, as made clear in the last couple of episodes. It makes total sense for the character that any pride in his heritage he holds would at this point bend to his understandable desire for safety, peace and an escape from his current circumstances. Also, it makes complete sense he would now want to pursue personal power in the vacuum left by his takedown of the Gerhardts and he would be highly unlikely to be able to build the following he needs as a Native due to the aforementioned bigotry.

(3) Why is he fat and sloppy in S1? Because not only has he aged around 28 years, he has lived as a general rather than a frontline assassin for what surely must be at least 15. People have this idea that his ascetic badassery is innate to him. It is not - it was forced upon him by harsh circumstances he managed to escape, although he obviously took to these better than most. Is it any wonder he wants to enjoy retirement? Also, Tripoli clearly didn't look the way he did in S1 when he first made his debut. You think that guy could have destroyed the Kansas City Mafia, which Hanzee is implied to have done? Early Tripoli was likely just a white version of Hanzee, the same ruthless nature with the social capital Hanzee never had.

(4) How does all this tie in to Fargo's themes of absurdity? Because Hanzee's transformation between S2 and S1 is exactly what the Fargo universe would do to him in this position. His old identity as a dark force of nature (who Lou still talks about in such terms in S1 when telling Greta about Sioux Falls) fading away behind his new mask as he becomes the mask and the mask goes to seed? That's the Fargo universe working as designed: absurd, entropic and full of tragic irony. Even his old code, 'Head in a bag, that's the message,' has been twisted into something that ends up destroying his organisation even though his sense of honour and commitment seems to have survived all the Tripoli years because he still follows that code to the letter. So much so that he ends up sending Wrench and Numbers to avenge a loser associate like Sam Hess, who has more in common with the guys who racially abuse Hanzee outside the bar in S2 than Hanzee himself, and in doing so causing the destruction of his whole organisation at the hands of Malvo. Nobody escapes in the absurdist thunderdome of Fargo. Why should Hanzee?

*Sidenote: I originally had Joe Bulo as an underrated highlight here but on a rewatch I realised how much of his so-called stoicism is an expression of his narrative function as an embodiment of corporatisation and actually he sucks. If S2 was in 2025 he'd be directing the rollout of ChatGPT through the Kansas City Mafia hierarchy with the same bullshit little shrug. Also I didn't catch on the first viewing that the 'anti-Gerhardt mission' he fled from was actually a deer hunt. Mike grew on me on the second viewing too.

I hadn't even noticed Ray Wise turning up at the bar earlier in the season, before. Also, Maggie Phillips deserves such a round of applause. The music curation on the show is the real MVP.

Should I watch the remaining 4 seasons in chronological order or the order they came out?

Happy birthday to Juno Temple; Dorothy Lyon; the fictional Nadine Bump; and the real Nadine Bump, from LYON county, MINNESOTA.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195708731/nadine-katherine-bump

What kind of burial ground did they end up in? Bodies hanging. Just rewatched and it aged nicely. VM as portayed by David Thewliss is literally stomach turning.

So he almost gets into a standoff in the hospital, gets his windshield shot at the following day, and then proceeds to tell the fucking lawyer Danish Graves to get kidnapping sorted out themselves, "FAST".

Just the standoffs and bullet in windshield would lead to massive police scrutiny for him and the Roy Tillman if he spoke out about it.

This is not a nitpick, but outright silliness

Hi! I just finished this episode and I must say I really appreciated it.

This whole season has honestly resonated very heavily as someone with a very recent past that's similar to Dot's. Fled two states. I've stayed in shelters, motel rooms, hiding, running, looking to stay out of the heat and snow. The motel rooms are where I picked my current name.

I've found the depictions of DV to be really well done. We've seen it all so much before in fiction. I feel like the only times I can remember where it's shown in this show is the aftermath of brutality, the emotional toll, and very sparingly on-screen violence.

The culture around domestic violence survivors is shown pretty clearly, between perps and those privileged enough to not h had to have suffered it.

On-screen, Roy backhanding his current victim isn't built up to, there's not too much tension. Because she's doing everything right, as much as she can. She's appeasing him, tending to him, the very young girls she gave him are in the room, and yet it doesn't matter, he's having a bad day.

He's able to blame her for something and gets to take it out on her, and that's it. She's heartbroken and shocked, but has to pick up and keep up. It's quick, and downright casual. We can compare it to what Roy deems unacceptable, and we see that the aftermath of HIS abuse is also far worse than what he's punishing someone else for. Abusers live in their own reality - literally, Roy is living separate from the rest of the world, and gets his ego bruised when he pushes even further.

And then this episode. The puppets.

We've seen *that* story before enough times as well. It's complicated to show something that happens to a child in live action, considering an actress, either the same one or one who must look young enough to play a child, must act out those scenes.

I felt the way it was handled was beautiful. Visually, and in the sense of the storytelling.

Dorothy literally being put to trial to recall her story. She's very certain of herself at this point in time, but her past still demands that she explain it all, maybe one last time. It's very frequent for survivors to question themselves - all parties involved have differing stories, after all.

So you must advocate for your story, the hard to swallow reality of abuse. It's difficult to remember figures in your past who you wish would have done differently. I feel a lot of anger towards mine, so Dot punching Linda first chance she got is funny lol (I tend to bite in my dreams)

But she comes to forgive her in her heart, being a very self reflective person and accepting that Linda was also a victim, and a victimizer - both things are true, and that forgiveness isn't necessary, but Dot is a loving person despite what she's been through. She affords Gator compassion as well, knowing that he suffered heavily as well, and also deserved an escape.

The puppet section itself almost feel like a 'safe' way for Dot to recall these things, a healthy way. She's recalling hell, a cruel, unfair life that will always be her past - but she tells her story, through and through, reaffirming her own strength.

The whole thing really reminds me, again, of my time at a DV shelter - I spent months there. It felt like Dot reflecting on her story in connection with many, many others. How much does my story matter compared to what others have been through? The heartbreak and hope of seeing others like you, at various points in their own stories.

I'm going on and on, but I feel really touched by and connected to this season in a way I didn't expect at all (especially going in blind to the show on a full first watch).

The PSA card at the end including numbers for the Hotline and the like really kind of made it, too. I've called that number a lot. If anyone's reading this who also identified with Dot, here's to you, too.

I bought two flavours. Huba Bubba - my favourite gum from this series.

Anyone else thought Indira Olmstead was one of the greatest characters in Fargo?

She's beautiful, tough and caring about what's right.

I was cheering for her when she stood up against her lazy cheating husband

Richa Moorjani gave a great performance!!!!!

I know Malvo did this guy dirty, but maybe just maybe there was some way to survive this. I'm thinking the only possible way (also risky but still) would be to lean your head over the gun and pretending you're dead. I know the police would notice the gun pointed at them, but with no possible movement in sight, there is a chance they won't start shooting immediately after spotting a gun. This is only my assumption, but I couldn't think of anything else. What do you think?

Rank|Actor|Season|Estimated Payout

---|---|---|---

1|Ewan McGregor|S3|$2.5M

2|Billy Bob Thornton|S1|$1.9M

3|Kirsten Dunst|S2|$1.75M

4|Martin Freeman|S1|$1.6M

5|Patrick Wilson|S2|$1.3M

6|Ted Danson|S2|$1.2M

7|Carrie Coon|S3|$1.1M

8|David Thewlis|S3|$1.05M

9|Mary Elizabeth Winstead|S3|$1.0M

10|Jean Smart|S2|$900k

11|Jesse Plemons|S2|$850k

12|Colin Hanks|S1|$850k

13|Nick Offerman|S2|$800k

14|Cristin Milioti|S2|$750k

15|Brad Garrett|S2|$750k

16|Bob Odenkirk|S1|$720k

17|Jeffrey Donovan|S2|$700k

18|Michael Stuhlbarg|S3|$700k

19|Oliver Platt|S1|$600k

20|Allison Tolman|S1|$600k

21|Bokeem Woodbine|S2|$550k

22|Shea Whigham|S3|$450k

23|Zahn McClarnon|S2|$400k

24|Kieran Culkin|S2|$400k

25|Keith Carradine|S1|$350k

26|Jordan Peele|S1|$280k

27|Keegan-Michael Key|S1|$280k

28|Glenn Howerton|S1|$275k

29|Adam Goldberg|S1|$250k

30|Rachel Keller|S2|$250k

Loved season 1 and making my way through the others, but the elevator scene puzzles me a lot. Some thoughts;

1) What on earth was Lester's end goal ? It's a crazy risk for Malvo to even acknowledge he knows Lester, and Lester knows how dangerous Malvo is.

2) "Is this what you want?" - Was Malvo genuinely offering Lester an invite into the life of becoming a hitman? Malvo does say "we" when discussing moving the bodies. He doesn't seem that upset and his tone relaxes quite a bit after he kills the dentist & co.

3) Lester seems to enjoy the adrenaline of high stake situations and asserting power by this point - Why did he not join?

Would love to hear all your thoughts and theories.

Spoiler for season 5

Just rewatching season 5 and at the end when Roy is in prison and Lorraine visits him to tell him she’s basically paid a lot of prisoners to make his life as miserable as he treated his wives, with beating and humiliation. Just love her gloating and his fear.

I really like how all three seasons Fargo resolves around cases where indirect interactions between people of completely different worlds are interlinked yet are almost always unnoticed.

I think the show has a message where it means to show us how little control or how much impact things and people could have over your perception or life in general.

Life is a web, with each person's mind serving as a decentralized center. Pull one string, and the entire web feels the tension.

A dark comedy crime anthology inspired by Fargo, Barry, and Guy Ritchie.

For the past 18 months I’ve been working on a small independent web series with little to no budget called “The Janice Job”.

Incase you were interested i’m leaving the link to watch it. But that is entirely up to you I won’t stuff my content down anyone’s throat.
Had to clarify.

This post is more so to share my appreciation of Fargo.

But also among others, I do take heavy inspiration from Fargo. I admire the character arcs and interactions.

Season one without a doubt is some of the most amazing writing in a Series. I love Billy Bob Thornton!

Feel free to leave your thoughts or feedback.

My brother introduced me to it a couple months ago. It's quickly become one of my favorite shows ever. I also barley got spoiled. Just got around to binging the final season.

My Fargo ranking:
1. Season 2 (10/10)
2. Season 1 (10/10)
3. Fargo movie (9/10)
4. Season 3 (8/10)
5. Season 5 (8/10)
6. Season 4 (7/10)

Top 5 episodes:
1. The Castle (S2E9)
2. Morton's Fork (S1E10)
3. Buridian's Ass (S1E6)
4. Somebody to Love (S3E10)
5. Do You Do This? No, You Did It! (S2E7)

Can't wait for a season 6 if/when it comes out. This is such a peak show.

I was googling this guy called “V. M. Varga” in the hope of finding out more about him because he seemed like a very mysterious customer. Now my computer has frozen and won’t do anything. I cant even turn it on and off again. I posted this in r/techsupport and they were no help at all but somebody sent me over here. Can anybody help me fix my computer? Thank you!

V. M. Varga never reveals what his first and middle initial stand for. When Sy asks him his first name, he replies “V. M.” as if Sy hasn’t been listening to him and the question is confusingly stupid. Yet we can surmise they must stand for something. A good few theories have been put forward. The two top ones are “Vile Maxim” which ties in with Varga as a representation of predatory capitalism and “Virtual Machine” which ties in with his close association with technology and how he basically operates as a human computer virus.

I have one of my own.

Over the course of Season 3, we see Varga do the following.

- Take over Stussy Lots by trapping Emmitt and Sy with a hefty and legally dubious loan and then forcibly entering a “business partnership” with them instead of collecting repayment.
- Use Stussy Lots to scam millions of dollars in loans from legitimate outfits who will never get their money back.
- Drive a wedge between Emmitt and Sy, manipulating Emmitt into no longer trusting his best friend and going along with the scam.
- Urinate in Sy’s favourite mug and force him to drink from it.
- Have his goons beat Nikki Swango half to death in front of Sy.
- Have his goons go after Nikki and Ray with the intention of killing them.
- Poison Sy with some kind of nerve agent in a cup of tea, leaving him paralysed following a stint in hospital.
- Send his goons after Nikki again following her arrest, first to poison her in jail and then to attack a prison bus she is aboard, resulting in the deaths of several innocent bystanders as well as presumably some of the passengers when they crashed the bus.
- Cover up the Stussy murders and their significance by having his goons kill another two men called Stussy and a fall guy claim he targeted people called Stussy and take the heat.
- Take down Emmitt with breath spray and a blow to the head (from Meemo) when he finally stands up to him.
- Give Emmitt twenty million dollars, a paltry sum in comparison to Varga’s earnings that ensures Emmitt remains complicit as well as arguably functioning as a petty insult.
- Routinely say petty, mean-spirited things to insult not only Sy and later Emmitt and Nikki (“Were you born here?”) but also whole demographics like Jews and women.

We can also surmise he has been operating like this for some time as everything I listed besides the final bad habit is a function of his criminal business model.

Conclusion. “V. M.” stands for “Very Mean.” He is Very Mean Varga.