You know the drill. Three shows enter, (HBO’s The Leftovers, FX’s Fargo, and AMC’s Better Call Saul) one show makes it out wearing the crown, taking the gold, hoisting the belt, etc. Another tough week with some epic losses of great characters on multiple shows. The big question on our minds; can anyone stop The Leftovers in their final two weeks?
Jim and A.Ron are floored at the surge of pacing on the back half of this season’s Fargo, as typified in “The Lord of No Mercy”. Shocking events unfold as our hero, the technically challenged Gloria Burgle, goes head to head with the master of cyber sleuthing, VM Varga. Plus, what’s Nikki’s play? Does Emmitt have a change of heart and begin resisting Varga’s take over of his parking lot empire, or does the tragic accident of this episode wash away his humanity for good? Is this week’s frame-job this season’s Fishnado/UFO, or are we in for some more unlikely incidents and coincidence? All this and more in this week’s podcast!
FX’s Fargo comes out swinging this week on “The House of Special Purpose”, delivering top notch black comedy and savage inhuman beatings with equal aplomb. Seriously, somebody should get an Emmy nom just for the phrase “fornicating with the cookware!” We try to figure out exactly how powerful Varga is, speculate on the Storage Queen’s prospects as an escape hatch for the Stussey crew, start to get suspicious of “New Chief” Dammick, and consider some of our listener feedback in a packed podcast episode.
There is a whole lot to ponder in “The Narrow Escape Problem”, the latest episode of FX’s Fargo. Communist propaganda, meditations on the 1%, Joseph Stalin, bulimia, Ewan McGreggor playing a different Ewan McGreggor playing yet another Ewan McGreggor; an Ewan McCeption, if you will, biblical themes, our heads are just spinning. And Gloria with new found gal pal Winnie seem on pace to have this whole thing solved by the next episode. Which probably means the floor’s about to fall out!
Jim and A.Ron struggle to wrap their minds around the apparently “useless machine” of an episode of FX’s Fargo, “The Law of Non-Contradiction”. Is the ep an artistic triumph, or ultimately a pointless treadmill of plot? Is Gloria married or divorced? Is she Chief or Old Chief? Was the little android MNSKY a useless failure or scientific breakthrough? Is Thaddeus Mobley really Ennis Stussy or is there a bit more to the story? Join us for discussions of all this and more, along with feedback from our fellow fans.
Jim and A.Ron begin by discussing the Netflix reboot of the classic Mystery Science Theater 3000 (00:00:10), before debating Who Won the Week? (00:10:31) A real nail biter, this time, as Fargo, The Leftovers, and Better Call Saul all brought the thunder. Plus! Bonus discussion on the season premier of HBO’s Silicon Valley. (00:16:46)
FX’s Fargo was very, very good this week, expertly blending the unfathomable pinheadery and sublime comedy that has become the series hallmarks in “The Principle of Restricted Choice”. We talk about the dramatic possibilities of using one actor to play two characters, chat about the ins and outs of “duplicate” bridge, and analyze the symbolism and possibilities of Gloria’s incompatibility with modern technology before opening up the old mailbag and seeing what you all have to say.
FX’s Fargo is back for it’s third season, and it’s visually exciting and is chock full of colorful characters played by gifted actors and we’re all having a lot of fun. But it’s also the exact same Fargo formula we’ve seen in the movie and in two seasons of the show. Is that a problem, and if it is, what will the series offer as a change or curveball this year, especially give that we weren’t all that thrilled with the UFO twist of season two? Aw, jeez. In the meantime, we discuss “The Law of Vacant Places”, brush up on the rules of Bridge, and make sure our air conditioners are properly secured before considering a bit of feedback. See you next week!
Jason and A.Ron wrap up a satisfying first season of FX’s Legion with a full accounting of the finale episode, “Chapter 8”. Bad guys are humanized, suave swingers hit the road, and David seems to find peace of mind and a bit of happiness… but… well, this is Legion and there is that post-credits sequence. All this plus feedback and emerging news on season two! Thanks for listening, we’ll see you next year!
FX’s Legion delivers a fantastic penultimate episode with “Chapter 7”. Humor, action, character development, jaw dropping visuals, Legion managed to deliver the goods while building suspense as we head into the final episode of the first season. Plus, we got a ton more information about the identity of David’s parasite, David’s father, and Melanie’s husband Oliver. More Jemaine Clement is never a bad thing!