The Tragedy of the Commons

How can you top this. A violent school board meeting where people are beating the crap out of one another. Of course, the only one arrested is a mother with her child. Now we are taken on a non-stop ride that starts with an attempted kidnapping, where the two bad guys underestimate their victim. I won't go into details, but what we have is one moment of tension after another. Our heroine is about as formidable as a cornered wolverine. She is enterprising and dangerous. That aside, the music, the cinematography, and the acting is superb from beginning to end. How I've missed this show. It is so creative and off the beaten path. The visuals of the flat, uninteresting landscape are great. One thing we must tell you. Don't try defend yourself against an assault rifle with an air horn.

What a comeback ! Juno Temple is splendid like always. God, I missed those accents. Such a great homage to Fargo (the movie). The vibes were almost exactly the same at some point. The use of lighting is unmatched. The store scene was tense af and brilliantly done. We even got some droplets of the Fargo theme from Season 1 !

Dot is definitely hiding something and keeping some secrets. The quality is up there, and I'm intrigued to find out what happens next and to get some answers. There is still a lot to unpack here. The directing is superb. The episode does a great job at getting you invested. Well done !

Guess what, folks? Fargo is back, and it's like a breath of fresh air after a meh Season 4. Season 5 brings back the classic Fargo vibes with cowboy hats, surrealism, and that signature Fargo humor we all missed. The story kicks off with Dot in a tight spot, and from the get-go, it's a wild ride that keeps you hooked. What's cool is that it fixes the issues some had with Season 4, so if you were on the fence, this one might just win you back. Fast-paced, suspenseful, and with all the Fargo goodness we love, Season 5 is a must-watch. So, grab your popcorn, slap on a cowboy hat, and get ready for a killer time in the Fargo universe! 🤠🍿

True story? In a frozen northern place a writer has some leeway. Whoever penned this one took a large one. Let's dispense with normal people first off. What we have here is a total disregard for, well, normal, according to humanity, the law, and base morality. This is one wicked good twisted tale.

A great cast from another place, maybe Venus...or hell? Never mind the punch drunk brawl at the open school board meeting (this is about the only event that may have happened sometime some place). Let's key on the arrested mother, housewife Dot (a deliciously bent Juno Temple), and daughter in law of some kind of wretched uber-wealthy matriarch (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who seems like the devil in Prada. Until the sheriff enters, that is. Using some warped religious zealotry the sheriff, played by John Ham, assumes the top spot of actual depravity.

Fargo started its run of a series with a loose premise of normal folk getting in over their heads in extraordinary bad situations to whit they did the unthinkable.. The FX Fargo is a huge return to form, but, this isn't that same Fargo. The new Fargo is over-the-top, near cartoon characters. Acting out in the strangest ways. What this means is there is no sense, and no need for sense, to hook the viewer. It is very much like watching a train wreck. Using one's own need to know you just keep watching for, well, anything. Brilliant.

Dorothy "Dot" Lyon seems your typical Minnesotan suburbanite: married to a doting husband, has a young daughter, lives in your average sought of house, goes to school PTA meetings. Her mother-in-law is a wealthy, powerful woman so when Dot is kidnapped that seems to be the motive. Or is it?

The first two seasons of Fargo were brilliant, with Season 1 being one of the greatest seasons of any show in the history of television. Season 3 was good but not great. Season 4 was mediocre and disappointing. Considering how poor S4 was and how much time had passed since its release (3 years), I thought that was that for Fargo.

To my surprise a Season 5 was produced. I was reluctant to watch it as the trend was downwards and it is rare for shows to bounce back after a bad season or two.

Having now watched the first episode of Season 5 it looks like Fargo might buck that trend. Quite brilliant: the intelligence is back, the humour is back, the Coenesque plot, characters and dialogue are back. Even the casting and performances have lifted: Chris Rock was one of the reasons for S4 being so mediocre but here Juno Temple is fantastic and quite the revelation as a dramatic actress.

Hopefully this isn't a false dawn and the remainder of the season is this good.