Commentist Party Community Discussion – Fargo and The Leftovers, Seasons 2

Sadly, due to a combination of my own laziness and the demanding mistress that is football heroin addiction…I don’t have the time/energy to produce the full, in-depth recapping/reviews that these series deserve. But these are indeed worthy of singling out for your attention and DVR space, as we seek to fill the void in our empty, meaningless lives each Tuesday, Wednesay, and Friday.

f/x’s Fargo burst onto the scene to universal acclaim, and for good reason. The hook of the Coen Brothers and Billy Bob Thornton as the “bad guy” lead got people to watch, and almost everyone stayed through the thrilling conclusion. Much like True Detective, following up on a classic first season is challenging, especially with an entirely new cast (although Lou and Molly Solverson return, 20+ years earlier). I enjoyed True Detective’s California season, but YMMV. I am betting Fargo’s return will be less divided in popular opinion. It’s just fan-fucking-tastic. Brilliantly cast, acted, and written. You can cut the tension with a freaking chainsaw, and we are only three episodes in. Ted Danson as Lou’s father-in-law, the local sheriff. Playing the dual role of the Lester character, we get Breaking Bad’s Meth Damon and Kirsten Dunst, both fattened up to be “Minnesota nice.” Oof Da! I don’t want to be too spoilery in the intro in case some folks are still catching up. Like I was until I played hooky from work because it’s cold and raining and my neck hurts. Old people problems.

The Leftovers? MUCH less universal acclaim, though again, I liked it. As you know, I am a bleak sumbitch. It can be a bitter pill to swallow at times, since the loss and malaise are just so unrelenting, with almost no comic relief. But c’mon, you had the impossibly hot Carrie Coon dry humping a wax corpse at a convention on a drunken dare. How can you not love that?

At this point, I should add the caveat that I never got into Lost, so I don’t have the “Fuck you, Damon Lindelof” syndrome from that experience.

Anyway, I hope people stuck with it. It’s still bleak as fuck, but Season Two is consistently excellent, easily a level above Season One at its best. Justin Theroux should get nominated for an Oscar, at the very least. He’s killing it, strugglng with his demons, his own sanity, trying to separate reality vs. illusion, and attempting to be open with his partner about all of the above. Of course, the lead’s struggles are a microcosm of the entire world’s, as we see through the fabric of the other bands of characters. Society’s breakdown, people trying to cope with loss, but even more so…trying to comprehend having the cosmic rug pulled completely out from under them. How/why/do you go on, when absolutely nothing is certain, or maks any sense? Even though it never did, you just didn’t fucking consciously realize that? For the illusion of getting that back? Some people throw their lives away, some their core identities, some $3M on a ramshackle house in a pissant town straight from George Orwell’s worst nightmares. And the ones that find some semblance of steady ground have to cope with the fact that they can’t win everyone over with reason. So…what is morally acceptable to ward off greater evil? To me, this is really interesting shit.

Also, the new neighbors in Texas, the Murphys…fucking awesome. Some interesting stories there. Loved that very forward dinner party conversation between the two fucked up beyond belief pater familias types (John and Kevin, love the contrast in their very plain, vanilla names). Set the tone for the season, for sure. ENJOY!

Please warn everybody before getting super detailed with minute plot points in the comments.