Fargo: Season 3 Episode 6 "The Lord of No Mercy" Review
"A shark in a suit is still a shark."
-Nikki Swango
The 6th episode of Fargo's 3rd season picks up with Ray Stussy (Ewan McGregor) caring for the badly injured Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). They plot their revenge and discover V. M. Varga's (David Thewlis) hideout in a semi truck parked in one of Emmit's (Ewan McGregor) parking lots. Before they can do much more, police officers Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) and Winnie Lopez (Olivia Sandoval) stop by their apartment. Ray and Nikki flee and hide out at a motel.
Varga starts Stussy Lots down a path of aggressive expansion and gets Emmit on board. When Gloria and Winnie stop by to question Emmit, Varga plays interference, preventing Emmit from giving away too much information. When Varga looks into Gloria's case, he can't find any information on her and discovers her police station is entirely off-line. He sends Yuri Gurka (Goran Bogdan) to get the physical file from the station. Varga than has Meemo (Andy Yu) get rid of the IRS agent (Hamish Linklater) looking into Stussy Lots by legally stalling him and then sends him after Ray and Nikki to kill them.
Ray realizes he has forgotten the money he stole from Emmit and returns to the apartment to retrieve it. He finds Emmit waiting for him wanting to put a stop to everything after he realized Ray had sent someone to steal the stamp from him. Emmit tries to give the stamp to Ray, but Ray can't swallow his price and a struggle ensues. The glass frame of the stamp breaks and Ray's throat is accidentally slashed and he bleeds to death. Emmit calls Varga, who calls Meemo off the hunt and they both go to Ray's apartment. They plot an alibi for Emmit and decide to frame Nikki for Ray's death.
Meanwhile, Gloria decides to go back to Ray's apartment and has dispatch tell Winnie to meet her there.
What Works:
This episode is pretty much the V. M. Varga show and David Thewlis really nails the performance. This guy is both charming and disgusting. Watching him dig into his gums with a toothpick is really unsettling. It's also great watching him dominate Sy Feltz (Michael Stuhlbarg), Emmit, and the police. He's a man who likes to be in control and knows how to handle it. But it was also great watching him struggle to find Gloria Burgle She has absolutely no online presence and it's a great set-up for Gloria as the person who will finally be a match for Varga.
Ewan McGregor also has a great episode especially as Emmit. The relization he has that Ray is so desperate for the stamp he hired a parolee to break into his house to get it is great. Even better is the final confrontation between the two brothers. It's really tragic as we watch Emmit finally be willing to let go, but Ray's pride won't let him do it. Ray's death is really shocking. I didn't see it coming at all and Emmit's reaction is stellar.
Meemo has by far his most memorable episode as he dresses professionally for the first time in the series. He dons a suit and takes on the role of a lawyer and kicks the IRS agent out of the building. It's a fun, quirky little scene and I really enjoyed Andy Yu's performance.
What Sucks:
This is the episode Ray dies in. He has two major relationships on the show; his brother and with Nikki. The stuff dealing with Emmit is all excellent and a great end for that storyline, but this is the last time Nikki ever sees Ray and it isn't all that memorable. I just felt like we should have gotten a little more from them for Ray's swan song. I guess if we had gotten that it might have been a little more obvious a death was coming, but they could have made it more of a guessing game as to whether Ray or Nikki was going to die. Their storyline was just generally unmemorable in this episode.
Verdict:
Although the Ray/Nikki storyline wasn't very compleling, "The Lord of No Mercy was a wholly entertaining episode. David Thewlis steals the show as he seizes control, Ewan McGregor is excellent, Meemo has his best episode yet, and Ray's death is shocking. This episode has absolutely got it going on.
9/10: Great
Varga starts Stussy Lots down a path of aggressive expansion and gets Emmit on board. When Gloria and Winnie stop by to question Emmit, Varga plays interference, preventing Emmit from giving away too much information. When Varga looks into Gloria's case, he can't find any information on her and discovers her police station is entirely off-line. He sends Yuri Gurka (Goran Bogdan) to get the physical file from the station. Varga than has Meemo (Andy Yu) get rid of the IRS agent (Hamish Linklater) looking into Stussy Lots by legally stalling him and then sends him after Ray and Nikki to kill them.
Ray realizes he has forgotten the money he stole from Emmit and returns to the apartment to retrieve it. He finds Emmit waiting for him wanting to put a stop to everything after he realized Ray had sent someone to steal the stamp from him. Emmit tries to give the stamp to Ray, but Ray can't swallow his price and a struggle ensues. The glass frame of the stamp breaks and Ray's throat is accidentally slashed and he bleeds to death. Emmit calls Varga, who calls Meemo off the hunt and they both go to Ray's apartment. They plot an alibi for Emmit and decide to frame Nikki for Ray's death.
Meanwhile, Gloria decides to go back to Ray's apartment and has dispatch tell Winnie to meet her there.
What Works:
This episode is pretty much the V. M. Varga show and David Thewlis really nails the performance. This guy is both charming and disgusting. Watching him dig into his gums with a toothpick is really unsettling. It's also great watching him dominate Sy Feltz (Michael Stuhlbarg), Emmit, and the police. He's a man who likes to be in control and knows how to handle it. But it was also great watching him struggle to find Gloria Burgle She has absolutely no online presence and it's a great set-up for Gloria as the person who will finally be a match for Varga.
Ewan McGregor also has a great episode especially as Emmit. The relization he has that Ray is so desperate for the stamp he hired a parolee to break into his house to get it is great. Even better is the final confrontation between the two brothers. It's really tragic as we watch Emmit finally be willing to let go, but Ray's pride won't let him do it. Ray's death is really shocking. I didn't see it coming at all and Emmit's reaction is stellar.
Meemo has by far his most memorable episode as he dresses professionally for the first time in the series. He dons a suit and takes on the role of a lawyer and kicks the IRS agent out of the building. It's a fun, quirky little scene and I really enjoyed Andy Yu's performance.
What Sucks:
This is the episode Ray dies in. He has two major relationships on the show; his brother and with Nikki. The stuff dealing with Emmit is all excellent and a great end for that storyline, but this is the last time Nikki ever sees Ray and it isn't all that memorable. I just felt like we should have gotten a little more from them for Ray's swan song. I guess if we had gotten that it might have been a little more obvious a death was coming, but they could have made it more of a guessing game as to whether Ray or Nikki was going to die. Their storyline was just generally unmemorable in this episode.
Verdict:
Although the Ray/Nikki storyline wasn't very compleling, "The Lord of No Mercy was a wholly entertaining episode. David Thewlis steals the show as he seizes control, Ewan McGregor is excellent, Meemo has his best episode yet, and Ray's death is shocking. This episode has absolutely got it going on.
9/10: Great
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