Fargo: Season 3 Episode 10 "Somebody to Love" Review
"At some level, food knows it's food."
-V. M. Varga
The finale of the 3rd season of Fargo picks up with Emmit Stussy (Ewan McGregor) signing documents for V. M. Varga (David Thewlis). When Varga insults Emmit, he steals a gun and threatens to start shooting, but Varga distracts him long enough for Meemo (Andy Yu) to knock him out. Later, Emmit returns to his company only to find Ruby Goldfarb (Mary McDonnell) bought it from Varga and has taken over leaving Emmit with tons of debt, but a secret fortune hidden in an off-shore account.
Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) is on the verge of resigning from the police force, but a call from Larue Dollard (Hamish Linklater) of the IRS stops her. He brings Gloria in on his case and learns that Varga is the one behind everything and is the man she needs to get.
Varga takes Meemo and a group of men to settle with Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who lures them to a storage facility. It turns out to be a trap and Nikki and Wes Wrench (Russell Harvard) gun down Meemo and the others, but Varga manages to escape. Everyone is caught on camera however. Nikki gives Wes Varga's briefcase full of money and sets off after Emmit, who's car breaks down on a rural highway. Nikki arrives and plans on shooting Emmit, who accepts his fate until a state trooper (Michael Brown) arrives. Emmit tells the officer Nikki has a gun. They both draw and shoot, killing each other, leaving Emmit to flee to his wife where they reconcile.
Gloria arrives on the scene and examines Nikki's body for a long time before bonding with her son over the chaos and randomness of life.
Five years later. Emmit and his family are having dinner with a recovering Sy Feltz (Michael Stuhlbarg). Emmit goes into the kitchen where he is shot and killed by Wes.
Finally, Varga is taken into custody and Gloria, now working for the Department of Homeland Security, interviews him. She is convinced he is going to jail. He is convinced he will be released in a matter of minutes. The two of them wait out the clock and Varga's fate is left ambiguous.
What Works:
This finale had plenty of great moments for all of our characters. First we have Emmit stealing Meemo's gun and standing up to Varga. He ultimately fails, but his attempt to stop Varga was really unexpected and a satisfying character moment from Emmit.
The sequence where Varga and his men arrive at the storage facility was extremely tense. The entire time we knew Nikki and Wes were somewhere off-screen just waiting to make their move. The only question was when it was going to happen. The sequence really kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't wait to see how it played out.
The first time I watched this episode, I didn't love Nikki's final scene where she and the state trooper kill each other, but on rewatch I can appreciate it more. The whole theme of the season is chaos and random chance. This trooper just happened to drive by and change everything. It's very reminiscent of the original film. And it leads to a poignant moment between Gloria and her son as they sit on her car eating popsicles.
Finally, I loved the final scene of the season where Gloria and Varga discuss what is going to happen next. It's interesting to hear their respective philosophies. I didn't mind at all that we never learn what happens. It's left ambiguous and we are are allowed to imagine what happens next for ourselves. I don't always enjoy ambiguous endings, but I think it works here.
What Sucks:
My problems with this episode are minor and stem more from the season as a whole than the episode in particular. This season is a step down from the first two. The story isn't as engaging and the characters aren't as interesting. Now the first two seasons are some of the greatest television I have ever seen. Season three isn't bad by any means, it just doesn't quite live up to what came before. So the resolution to this story worked just fine, it's just the story itself wasn't as good. Also, I would have liked to see Meemo's death on screen, but that's all I've got.
Verdict:
"Somebody to Love" does a good job wrapping up season 3 of Fargo. It has some great acting and character moments. Everyone gets a chance to shine, but this season simply wasn't as good as the first two. So, while the resolution was solid TV and really fun, it's not as satisfying as the first two seasons.
9/10: Really Good
The sequence where Varga and his men arrive at the storage facility was extremely tense. The entire time we knew Nikki and Wes were somewhere off-screen just waiting to make their move. The only question was when it was going to happen. The sequence really kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't wait to see how it played out.
The first time I watched this episode, I didn't love Nikki's final scene where she and the state trooper kill each other, but on rewatch I can appreciate it more. The whole theme of the season is chaos and random chance. This trooper just happened to drive by and change everything. It's very reminiscent of the original film. And it leads to a poignant moment between Gloria and her son as they sit on her car eating popsicles.
Finally, I loved the final scene of the season where Gloria and Varga discuss what is going to happen next. It's interesting to hear their respective philosophies. I didn't mind at all that we never learn what happens. It's left ambiguous and we are are allowed to imagine what happens next for ourselves. I don't always enjoy ambiguous endings, but I think it works here.
What Sucks:
My problems with this episode are minor and stem more from the season as a whole than the episode in particular. This season is a step down from the first two. The story isn't as engaging and the characters aren't as interesting. Now the first two seasons are some of the greatest television I have ever seen. Season three isn't bad by any means, it just doesn't quite live up to what came before. So the resolution to this story worked just fine, it's just the story itself wasn't as good. Also, I would have liked to see Meemo's death on screen, but that's all I've got.
Verdict:
"Somebody to Love" does a good job wrapping up season 3 of Fargo. It has some great acting and character moments. Everyone gets a chance to shine, but this season simply wasn't as good as the first two. So, while the resolution was solid TV and really fun, it's not as satisfying as the first two seasons.
9/10: Really Good
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