by Conan Simmons – November 30, 2020 – 8:33 pm
The season finale of ‘Fargo’ aired last night bringing the 1950’s set gangster saga to a close.
Starting off with a montage of all the characters that died over the course of the latest season the final part of the story kicks off with Josto Fadda (Jason Schwartzman) getting his revenge on some characters that wronged him in previous episodes. Meanwhile, Ethelrida Smutney’s (E’myri Crutchfield) leverage on Oraetta Mayflower (Jessie Buckley) pays off as Loy Cannon (Chris Rock) exposes Josto and Oraetta’s relationship to the mafia in New York.
As loose ends are tied up we see Loy’s grasp for power face obstruction, Josto and Oraetta face the consequences of their actions, Ethelrida takes care of the trouble her family is in, Satchel returns home with his dog, and a character that has been conspicuously absent returns to get expected revenge.
Bokeem Woodbine reprises his role from season two in a shoe-horned final twist making the connection of this season to Fargo clear cut.
The final episode is enjoyable but heavily predictable making it the least of the season.
Overall the season is best at presenting an assortment of oddball characters played by a game cast including Chris Rock in what may be his best onscreen performance. Jason Schwartzman in the comical crime boss role countered by Salvatore Esposito’s violently exaggerated, cartoonish character. Ben Whishaw’s quiet and deadly yet good hearted Rabbi Milligan. Timothy Olyphant as the observant and calm U.S. Marshal who inspires the obsessive compulsive, double dealing Odis Wheff, played by Jack Huston. The most iconic character to emerge from this season is arguably Jessie Buckley’s eccentric nurse Oraetta Mayflower.
The series is heavy on style if not always on story. The writing is best at developing characters for the most part. There didn’t seem much point to the Happy character from the penultimate episode.
The editing is consistently well done making the season fun to watch and the music sounds great.
The real standout for the season is the art direction. ‘Fargo’ does an excellent job of making it look like Kansas City, Missouri if not 100% accurate, especially on the Union Station layout. Even with few inaccuracies it captures the look and feel of the city that other screen depictions fail to do. It was a very nice touch to add some shots of Kansas City landmarks to the final episode like the Western Auto building.
Season four of ‘Fargo’, created by Noah Hawley and inspired by the 1997 Coen brothers movie of the same name, is not perfect but still an entertaining, enjoyable romp through gangland that fans of the series, actors, and the crime genre should find appealing.