Recent Posts
Entertainment June 28, 2017
Making the most out of the cold and the misogyny.
The women of the “Fargo” series stem from the extremely strong woman at the center of 1996 film directed by the Coen Brothers. Noah Hawley, “Fargo’s” showrunner, knew that he wanted to keep that spirit intact when he started making the television adaptation.
So far, Hawley’s done pretty well making a group of women that are engaging characters, if not always sympathetic (in a good way).
The OG. There is NO “Fargo” without Marge. Marge’s badassery has no limits. She had a shoot-out with a guy that was feeding another dude into a wood chipper. In the middle of the winter. While seven months pregnant.
She pulled off that flappy, furry hat that no one looks good in. Not to mention that her husband in one scene literally spits on their bedroom floor. He SPAT on the floor in their HOUSE. And she still loved him and supported his stamp-making.
Molly, Molly, Molly. Breakout star Allison Tollman did justice to Marge with her portrayal of Molly. She dealt with creepier-than-usual Billy Bob Thornton as the murderous Malvo and Martin Freeman as Lester Nygaard, who was somehow being simultaneously conniving and adorable.
After her future husband SHOT her, Molly eventually hit the investigation trail while growing a human. She was set to take over as chief after the show. She was the key to breaking the case wide open. And in the end, her husband got all the credit.
When Otto, aka Pappa Gerhardt, had a stroke, Mama Gerhardt ruled her clan with an iron fist. Although it’s rather unfortunate that her sons had trouble with respecting women.
Take Dodd, who had four daughters and liked none of them. He threatens his daughter Simone with death. But until things went bad for the Gerhardts, and it went SO bad, Floyd was in control. She could give Don Corleone a run for his money. Also her name is Floyd. How badass it that?!
I was super stoked to see Kirsten Dunst on my screen. Peggy was having a crisis of identity, which is to be expected when you think you murdered someone with your car. And then you find out they weren’t dead… And then your husband murders them.
Peggy and her husband Ed were definitely not the sharpest knives in the drawer. They did love each other though. So when Ed kicked the bucket, we felt it. And Peggy blamed herself enough for all of us.
She was the chief, damnit. Gloria is dealing with a lot. Her step-dad got murdered. Her husband left her. She was on to a whole criminal enterprise. And stupid dudes just REFUSED. TO. LISTEN. TO HER.
Gloria is 100 percent certified cinnamon roll. Not gonna lie, Gloria and the next person on my list, Nikki Swango, are the women I rooted for the most. They were surrounded by men who sucked.
When they finally met up, I did a happy dance. Who knows if someone actually walked through that door to save V.M. Varga? I think Gloria in her own way was vindicated, and that’s all that mattered.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a BOSS. Nikki’s a tough egg to crack. Sure, she instigated the feud between Raymond and Emmitt Stussy. And sure, one could argue that she just seduced Ray to get an easier break on her parole.
In the end, Nikki really cared about Ray. And regardless, she definitely did not deserve the treatment she got from the men in this show. The beating she received from V.M. Varga’s henchmen was particularly brutal. Not to mention the bullet to the head. R.I.P. Nikki. Also “Swango” is just fun to say. Try it and get back to me. “Swango.”
This has all been an undercover plea to get Noah Hawley to reconsider ending the Fargo series. Please do not do that. It will hurt my heart. I will miss the accents.
*Although I could use more people of color.
