S03.E10: Somebody to Love

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SEASON FINALE!

Quote

Gloria follows the money, Nikki plays a game and Emmit learns a lesson about progress from Varga.

 

Promo:

[Spartan Girl]

After all her plans and smart moves, Nikki's undoing is her first and last stupid move: shooting a cop. 

She was formidable, I will give her that. But the fact that she had feelings for Ray didn't make her a good person after all the chaos she caused. So I wasn't really sad to see her go. 

I can't believe Mr. Wrench waited five years to take out Emmit like that. Did he do it on his own or did he make a deal with Varga?

Well, Emmit got to reconcile with his family first. And considering all the gruesome ways people have been killed on this show, getting shot in the back of the end is getting off pretty easy.

SHUT. UP. VARGA! Dammit, we don't even get to see if hid rambling ass got sent to the slammer of if Gloria got undermined by yet another stupid man.

Would have loved to see Moe the dick get comeuppance.

Weird season.

Edited June 22, 2017 by Spartan Girl

[AimingforYoko]

Dammit, Nikki. I was with you all the way, right until you shot that trooper. Much as it pains me to say, you got what you deserved. (Nice shot by the trooper, I thought LEOs were trained to aim for center mass?)

Well, Mr. Wrench made that final collection for you, girl. They were only together four months, she does inspire loyalty, doesn't she?

I hate and love that we didn't find out which version of the future came true.

[chitowngirl]

What the hell was all that???

[WaltersHair]

That was....not the ending I was expecting at all. I get that Nikki had to die since she's technically the one who set all the death into motion. Still, sad to see a girl BAMF go.

I actually thought Emmit deserved to live. He learned from his mistakes and kept Sy close (and he can talk).

Gloria's showdown with Varga was disappointing. Varga should be shown to lose and lose badly. He's too gross to be an all powerful, malevolent baddy. Thank you show for not toilet humor. And I never thought I'd type those words in my life.

I do hope the series comes back. I'll watch.

[Haiti D]

Not satisfying 

[Macbeth]

As Gloria said - "Well.  Ok then."

[Primetimer]

It's the final showdown between 'true' and 'story.'

View the full article

[Armchair Critic]

I am going to pretend that Varga did go to Rikers... what's that? LALALALAAA I can't hear you...

[LakeGal]

The finale left me feeling a bit sad/depressed.  I guess I should not be surprised.  It was a very uneven season. 

[Suzysite]

Hey Jeff, keep your politics to yourself. It is offensive.

This season sort of fizzled out rather than going out with a bang like season 2. I expected better.

[luna1122]

I agree with his assessment of the politics and the Trump parallels. And I do think the parallels were deliberate. Didn't offend me.

I was surprised that Nikki didn't make it to the end. I wasn't necessarily rooting for her, she was a killer and a criminal. But I still expected her to be one of the last ones standing.

I fervently choose to believe that Varga goes to Rikers too. The whole Lady or the Tiger ending was dramatic and frustrating. I absolutely want Gloria's version to be the true one.

No pictures of ray on  Emmit's fridge. At least he got a little bit of happiness before mr. Wrench took him out. Not exactly rooting for Emmit either, so his ending seemed fitting.

I didn't find this season frustrating or disappointing or lacking in any way and I just hope we still get another.

Edited June 22, 2017 by luna1122

[cardigirl]

Well, dammit, I wanted that scene of Nikki and Gloria having pie.   

 

So I guess we have to see who wins out, the greedy wolf, or the amber waves of grain girl. 

[rhys]

Clearly I'm an idiot. Luna& Suzy, can you explain the politics you're referencing?

I wanted a better ending. I want Gloria to win!

[Armchair Critic]

2 minutes ago, rhys said:

 

can you explain the politics you're referencing?

 

It's in the PTV article

[WaltersHair]

Quote

Clearly I'm an idiot. Luna& Suzy, can you explain the politics you're referencing?

yeah, me too. I must be so desensitized to all the overt politics lately (Handmaid's Tale was just awful in that regard). But this has me stumped.

ETA. I think that's reaching. Trump doesn't lurk in every dark corner or every TV show. But that's my opinion. Why try make that connection?

Edited June 22, 2017 by WaltersHair

[luna1122]

Yes, the politics referenced were in regard to the previously tv article/recap. 

I really wanted Gloria and Nikki to share some coconut pie with chocolate shavings too. 

[defeated]

I didn't think it was likely, but I thought if Nikki didn't make it we'd get at least a quick glimpse of an orange tabby and a calico kitten frolicking together.  

[Magic]

I will have to be convinced that this was a good ending, because I didn't like almost any part.

This was just like tie a few ends together and get it over.  Come on.  

There is NO MAY Varga and Meemo and crew would have gone into that unknown obvious trap for a measly 2 million  It is so ludicrous it isn't even worth discussing, like most of this season.

And as soon as Nikki was killed in the way it happened, I knew any saving grace was lost forever.

Emmitt is a weak weasel and deserved to die.  But why did his car suddenly start after Nikki was killed.  

Never mind, nothing is even worth debating.

Stupid ending, and I'm guessing they couldn't come up with any way to end it better so left it like this.  Unsatisfactory, like most of the season.  Please keep the writers that had the most likes of their episodes and fire the rest - you too Noah.

[KaleyFirefly]

1 hour ago, Suzysite said:

Hey Jeff, keep your politics to yourself. It is offensive.

This season sort of fizzled out rather than going out with a bang like season 2. I expected better.

I think you need to look up what the word "offensive" means. The author wrote a review and found parallels in the story to real-life politics as he sees them. That is not "offensive." That is you choosing to get offended by someone whose opinion differs from yours.

[KaleyFirefly]

29 minutes ago, Magic said:

Emmitt is a weak weasel and deserved to die.  But why did his car suddenly start after Nikki was killed.  

I was wondering why did his car start with no problem when he needed to drive away. Made no sense. Also, when Gloria told another cop to "issue a BOLO" for Nikki -- Nikki was already an escaped prisoner (from the prison bus). There would have already been a BOLO for her. 

I didn't think Emmitt necessarily deserved to die. Yes, he was a weak weasel. But most of the bad stuff that happened was not his fault. Varga was the one who poisoned Sy and took over Emmitt's business, and Emmitt was too afraid to go to the police. He also didn't call an ambulance when Ray was bleeding out. So he was cowardly, but not evil. 

I really didn't like the ending. I so much wanted Gloria to be proven right, to finally close the case, and for Varga to get what was coming to him. Not writing an actual ending is bad writing. And did we ever find out who had really killed Gloria's stepfather and why? What was the point of that whole trip to L.A.?

I think Noah Hawley's talents should just be directed towards "Legion," which is a great show. 

Edited June 22, 2017 by KaleyFirefly

[Lonesome Rhodes]

What a cavalcade of convoluted concatenated crap.

I did very much enjoy the open title sequence with the papers, though.

So, we begin with the season with a Stasi officer making an innocent man pee his pants.  We end with da Burgle facing off with a legit gangsta, after a heroic Minnesota State Trooper peed his pants seconds before his murder by the protagonist avenging angel.  Great job, Hawley.  Not.

If the IRS did end up going after Stussy personally, they would have nailed Norwal and the widow, along with Varga, likely in abstentia.  If Emmit had no access to the illicit millions, what on earth did he build and with what (the IRS would have seized absolutely everything and any remaining asset)?

I did actually appreciate the callback to the choice TPTB made with Malvo wiping out the Fargo mob off camera with the off camera shootout/massacre in this finale.

I do not abhor waste as much as Varga indicated he did (ironic coming from a bulimic who constantly purges perfectly good food).  However, the ludicrous suspensions of the laws of physics and logic in this season were cheap, lazy, and a waste I could not abide.  Hawley arrogantly surmised much too much. 

YMMV.

[knaankos]

Not a good finale. The plot lines were barely tied together and then they were haphazardly ended in a huff. I feel like many of the episodes building up to this one were completely unneeded.  

[MisterBluxom]

2 hours ago, rhys said:

Clearly I'm an idiot. Luna& Suzy, can you explain the politics you're referencing?

I wanted a better ending. I want Gloria to win!

I think the better ending is there for you to choose.  I think Noah decided to let each of us choose to accept the ending we wanted. We can choose to believe that Varga was correct or we can choose to believe that Gloria was correct.   I believe that Noah has left that choice up to each of us.

But, I may have missed something. I may not be understanding something. It sure wouldn't be the first time.

All in all, I can't decide whether I liked this season or not. I'm left guessing that Noah had a hard time deciding how to handle several issues and that he decided to let the audience make their own decisions. That may be OK with many of you and it may not be OK with others.  I am left somewhat confused and think I will need to watch this finale a few more times to decide just how I feel.

That may very well be an excellent commentary on this season.  I just wish I had a better conclusion.

The one good thing I can say is to tell you all how much I have enjoyed discussing this show with you. My opinion of you all has grown to new heights. I think that many of you are really very bright and well informed and it has been a real joy for me to hear your opinions.

 

In all seriousness and with much respect, I can easily say:   Thank you all for sharing!    I think that you are a great bunch of folks.  Honest!    :)

Edited June 22, 2017 by MissBluxom

[cali1981]

Very strange conclusion. I wish that Varga's deal would have been better flushed out. Was he the solo mastermind of the whole scam?  That would be hard to believe so if there was a large entity behind him it would have been no nice to see that. 

[Bannon]

1 hour ago, Magic said:

I will have to be convinced that this was a good ending, because I didn't like almost any part.

This was just like tie a few ends together and get it over.  Come on.  

There is NO MAY Varga and Meemo and crew would have gone into that unknown obvious trap for a measly 2 million  It is so ludicrous it isn't even worth discussing, like most of this season.

And as soon as Nikki was killed in the way it happened, I knew any saving grace was lost forever.

Emmitt is a weak weasel and deserved to die.  But why did his car suddenly start after Nikki was killed.  

Never mind, nothing is even worth debating.

Stupid ending, and I'm guessing they couldn't come up with any way to end it better so left it like this.  Unsatisfactory, like most of the season.  Please keep the writers that had the most likes of their episodes and fire the rest - you too Noah.

Well, look, in many respects this show abandons reality whenever convenient, and I really don't mind, usually. However, I agree, in this instance; I just don't like it when writers have characters behave stupidly, so the writers can get the scene they want. That was the shootout in the storage building; a bunch of characters received a frontal lobotomy, so the writers can get their desired outcome. Ugh.

Who knows? Maybe Varga does symbolize the current President, but if so, here's another pro tip for television writers: real politicians are dreadfully boring, and the major weakness of the season, to me, was Vargas being a dreadful bore, without a compelling or funny scene all season. If I thought politicians were interesting, I'd take time to listen to what they have to say. I don't.

13 minutes ago, cali1981 said:

Very strange conclusion. I wish that Varga's deal would have been better flushed out. Was he the solo mastermind of the whole scam?  That would be hard to believe so if there was a large entity behind him it would have been no nice to see that. 

Yeah, Varga was just uninteresting, and really hurt this story.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

Dammit, Nikki. I was with you all the way, right until you shot that trooper. Much as it pains me to say, you got what you deserved. (Nice shot by the trooper, I thought LEOs were trained to aim for center mass?)…

That was my first thought too, but then I figured when Nikki's shot hit the trooper, it caused his gun arm to move upward, so basically the shot to her forehead was as much fate as anything.
ETA: —which would make Nikki's death a parallel to Ray's.

 

3 hours ago, PreviouslyTV said:

It's the final showdown between 'true' and 'story.'

View the full article

Excellently supported ideas in the review, whether or not they were so specifically intended by Noah Hawley.
ETA: Bridge players! In the scene where Nikki assigns Bridge terms to her weapons, she said something like "10 no trump," which is only vaguely reminiscent to me from my mother's Bridge games; could it's use in this scene in any way support reviewer Jeff Alexander's claims to the greedy men in the season being mirrors of Trump and others like him? Or is there another meta meaning entirely? I do not want to engage in political debate; I'm just wondering about the author's possible symbolism.

 

3 hours ago, Defeated said:

I didn't think it was likely, but I thought if Nikki didn't make it we'd get at least a quick glimpse of an orange tabby and a calico kitten frolicking together.  

That would've been satisfying without undoing the parallels between the season and the world at large. I bet Noah Hawley would've seriously considered it!

 

1 hour ago, KaleyFirefly said:

I was wondering why did his car start with no problem when he needed to drive away. Made no sense. Also, when Gloria told another cop to "issue a BOLO" for Nikki -- Nikki was already an escaped prisoner (from the prison bus). There would have already been a BOLO for her.…

 I hope the car starting was just Fargo weirdness and not a plothole.
I thought the BOLO was for Emmit for protective custody. No?

 

1 hour ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

What a cavalcade of convoluted concatenated crap.…

YMMV.

Heh. My milage does vary from yours, but this turn of phrase to express your mileage is witty and elegant. Original? 

Edited June 22, 2017 by shapeshifter

[Bannon]

2 hours ago, KaleyFirefly said:

I think you need to look up what the word "offensive" means. The author wrote a review and found parallels in the story to real-life politics as he sees them. That is not "offensive." That is you choosing to get offended by someone whose opinion differs from yours.

of·fen·sive

adjective

1.

causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry.

"the allegations made are deeply offensive to us"

 

If someone is upset by what they read, then it was offensive. I didn't think the recap was offensive, but do we really need to police the reactions of readers?

[scrb]

The IRS guy alluded to being blocked from pursuing Emmit and Varga before from above.  But I don't recall that in previous episodes.

Why would DHS hold him up in the first place?  Because of that elevator photo?

If he has those kinds of connections, he wouldn't be detained in the first place or have to go under aq different assumed name?

Hawley, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter (linked in the media thread) wouldn't tip it either way.  On the one hand, he said he's an optimist and Gloria's talk of amber waves of grain is an optimist's vision.  On the other hand, Hawley said Varga is kind of elemental, a force representing a vice which will always be present in the affairs of men.  So can they incarcerate a symbol?

[Lonesome Rhodes]

1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

Heh. My milage does vary from yours, but this turn of phrase to express your mileage is witty and elegant. Original? 

Well, who's to say what is original and what is handed down by our betters?  :)  I hope it is original as I have no conscious memory of seeing that phrase before.  

Thanks for the compliment!

[Sentient Meat]

2 hours ago, Magic said:

There is NO MAY Varga and Meemo and crew would have gone into that unknown obvious trap for a measly 2 million  It is so ludicrous it isn't even worth discussing, like most of this season.

Emmitt is a weak weasel and deserved to die.  But why did his car suddenly start after Nikki was killed.  

I agree with these two points... especially after she outsmarted him in the first encounter.  I also was bothered by the fact that he didn't try to carefully drive around the bodies to avoid leaving evidence.

However, I loved the season and hope they find a way to make more.

Carrie Coon looked radiant in that cobalt blue Homeland Security uniform.  I don't like that Dept... but their shirts are a beautiful color.  Also, her crooked smile looks very similar to Naomi Watts.  I realize that this a random thing to say but that's all I could think about during their final encounter to the point where I had to rewind to hear what Varga was mumbling.

Bleak, bleak view of the world, but sadly pretty true in this post literate culture where people are becoming more and more defenseless against the brainwashing of the media.

[scrb]

This is a funny line from the recap:

 

Quote

Varga fills his mouth with food that he later throws up, while Trump fills his hands with the body parts of women who later, presumably, throw up.

[thuganomics85]

"Well, OK then" indeed, I guess.

Not sure what to think, really.  Some of it was fitting.  As much as I enjoyed Nikki (and love Mary Elizabeth Winstead), I do think her death was fitting because she had a way out after she and Mr. Wrench got the money, but like other characters from various other shows, her need for revenge and vengeance against Emmit, got the better of her, and she was even willing to kill a State Trooper for it.  She was off the rails and not as smart as she thought she was, so I definitely think her death fit.

As for Emmit, I felt a little bit bad for him since while not a nice guy in the slightest, he was mainly getting dragged through everything by Varga, Sy (he was the one who got them involved in the first place), Ray, etc., but I guess it would have only been a matter of time.  At least he got five more years to reconcile with his family.  Although I felt bad for them since I'm assuming they discovered the body.

Sy lives!  But is paralyzed.  Better then death, right?

But the final showdown and open ending between Varga and Gloria was a bit weird.  I guess they just want viewers to decided for themselves if Varga was full of shit and still going to Rikers, or if he really had a way out, and Gloria still loses.  But it just didn't fully land for me.

Overall, there were parts and performances I enjoyed, but this season was definitely my least favorite of the three.  Just didn't feel as well written compared to the other two.  I definitely suspect that Noah Hawley ended up focusing more on Legion instead, and this suffered for it.  I certainly didn't feel like I wasted my time or anything, but I really doubt it will stay with me like season two did.  Curious to see if they'll have another go, or if this could be it like Hawley had suggested. 

[loki567]

I was trying to decide all season long if all the Russian references throughout the season were all about Trump. I feel like the finale and Varga's final monologue solidified that it was. And since I'm in a fairly pessimistic mood about the state of the world and this season's tone seemed pessimistic as well, my guess is that Varga walks free. He feels like too big of a fish for a Minnesota cop, even one promoted to DHS, to land. I actually did like the stare-down between the two opposing viewpoints though. 

I wish they just let Nikki finish Emmitt off. Unrealistic and corny that Mr. Wrench would come back five years later to finish off the vendetta of a lady he just met off of a bus. 

All and all, fairly disappointing season. I hope it's not the last but maybe give Noah Hawley a couple years to come up with something fresh. Hell, maybe even leave Minnesota. The film didn't actually take place in Fargo, you know. 

[Bannon]

I also think the acting was clearly superior in season two, compared to this season. Frankly, Ewan McGregor was kind of flat for me, in both roles.

[MisterBluxom]

7 hours ago, cali1981 said:

Very strange conclusion. I wish that Varga's deal would have been better flushed out. Was he the solo mastermind of the whole scam?  That would be hard to believe so if there was a large entity behind him it would have been no nice to see that. 

I'm guessing that the real mastermind could easily be either Varga or Ms. Goldfarb.  My guess would be Ms. Goldfarb. I think it would just work out better that way. Especially in this year, we have seen many instances from many walks of life where a lady has been the real driving force.  If the choice was yours, who would you choose? I'd very much prefer the lady. By the way, "Miss Bluxom" is just a pen name. I really am a man and I do not say that I'd prefer Ms. Goldfarb out of any gender bias. I just think it would make for a better story and I wish the SR would have taken the time to show us that! It would have been so much sweeter to show us that she was the boss. Besides, with all his filthy habbits, would you really like to be left with the impression that he was the boss?

 

The only other issue that I can think of at present that I'd like to have seen resolved would have been to see Ms. Burgle defeat Mr. Bungle (the incompetent goof sherrif) and taken his pants down in public and given him a thorough spanking resulting in hearing him cry, "Oh No! Please stop it. Ouch. Ouch. Please Stop! Please Stop. Please Stop!

I would have loved to have heard him cry like a little baby. He was such a nasty goof. Why couldn't the SR have given us the satisfaction of seeing Gloria pull down his pants and given him a thorough whacking resulting in his crying his eyes out?  It would have been oh so sweet!

Edited June 22, 2017 by MissBluxom

[DrScottie]

2 hours ago, KaleyFirefly said:

And did we ever find out who had really killed Gloria's stepfather and why? What was the point of that whole trip to L.A.?

I thought that parolee, Maurice, that Ray hired to steal the stamp from Emmit in Eden Prairie screwed up the directions and he found Ennis Stussey in Eden Valley instead. Gloria was trying to figure out the motive and came across the old novels that Ennis had written in his youth when he was Thaddeus Mobley. She thought that might be a motive for why he was killed because of something in his past.  She found out he had beaten his former manager and then changed his name to Stussey having seen that name on a toilet., but that's not why he was killed as that was mistaken identity. The rest of it pertained to a robot from one of Ennis' books who was around for ages and was largely ignored despite always waiting to help. This resonates with Gloria as she was largely invisible despite wanting to help.  Indeed, automatics doors and faucets never seemed to work for her until the second to last episode after her talk with Winnie.  We also first meet Paul, the man later at the mystical bowling alley, who makes a pass at Gloria like most of the guys she encounters in LA. 

[MisterBluxom]

2 hours ago, Bannon said:

I also think the acting was clearly superior in season two, compared to this season. Frankly, Ewan McGregor was kind of flat for me, in both roles.

I got the impression he was always trying to understand just what the script was about. That is pretty much the same thing the audience was trying to do as well.

There were definitely some big holes in the plot this season. It was very hard to figure out just what was going on. Someone was definitely confused this season.

[Suzysite]

Quote

I think you need to look up what the word "offensive" means.

If someone compares a psychotic TV character to the sitting president of the US and it offends me or others, it is "offensive".   I'd prefer the writer stick to reviewing the story and not inject his politics.   Either side.

Quote

If someone is upset by what they read, then it was offensive. I didn't think the recap was offensive, but do we really need to police the reactions of readers?

Thank you and well said, Bannon.

Back to the finale... I'm wondering who sent Varga the text message saying the drives were already with the IRS, thus allowing him to escape the massacre.  The widow? 

And just the thought of Varga removing the ceiling of the elevator and climbing up and out unassisted was a bit of a stretch.  Does he have Malvo-like otherworldly abilities?

Edited June 22, 2017 by Suzysite

[bosawks]

At the very least season three reinforced my decision to never play bridge..........

[ghoulina]

8 hours ago, Macbeth said:

As Gloria said - "Well.  Ok then."

That's just what I was coming here to say. Exactly those words. Gloria summed it up perfectly. 

What a letdown. I have been hot and cold this whole season, but the last episode was really good and got me really amped for the finale. Then....this? I found the majority of this episode boring and unbelievable. 

Varga and crew follow some kid and end up getting further and further into an obvious trap? Yea, okay then. 

I liked Nikki, and would have preferred to be upset by her death. The way she went down was so understated and undeserving of her character, IMO. 

I didn't have a problem with Emmit getting away that day, as I think he's truly repentant and didn't deserve to die. But that escape? Again, unbelievable.  AndI thought Wrench coming back for Emmit after all those years made little sense. 

Gloria was may favorite, so her ending was the most unsatisfactory of all. I wanted her to finally be proven right. To be the one to take down the bad guy. To have her moment in the sun. Instead were left with more vague ramblings from Varga and speculation. Fuck that. 

And Varga is, IMO, the worst villain this show has ever had. It might be because I'm rewatching season 1 on Hulu right now, but there is just nothing interesting or watchable about the guy. Malvo was amazing. Sure, he's a total asshole, but he was quick, clever, and often funny as hell. Mike Milligan could also be very charming and humorous and fun to watch. You knew they were bad guys, but you couldn't help but smile sometimes. They entertained me. They were complex and....well, interesting. Varga is just lame. His con was lame. His ramblings were lame. His eating habits were lame. He's a villain I didn't want to watch and I wanted LEAST to win, and then we get this ambiguous ending? No thanks. 

I'll watch next season, but they need to get the magic back from the first seasons, because this one was kind of a mess. 

[Christina]

8 hours ago, PreviouslyTV said:

It's the final showdown between 'true' and 'story.'

View the full article

From that review:

"Hawley, to his credit, lacks either the Coen Brothers' misanthropy or their aversion to getting caught making something that could be construed as a point."  Bwhahahahaha. The review was better than the season, and I've enjoyed the reviews and commentary much more than the season, this year.

6 hours ago, KaleyFirefly said:

I was wondering why did his car start with no problem when he needed to drive away. Made no sense. Also, when Gloria told another cop to "issue a BOLO" for Nikki -- Nikki was already an escaped prisoner (from the prison bus). There would have already been a BOLO for her. 

I also thought the BOLO was for Emmit, because she wanted to warn him. I was waiting for the Sheriff Deputy to say something when he pulled over at the side of the road, but didn't. Then, I wondered why Emmit wasn't picked up because I thought the cop would have called in the license when he stopped, even though they didn't show it to us. Perhaps it is just my experience of being pulled over.

My problem with this season stems from the fact that I never made a connection with any of the players. Gloria Burgle's dressing down by the Sheriff who was taking over should have made me sympathize or connect with her, but I agreed with his comments about her not using computers. 

The Stussy brothers, Sy and Nikki could all die in episode three and I wouldn't have cared. Nikki actually connected with me as a viewer when she was holding the kitten and talking to Ray Wise, who is my favorite Satan (from Reaper; sorry Mark Shepperd, you're my number two favorite, but you didn't cure an entire Alcoholic's Anonymous meeting of their alcoholism by convincing them to drink, but you'll always be Sterling), and felt that Ray Wise and Mary McDonell were wasted. Come to think of it, I think Carrie Coon and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's talents were wasted, too.

Any connection between the show and real-world political events and persons went completely over my head, primarily because the season was so scattered and dull. Varga wasn't scary or mysterious, he was just gross. I find the sitting President of the United States way more offensive than any fictional show, and actually thought the comparison made in the review was interesting. There are just too many things in my real life and going on in my community that are offensive to me and to humanity in general, that I can't understand why someone should withhold his opinion on a comparison of a fictional character on television with a man who is currently the leader of the United States because someone else may hold a different political opinion. 

[ghoulina]

5 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

I think the better ending is there for you to choose.  I think Noah decided to let each of us choose to accept the ending we wanted. We can choose to believe that Varga was correct or we can choose to believe that Gloria was correct.   I believe that Noah has left that choice up to each of us.

The theme this season has been how there are always two sides to every story. What is truth? Different truths for different people. I get that, and it could have been interesting. I just don't think it was executed well at all. And I think Varga is such a gross, unimpressive character that I have literally no interest in his side, his truth. If they had done it differently, that might have been a cool ending. But as it was, for me, it lacked big time. 

 

4 hours ago, Bannon said:

 

I also think the acting was clearly superior in season two, compared to this season. Frankly, Ewan McGregor was kind of flat for me, in both roles.

 

I think he fell into his Emmit role a bit better towards the end. His performance last week really got to me. But, yea, overall not the strongest actor this show has ever seen. 

4 minutes ago, Christina said:

Any connection between the show and real-world political events and persons went completely over my head, primarily because the season was so scattered and dull. Varga wasn't scary or mysterious, he was just gross.

I'm with you there. I really never made any connections. At all. But I have been making a concerted effort to avoid politics for quite a few months now, so that stuff just really isn't at the forefront of my mind. But I agree about Varga. I found him a tad mysterious and creepy at first. But as time went on, I just became totally apathetic to him. He was boring as hell. 

[luna1122]

Pretty much anything is offensive to someone somewhere.

I also wondered, of course, how come Emmit's car started when it wouldn't before, and  how Varga got himself out of the elevator, and  who sent him the text. Russians? Aliens?  I'm still uncertain aliens aren't involved. Or Ray Wise, from a netherworld.

I am fairly alone in thinking Ewan is a good to great actor, apparently, and I felt he was so here.  He sold both roles for me. It's hard to feel empathic for men like Ray or Emmit, but I did, alternately, at different stages and times. I can't say I was sad to see either of them die, they were both shitty people, but I wasn't happy to see it either. I would have been happy to see Varga die, but, of course, the bad guys often truly do win.  As for the acting being subpar to other seasons, I can't agree at all.  Mary E Winstead, Carrie coon, Micheal S, David Thewlis...superior actors, imo, and they all gave it their all. imo.

Carrie Coon DID look really pretty with the longer hair and the vibrant blue of her new uniform. She'd promised to take her son to the fair for his birthday...the son would be 18 now, right? is that weird? when I was 18, I wouldn't be caught dead at a fair with my parents. But I was little shit, probably.

[bosawks]

Carrie Coon really does have the "folded arms" of disgust down to an art form as Gloria.

[withanaich]

I was under the impression that Nikki sent the text to Varga (to get him to abandon his minions to their fate so she could get him alone and take him out), but then he outsmarted her by climbing out of the elevator (which was a bit much for me to swallow, quite frankly). I was also under the impression that Nikki is the one who sent the incriminating documents (and Gloria's name and number) to the IRS guy, because she wanted to get Emmit every way she could. It seems like once Varga and Goldfarb cleaned out Stussy Lots, they didn't much care what happened to Emmit. He could have died, gone to jail, or lived off of his off-shore accounts for the rest of his life for all they cared.

Not sure why Emmit's car suddenly decided to work. I think Ewan McGregor did pretty good work here, but maybe it's just that Emmit is so damn bland the actor didn't have much to work with until the end of the season? I think he did a better job with Ray than with Emmit, but maybe that's because we learned more about the former character and the actor had more to work with. We never really learn why Emmit was such a bland, perfect patsy for Varga and Goldfarb. Presumably that's one of the reasons they targeted him in the first place, but we never really see WHY he turned out that way.

Edited June 22, 2017 by withanaich

[NoReally]

I thought for sure when Emmit said to the widow, "you work for Varga," she'd come back with, "No, he works for me." Then we'd know who was in charge all along.

[Bort]

21 minutes ago, withanaich said:

I was under the impression that Nikki sent the text to Varga (to get him to abandon his minions to their fate so she could get him alone and take him out),

That wasn't necessary, because then she could've just joined Mr. Wrench up on the third floor. I think she was down on the first floor to ensure nobody escaped (which, Varga unfortunately did). I'd assumed that Goldfarb sent Varga the text.

Apropos of nothing, I loved that Nikki learned sign language and could talk to Mr. Wrench.

[cardigirl]

41 minutes ago, luna1122 said:

Pretty much anything is offensive to someone somewhere.

I also wondered, of course, how come Emmit's car started when it wouldn't before, and  how Varga got himself out of the elevator, and  who sent him the text. Russians? Aliens?  I'm still uncertain aliens aren't involved. Or Ray Wise, from a netherworld.

I am fairly alone in thinking Ewan is a good to great actor, apparently, and I felt he was so here.  He sold both roles for me. It's hard to feel empathic for men like Ray or Emmit, but I did, alternately, at different stages and times. I can't say I was sad to see either of them die, they were both shitty people, but I wasn't happy to see it either. I would have been happy to see Varga die, but, of course, the bad guys often truly do win.  As for the acting being subpar to other seasons, I can't agree at all.  Mary E Winstead, Carrie coon, Micheal S, David Thewlis...superior actors, imo, and they all gave it their all. imo.

Carrie Coon DID look really pretty with the longer hair and the vibrant blue of her new uniform. She'd promised to take her son to the fair for his birthday...the son would be 18 now, right? is that weird? when I was 18, I wouldn't be caught dead at a fair with my parents. But I was little shit, probably.

I agree with all of this.  

I thought this season was great, especially episode 9, which seems to be the norm now, making the next to last episode the one with the biggest impact. Loved that Emmit was finally taken out, in his own home.  

As far as the political talk, Noah Hawley has said in interviews that this story was influenced by the tenor of politics in this country at the moment.  That was the reason for the ambiguous ending.  Who will win?  Who has won?  I don't think the recapper was making stuff up.

I am very very glad I watched this season. Thoroughly entertained.

[withanaich]

Quote

That wasn't necessary, because then she could've just joined Mr. Wrench up on the third floor. I think she was down on the first floor to ensure nobody escaped (which, Varga unfortunately did).

That's what I meant. I thought she was there to make sure Varga (or whomever) didn't escape ... which is why I thought she set him up to attempt just that. Because if anybody was going to abandon the others, it would probably be him.

 

Which is another thing that bugged me about that scene: why didn't he just get off the elevator on the SECOND floor? Does the elevator not stop at the second floor? What was the need for all the James Bond elevator-hatch-escape stuff? And aren't there, like, any STAIRS in that damn building? Shouldn't Nikki and Mr. Wrench have factored in someone trying to escape that way? Maybe Varga should have stationed someone on the stairs in the first place?