Unfortunately one of the few drawbacks to these "limited series" is that plot threads disappear out of necessity. I personally like this format-no time is wasted, things move along, and we get resolution as opposed to vacillation.
Finally got around to watching all the episodes of Fargo that had built up on the DVR, and I enjoyed it immensely. I thought they dropped out the Supermarket King from the plot too soon, but man, the denouement with Billy Bob Thornton blew my little mind. My jaw hit the floor when that episode popped up the title "One Year Later." I though they did a terrific job collecting together all the loose plot threads. And beautiful cinematography, too. This was a terrific looking show. I worked with Billy Bob a little bit on the (bomb) movie School for Scoundrels, and he's an odd guy. What's interesting is that his character in that movie is kind of similar to the one in Fargo, where he's a very dangerous guy capable of terrible dirty tricks. In the movie, he wasn't murderous, but he certainly ruined a few lives along the way. His way of delivering a line in a threatening manner is just about unmatched. Scary, scary guy. Very short in real life, I'm guessing maybe 5'4".
It was scary to me to watch how well Malvo could manipulate people into doing horrible things from a distance. The deal where he called the teenage son and told him his younger brother was going to inherit all the money, and the kid immediately goes after the younger kid and hits him in the head... that was cringeworthy stuff. You wonder why Malvo would risk so much to kill random people in small towns just to stir up trouble. One interesting factoid (and I think I can give this away without spoiling anything): at the end, Malvo is working "undercover" as a dentist to try to worm his way into the FBI informant to kill him. But... who's he working for? Seems to me he killed his employer an episode or two back. Maybe he got a new job through Craigslist.
Spoiler But he did have a couple of slip ups the biggest being helping Lester and Lester, ironically, is what led to his undoing. Hedidn't help Lester out of some need to help him but out of pure vanity and ego. Then he did what others did to Lester before--he dismissed him and that, along with his need to play God is ultimately what led to his downfall. Malvo's undoing was his ego and that also plays into Gus being able to get him--he believed he was in untouchable and it allowed him to take risks just for the pleasure of killing and manipulating people. Once it moved from business to all about pleasure for him, it left a blind spot--the unPredictability of those you are manipulating for personal pleasure.
I'm pretty sure that the skills of a man like Malvo would be in demand worldwide for the right (evil) people.
IIRC. he gave him a choice between ambulance or hearse and we never saw definitively which one he chose. If it was hearse, Malvo would have to remove at least one reference from his resume.
I agree about Oliver Platt's character - despite being put through the biblical Exodus, and hence technically wrapping up his little side-story too soon, I loved the show. More Supermarket King is my only complaint about the show (and the obvious gaping plot hole of the amateur blackmailer riddled with bullets in a chair with zero follow up!). And BBT? Yeah - he's a character in real life. His fears are deep-rooted. Fear of sleep explained him catching winks during hair and m/u. But I loved him - we a had a blast an a different bomb - The Alamo. Made a few bets with him. He lost one (he paid me money) and I lost one (had to show up on set in Texas in July in a full 70s Elvis jumpsuit). After five minutes the feet had filled with sweat and we called it even. Ah, if only there was Facebook in '04... But he can be menacing to some - if he doesn't want to talk about something, he won't. Period. And he'll "win" the icy stare-til-you-change-the-subject game every time. Jeff
Oh, yeah -- I saw that on occasion, but thankfully not to me. It's interesting that Billy Bob had this kind of intense, over-the-top role in several different movies. It's like he is that guy. Also interesting that he's never seen without the rug. Thought of another plot issue: if you're a dentist out having a drink in Vegas, would you really carry a fully-loaded semi-automatic pistol with a silencer on it, "just in case?" I suspect those are a little larger, heavier, and bulkier than they made it out to be in the show. I get that for some stuff like this, you just have to kinda go with it, but still... Given the intensity of the woman screaming inside the "real estate office," my vote is for the hearse.
When BBT's band, The Boxmasters, did a PR tour for one of their albums, BBT made it extremely clear that he was NOT going to answer any questions except about the band. Nothing about him as an actor, either directly, or how that impinged on the band. All questions had to be ONLY about the band and their music. Anyone daring to breach that rule was met by a menacing steely glare similar to what you saw in Fargo. He ruined more than one interview in this way, and it did not help his cause (if his cause was to get airplay/sales for the band).
Something that most people probably don't know, not that it's surprising, but is another reason for him to not want to talk about his personal life is that he has a daughter her in Central Florida who is in prison (for a while now). They're not very close according to the local news media.
After watching this video I was wondering if BBT was just acting like an a-hole or really is one? This whole thing could have just been a put-on by him.
It got him press but I don't the band benefited from it at all, which would've been the only reason to act like this.
I sense he wasn't putting 100% of his heart and soul into that interview. The other band members looked like they were treading on eggshells too.
If it was a put on it was a flop. A put on that worked was Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman. Totally hilarious. But this was nothing near that. Just made BB look like a total jerk, with no benefit.
From EW: "You know how in FX’s Fargo there were all those cryptic references to Lou Solverson’s (Keith Carradine) traumatic case in Sioux Falls back in 1979? That case is the focus of Fargo season 2. Writer-producer Noah Hawley spoke to reporters at the Television Critics Association’s press tour in Beverly Hills on Monday, hours after FX officially confirmed that the Emmy-lauded show will get a 10-episode second season. Hawley said the next season is set in 1979 and will feature a 33-year-old version of Solverson, a state cop recently back from fighting in the Vietnam War. “He thought he left the war behind, but he came back and here it is, it’s domestic,” the writer-producer teased. “We will meet Molly’s mother, who was not a character in season 1 … and we’ll learn what happened to her. Ben Schmidt [the police lieutenant played by Peter Breitmayer in the first season] will factor in there somewhere. … There were a lot of clues left in the first season and we’ll do our best to hit those.” The writer noted the first season’s cinematic inspirations were the Coen brothers filmsFargo, No Country for Old Men, and A Serious Man. Season 2 will be Fargo, Miller’s Crossing, and The Man Who Wasn’t There. “Let the internet speculation begin,” he said. The story will be set in Sioux Falls, Luverne, and Fargo, and once again the show’s base of production will be Calgary in Alberta, Canada. FX expects the next season to premiere in fall, 2015. Hawley confirmed the original cast will not return for season 2 (though noted to a few reporters afterward that having characters return in a presumed season 3 is possible—just not in back-to-back seasons). Even Carradine won’t appear next season, despite the second season’s lead being a younger version of his character (so there’s no framing device). “I think it’s going to be standalone as a period piece,” he said. Hawley noted that the American Horror Story model—using the same group of actors each season in an anthology series—doesn’t seem to be as suitable for Fargo, which tells true crime stories and uses a similar setting in the second season. “I would like nothing more than to see the continuing adventures of Molly and Gus, but it felt like it would be disingenuous to give them another crazy Coen brothers case,” he said. And while Hawley praised the AHS model for that show, he noted, “It gets hard to look past the actors. … I like the idea that the character comes first and hopefully the actor disappears into the role.” “The subtitle will be Fargo: Backlash,” Hawley joked."
Promising news, but I won't be doing the pineapple dance until I hear about the casting. This crew was so good.
Been trying to avoid spoilers. I have the whole season saved on Tivo ... waiting for a long rainy day.
