Noah Hawley is a machine. How he pulled this AND Legion together at almost the same time is insane to think about. Can't wait to see where it goes from here.
Fantastic premiere. Knew it would be. Had no clue Ewan McGregor would be playing two roles. Also, I Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
Anyone else notice how the Fargo backlash has already started to build? I honestly can't say I'm surprised, because nothing can be this universally praised for too long before the cool kids have to turn around and say it sucks now, but I really hoped Fargo of all shows was above that sort of pettiness. I was wrong.
Who the hell is dogging on this show? It's so good. After that first episode, I can't wait to see how it's headed...
I've just seen a bunch of reviews basically setting the ground work for turning against the show this season. This review from The AV Club for example, which may seem positive at first based on the score, is basically like "I'm laying a foundation so that later on when I start giving mediocre reviews I can say I saw this coming from the start." Meet the new Fargo, same as the old Fargo Plus, it just seems like the writer doesn't get the show, or at least the concept of the show.
I think everyone's just a bit cautious because the show wasn't necessarily doing anything new in this premiere. It's still beautiful and extremely well made, but this premiere was exactly the same as the first two premieres. That's not necessarily a bad thing, procedural television does well for a reason. And I could watch top tier actors do these accents for 50 seasons. But it makes sense that people aren't going to scream "best show on tv!" from the rooftops until the show gives us a reason to.
Yeah, see, the problem with this is that that's Fargo. It's like I said about that reviewer above, it sounds like people might just not like the core concept of the series if that's their complaint. If it didn't start with a small town disrupted by an inept criminal's botched crime/seemingly random act of violence then it wouldn't fit into the Fargo world. It's where it goes from there that matters. I mean, seriously, I didn't see a single person say any of those things after the season 2 premiere, and that followed the formula just as much as the season one premiere and the film did. To me, it reads as cynical and dishonest. Could be just me though, I guess.
You're absolutely right, and I think another big part of it is just how much good tv is on right now. With so much else to watch, it's harder to get excited about a premiere like this that's essentially the same thing we've already seen a few times. I also think the season 2 premiere was a lot more different, at least visually/stylistically, than this was, which helped to immediately set it apart from season 1. You're right, where it goes from this is much more important, but I think a little bit of cautiousness after this premiere is justified. We just have more faith than most people that the show is going somewhere interesting.
Reviewing this show over at Hidden Remote, too! Seems like I enjoyed it more than some other critics apparently haha. ‘Fargo’ Season 3, Episode 1 Recap: Meet The New Characters
Oh nice! I'm covering this and Better Call Saul. Also about to start a big Batman: The Animated Series run of articles. Really enjoying it so far.
I guess people can point to similarities between all three premiere episodes, if they want to be nit picky. It really just takes a quick look at how both previous seasons evolved and the paths they both went down how varied and brilliant they both were. At this point, Hawley has earned my trust, optimism, and maximum enthusiasm.
Oh nice, you been writing for them long? I was with them for 2 years but left in February because I started a new job that left me little time to write.