All Five Seasons of Fargo, Ranked
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After a film and five seasons of television, it sometimes feels easier than ever to define what Fargo is as a franchise. Even if putting it into words is damn tough. With each new installment, the FX anthology series keeps the brand alive in new and inventive ways, but what’s always constant is that there are killers and victims and people who fall in between — people who make bad decisions out of fear or shame, and pay the price. There’s also usually someone representing the side of light (in proud Marge Gunderson tradition, that person is usually a member of law enforcement), and there’s always a wolf lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce.
Since creator Noah Hawley began the unconventional spinoff series, the concept of Fargo has come to encompass a whole lot of other random elements: Beyond the pounds of Coen brothers film references that get dropped, there are UFOs, random vignettes set in East Germany, puppet shows, Nightmare Before Christmas needle drops, competitive bridge, fake classic films, real classic film stars (played by actors), magic, and a pretty frequent occurrence of seemingly immortal men.
Beyond all the strangeness packed into each season, though, are breathtaking portraits of humanity at its worst and also its best, with each season serving as a morality play with its own peculiar sense of justice. But the longer you spend, gazing out into the snow, the more it all makes sense.
Below, check out the full ranking of Fargo seasons as they bounce around time and space. One note — to quote another Coen brothers film, it’s not the preferred nomenclature to refer to Fargo installments as “seasons.” (Even the beanie I received during a Fargo set visit is embroidered with “Year 3.”) However, throughout this article I chose to use “seasons,” in addition to “installments” and “years.” Because while each installment is ranked individually, Fargo (unlike some anthology series) does really feel like an interconnected whole.
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Fargo Seasons 1-5. Or Years 1-5, if you prefer.]
05. Season 4: The One With Chris Rock
Fargo (FX)
When and Whereabouts: 1950-1951, Kansas City, Missouri and the surrounding area
That’s a Real Humdinger of a Cast Right There: Chris Rock, Jessie Buckley, Jason Schwartzman, Ben Whishaw, Jack Huston, Salvatore Esposito, E’myri Crutchfield, Andrew Bird, Anji White, Jeremie Harris, Karen Aldridge, Glynn Turman, Timothy Olyphant, Kelsey Asbille
The Wade Gustafson Memorial Award for Best Character Name: For the fourth season, Hawley leaned hard on unusual first names like Oraetta and Ethelrida and Josto. However, it’s hard not to stand in awe of Doctor Senator, and not just because of Glynn Turman’s singular performance. Doctor Senator. What a name!
Best Connection to the Other Fargos: The fourth installment is a dense look at two warring crime families in Kansas City, Missouri — it is also an origin story for Year 2’s Mike Milligan (Bokeem Woodbine), as the young man known as “Sachel” Cannon would grow up to become. Hawley, in an interview with GQ, compared it to the way Year 2 chronicled the origins of Molly Solverson: “You can’t look at this year without seeing how Satchel became Mike Milligan, but the story is also about so much more, the way that all of our lives are interwoven throughout history. And yet, you can’t tell history by just telling your story or my story.”
Fargo (FX)
Analysis: There remains a lot to appreciate about the fourth season of Fargo, but something’s gotta be at the bottom of a list like this. And Year 4 falls just shy of other seasons’ greatness because there’s just one too many things going on. It’s especially disappointing because of the caliber of that cast — some huge talents who don’t get quite as much time to shine. And while Chris Rock actually proves to be a very capable actor, bringing plenty of finesse to his reactions on screen, Jason Schwartzman never feels like he fully slips into the role of mafia boss.
The best aspect of Year 4, on balance, is the way that its female antagonists, like Jessie Buckley’s demented Oraetta Mayflower and delightful lady bank robbers Zelmare (Karen Aldridge) and Swanee (Kelsey Asbille), are allowed to cut loose in ways the series really hasn’t accommodated up until now. And really, it’s not a bad season of television. Just a bit too overstuffed.
04. Season 3: The One With Two Ewan McGregors
Fargo (FX)
When and Whereabouts: 2010-2011, Minnesota
That’s a Real Humdinger of a Cast Right There: Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Goran Bogdan, David Thewlis, Michael Stuhlbarg, Shea Whigham, Scoot McNairy, Olivia Sandoval, Mary McDonnell, Hamish Linklater, Fred Melamed, Rob McElhenney, Frances Fisher, Ray Wise, DJ Qualls
The Wade Gustafson Memorial Award for Best Character Name: A lot of strong contenders here, but I’m declaring a two-way tie for Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Nikki Swango and Carrie Coon’s Gloria Burgle. Swango is a last name that sashays into the room like it knows it’s the most interesting person there, while the double-Gs of “Gloria Burgle” are deliciously humble — it’s the kind of name that makes you like a person instantly, homey and open.
Best Connection to the Other Fargos: Fargo seasons are usually interconnected in less subtle ways than the full-fledged return of a character to active duty. But the re-emergence of deaf hitman Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard) as con artist Nikki Swango’s new associate was a great reminder of how deep a bench the Fargo universe contains. Whenever timelines and actor schedules permit, it’d be cool to see other instances of this occurring.
Fargo (FX)
Analysis: The headline for Fargo Year 3 was really Ewan McGregor’s double performance, aided by intensive prosthetics work to create two very different men whose brotherly connection has become toxic. But by the end of the season, it’s Coon’s empathetic portrayal of a small-town police chief that sticks in the memory — yet another stellar performance from one of today’s most acclaimed actors.
While there are no more loose ends than any other particular season of Fargo, though, the ending still leaves things feeling more unsettled than usual; perhaps it’s due to Nikki’s ending, as she catches a bullet during a roadside standoff that feels a little too anti-climatic. As good as Gloria’s final confrontation with the odious V.M. Varga (David Thewlis) might be, it doesn’t quite deliver the way other seasons do.
03. Season 5: The One With Jon Hamm’s Nipple Rings
Fargo (FX)
When and Whereabouts: The fall of 2019, Minnesota and North Dakota
That’s a Real Humdinger of a Cast Right There: Juno Temple, Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Rysdahl, Joe Keery, Lamorne Morris, Richa Moorjani, Sam Spruell, Dave Foley, Sienna King, Jon Hamm, Lukas Gage, Nick Gomez, Jessica Pohly
The Wade Gustafson Memorial Award for Best Character Name: Perhaps because the time period is the most contemporary to date, the names aren’t too outlandish for this installment. And while the temptation here is to honor Dave Foley’s delightful Danish Graves (Danish!), there’s just something about the luxurious roar of Lorraine Lyon that complements the equally delicious performance from Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Best Connection to the Other Fargos: Hawley very deliberately paid homage to the original film’s harrowing abduction scene in the first episode of the season. Of course, what made this sequence so enjoyable was the changes made, as we see what happens when a housewife is (to use a man’s words) “for real, a tiger.” As Hawley explained to Consequence: “To finally reach this moment where the show is a literal echo of the film, but also a game of telephone with the film, where something different happened — I think that that’s fun for the audience.”
Fargo (FX)
Analysis: Season 5 only wrapped up this week, so it hasn’t had as much time to dwell in the imagination. Yet it deserves a lot of credit for learning from Season 4 and focusing on a tighter ensemble, with some true powerhouse talent in the mix. Jon Hamm in particular is an actor who keeps proving there’s more to him than what you’ve seen him do in the past — Sheriff Roy Tillman is a nightmare of a person, a haunting force who represents a particularly toxic undercurrent of American society, made all the worse because Hamm’s performance just makes it all seem so reasonable.
However, some of Year 5’s bolder choices, like fully endorsing the idea of Ole Munch (Sam Spruell) being immortal, and a puppet-focused episode that was a literal dream the whole time, don’t feel like they’ll age particularly well. (The puppets were lovely, especially as a way of exploring the season’s darkest themes of abuse — it’s the dream aspect that’s annoying.) Still, full credit for those final lovely moments of the season, as Dot and her family find a way to make a man who’s lived forever smile for the first time.
02. Season 1: The One That Started It All
Fargo (FX)
When and Whereabouts: 2006-2007, Minnesota
That’s a Real Humdinger of a Cast Right There: Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Martin Freeman , Bob Odenkirk, Keith Carradine, Kate Walsh, Joey King, Russell Harvard, Adam Goldberg, Oliver Platt, Glenn Howerton, Susan Park, Gary Valentine, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Stephen Root
The Wade Gustafson Memorial Award for Best Character Name: This is an easy one: Midway through the season, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele appear as FBI agents Bill Budge and Webb Pepper, two of the most quintessentially Fargo names on God’s green earth, names well befitting their characters’ bumbling nature.
Best Connection to the Other Fargos: While Year 1, of course, had no idea what was coming for the series, it did explore the mystery of the original film’s buried suitcase. Specifically, it revealed that a man named Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt) stumbled across the hidden money in 1996, and used it to (amongst other things) kickstart a successful business of supermarkets.
Fargo (FX)
Analysis: The inaugural season of Fargo does an elegant job of drawing clear inspiration from the Coens while not hewing quite so closely to the original narrative. Yes, there’s a lady sheriff (pregnant, even, by a certain point in the season). Yes, the central figure is an in-over-his-head businessman, ultimately responsible for the death of his wife. Yes, terrifying men are popping up when you least expect it
Put it like this — if Hawley had tried to do the kind of direct homage that happens in Year 5 during his first go-around, cries of “copycat!” probably would have doomed the series from the beginning. By the fifth season, of course, Fargo as a series had earned that right, but Year 1 had a lot more to prove, especially to those who were confused by the show’s very existence.
So, while the nods to what came before are clear, Hawley managed to deliver an impressively dense yet easy-to-follow crime story, one with some truly shocking twists. All these years, and it’s impossible to forget how the blood runs cold when Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) tells his lovely wife Linda (Susan Park), “Put your hood up, huh? I’d hate for your pretty face to freeze.” It’s such a small moment, yet it’s the show in a nutshell — the casual evil we’re all capable of.
01. Season 2: The One With Little Molly
Fargo (FX)
When and Whereabouts: 1979, Minnesota
That’s a Real Humdinger of a Cast Right There: Kirsten Dunst, Patrick Wilson, Jesse Plemons, Jean Smart, Ted Danson, Cristin Milioti, Jeffrey Donovan, Zahn McClarnon, Bokeem Woodbine, Brad Garrett, Nick Offerman, Michael Hogan, Rachel Keller, Adam Arkin, Elizabeth Marvel, Bruce Campbell, Ann Cusack, Kieran Culkin
The Wade Gustafson Memorial Award for Best Character Name: Have you ever met a person named Dodd before? Probably not. Yet the name Dodd Gerhardt just works for Jeffrey Donovan’s brutal role, a punch of consonants.
Best Connection to the Other Fargos: Molly Solverson already brought a ton of warmth and light to the first season, and getting to know her loving parents at this key moment in their lives not only enhances what came before, but adds extra poignancy to the season overall. That final montage, featuring Betsy Solverson (Cristin Milioti) dreaming of a future she’ll never see, but one in which her daughter grows up happy with a family of her own, is just one of two major reasons why Year 2 remains the best season to date.
Fargo (FX)
Analysis: The other major reason is another scene from the finale, in which Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson) drives Peggy Blumquist (Kristen Dunst, giving a career-best performance) to her eventual incarceration.
Not only is it a beautifully performed sequence by both Wilson and Dunst, but it hearkens back to one of the best moments from the original film: Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), monologuing at Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) about all the tragedy that’s occurred because, “and for what? For a little bit of money.” With Lou and Peggy, though, it’s a different vibe, because while Marge can’t understand what Jerry’s done, Lou’s a little bit wiser about the world, and Peggy has a lot to say about the societal forces that put her in this position.
More importantly… Peggy still, somehow, has hope that maybe there are good things ahead in the future. She asks Lou if she can be “tried federal,” for a chance at a prison cell overlooking San Francisco Bay. “Doesn’t that sound nice? Maybe see a pelican?” It’s a ridiculous reaction, and yet so perfectly human. And beyond the crime and UFOs and wild character names, that’s what Fargo is really about: All of us.
All five seasons of Fargo are streaming now on Hulu.
All Five Seasons of Fargo, Ranked
Liz Shannon Miller
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