The events we waited for in the last episode take place at the beginning. It's Halloween night and Dot and her daughter have set the place up to do damage to anyone trying to harm them. Four guys, dressed as characters from Nightmare Before Christmas come in, doing Roy's bidding. One is killed; the others manage to survive, but the house is set on fire. Dot is every bit as dangerous as she was earlier. The husband has been nearly electrocuted and lies in a hospital. We can see that Dot has had about enough. She likes having a family and wants to maintain hers. The bad guys are pretty beaten up. Dot can't do anything because she could go back to prison.
12 Reviews
Did we watch the same thing who did the negative comments?
mericdx14 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Some people forget that this is an art piece which have its own momentum. Not everything you watch should ''entertain'' you with lots of action and ''plot twists''. This is a great episode of the masterpiece like previous episode. As good as it gets, this is the best humans can produce. I don't understand the negative comments here. What were you expecting? Lots of stuff even happens in this episode.
Sound design, cinematography and acting is top notch as always.
I don't understand the criticism at all as a filmmaker myself. Chracther development and plot development is there, action is there. Not every episode should be a Hollywood thriller. No one can do that anyways.
Sound design, cinematography and acting is top notch as always.
I don't understand the criticism at all as a filmmaker myself. Chracther development and plot development is there, action is there. Not every episode should be a Hollywood thriller. No one can do that anyways.
Pancakes!
jupetiustolvanen6 December 2023
A great episode if a great show. Emotional acting in dramatic moments which still succeed to play some comedic notes. Tension is slowly building before the inevitable, violent encountering of all seemingly unstoppable forces: sheriff, grandmother, Munch and mother Lyon (name is certainly a deserved one). Each of these forces of nature are played by skillful actors, giving their best to build over-the-top, almost caricaturist characters. It is not a surprise that established stars like Jon Hamm and Jennifer Jason Leigh are great in their all-in -roles. However, it is Juno Temple who manages to impress: there is a believable grit and determination in her. Side characters are enjoyable as well, and Munch is scary in true Fargo-style. Cinematography shines beautifully and really builds an atmosphere when needed. Let's see who remains in the end to ride off into the sunset.
Action sequence is filler. Strange and incorrect emphasis on what local sheriffs enforce
random-707788 December 2023
This seems a filler episode. Ironically there is an action sequence that takes up about 1/3 of the episode that I frankly wish I had fast forwarded, it as it became interminable and did move the plot forward at all.
Also episode three, and now this episode four, make a strange emphasis on a local sheriff deciding what laws to enforce. Really I like Noah Hawley's writing generally, but this is a very strange point to emphasize. In fact this is common. My home city of Baltimore is a "sanctuary city" with local politicians and sworn law enforcement directly deciding not to enforce federal immigration law. Plenty of municipal, county and state law enforcement are not enforcing a lot of federal drug laws. There are scores of areas of law where local authorities decide not to enforce. I am in Washington DC right now and the local Attorney General has joined in suits against enforcement of "felon in possession of a firearm" federal laws due to "desperate impact" on some groups and is not fully enforcing. So the emphasis on this, in two episodes now, is strange. Can one picture two FBI agents going to LA County Sherriff and asking him why the sheriffs' office is not arresting people for being illegal immigrants?? Hawley seems to simply not know US legal and law enforcement system. The federal government is not legally able to insist local law enforce federal statues with the exception of very specific and narrow civil rights violations law.
This kind of major error, major because it is being emphasized several times, is like the gun store error. You in fact can buy about 90% of shotgun types with no waiting period in Minnesota and the gun store owner would have told Dot she had many more to choose from when she mentioned she was not safe. Also the gun store owner saying the waiting period is a federal law that is in the process of being targeted in state house is exactly backwards too. There is no federal waiting period. Federal FBI checks average four minutes.
Overall I feel like I have sat through four episodes and that the net plot, the amount of dark humor and just smart storytelling that has characterized prior seasons of Fargo, could have been delivered in 15 minutes instead of near three hours. Even the dark supernatural element of Munch as sin eater, has been mixed up with Much as avenging force and we get nowhere near the subtle, or even overt, menace of Malvo.
Also episode three, and now this episode four, make a strange emphasis on a local sheriff deciding what laws to enforce. Really I like Noah Hawley's writing generally, but this is a very strange point to emphasize. In fact this is common. My home city of Baltimore is a "sanctuary city" with local politicians and sworn law enforcement directly deciding not to enforce federal immigration law. Plenty of municipal, county and state law enforcement are not enforcing a lot of federal drug laws. There are scores of areas of law where local authorities decide not to enforce. I am in Washington DC right now and the local Attorney General has joined in suits against enforcement of "felon in possession of a firearm" federal laws due to "desperate impact" on some groups and is not fully enforcing. So the emphasis on this, in two episodes now, is strange. Can one picture two FBI agents going to LA County Sherriff and asking him why the sheriffs' office is not arresting people for being illegal immigrants?? Hawley seems to simply not know US legal and law enforcement system. The federal government is not legally able to insist local law enforce federal statues with the exception of very specific and narrow civil rights violations law.
This kind of major error, major because it is being emphasized several times, is like the gun store error. You in fact can buy about 90% of shotgun types with no waiting period in Minnesota and the gun store owner would have told Dot she had many more to choose from when she mentioned she was not safe. Also the gun store owner saying the waiting period is a federal law that is in the process of being targeted in state house is exactly backwards too. There is no federal waiting period. Federal FBI checks average four minutes.
Overall I feel like I have sat through four episodes and that the net plot, the amount of dark humor and just smart storytelling that has characterized prior seasons of Fargo, could have been delivered in 15 minutes instead of near three hours. Even the dark supernatural element of Munch as sin eater, has been mixed up with Much as avenging force and we get nowhere near the subtle, or even overt, menace of Malvo.
Dark not as satirical
yahaira-729-6947017 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The drama continues but this episode is dark without the wittisisums as previous episodes. The rich mother Lyon is a pathetic character. Her voice and attitude is disgusting tone of privilege. Dot does an amazing act of pretensions considering her ex Roy is after her. The weird scene with the assassin's heritage or past life is an odd segment which is hard to understand its significance yet it adds to the theme of spookiness cos it's Halloween. The FBI keeps trying to nab Roy but small town cronies and politics keep him safe. Roy is the monster Sheriff of North Dakota region. Justice is due Dot will hopefully make it happen.
Jennifer Jason Leigh's Razzie-Worthy Performance
fuqshytup9 December 2023
She plays this character like she's doing a middle school play about Cruella DeVille. It's a caricature. It's not in any way able to be taken seriously.
Everyone else in the show is playing a real part. So, why does she get to phone it in and fake it?
It's so terrible and so out of the feel of the rest of the show, that it just drags the show down.
I hope they kill her character off soon. Surely the director and producer share a great deal of the blame. Why would they allow this amateur performance to reach the screen? She should have been fired at the table read.
I'm sticking with it because I really enjoyed the other seasons. So far, this season has been slow and not great overall. That's an even more important reason not to bring it down further with this cardboard cutout of a performance.
Everyone else in the show is playing a real part. So, why does she get to phone it in and fake it?
It's so terrible and so out of the feel of the rest of the show, that it just drags the show down.
I hope they kill her character off soon. Surely the director and producer share a great deal of the blame. Why would they allow this amateur performance to reach the screen? She should have been fired at the table read.
I'm sticking with it because I really enjoyed the other seasons. So far, this season has been slow and not great overall. That's an even more important reason not to bring it down further with this cardboard cutout of a performance.
I don't know why I'm still watching
michael-sansig13 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I was ready to give up after the last episode but the ending on a cliffhanger made me give it one more shot. I thought after the idiotic kidnapping and gas station scenes from the first episode, maybe they would recover and create an actual tense scene that made sense.
Nope.
Just none of this makes any sense, from either angle. JH wants his wife back from ten years ago, who knows why, so he has his cronies go after her at her home AGAIN, in the middle of trick or treating. Brilliant idea! Surely there will be no witnesses.
Likewise Dot knows JH is coming after her so what does she do? Jury rigs the whole house with ridiculous traps and just waits for the bad guys to show up. I hope they didn't come while we were out trick or treating! I hope they don't decide to try and kidnap me when I'm getting in my car to go to the grocery store!
The whole thing is just contrived and doesn't make any sense.
I thought the show was brilliant in season one. Season two had it's moments but overall was a let down. Skipped season 3 and 4 but heard good things about season 5. Not good imo.
Nope.
Just none of this makes any sense, from either angle. JH wants his wife back from ten years ago, who knows why, so he has his cronies go after her at her home AGAIN, in the middle of trick or treating. Brilliant idea! Surely there will be no witnesses.
Likewise Dot knows JH is coming after her so what does she do? Jury rigs the whole house with ridiculous traps and just waits for the bad guys to show up. I hope they didn't come while we were out trick or treating! I hope they don't decide to try and kidnap me when I'm getting in my car to go to the grocery store!
The whole thing is just contrived and doesn't make any sense.
I thought the show was brilliant in season one. Season two had it's moments but overall was a let down. Skipped season 3 and 4 but heard good things about season 5. Not good imo.
Get to the point already
pmfrqxddm8 December 2023
I'm so sick of these special "seasons" of various series. This might add up to about two hours of actual entertainment as opposed to this wasted time spent on this ridiculous episode that goes absolutely nowhere. It's not witty, it's not interesting, it's not even particularly watchable. Get over yourself and get on with actually telling us something if not what the hell is the point? No, just no. The mother-in-law character is so contrived and so full of herself Jesus Christ just put a bullet in her head already and probably be done with it. And the lawyer is a wasted space. Indira is the only character I'm interested in saying anything and she has been relegated to nearly nothing. Pathetic I'm still trying to decide if I'm even going to invest anymore time in this mess.
Episode 504
bobcobb3019 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The parents played by Dave Foley (or is it back to David Foley?) and Jennifer Jason Leigh are entertaining, but overall this season is just a miss across the board. Jon Hamm is not the right person for this outlaw sheriff and there is just not enough drama to go around.
The entire episode was a non-funny version of Home Alone with hijinx in the home and for professionals to be upset by a former wife of the sheriff.
I hope the show has some master plan to flip a switch and recapture the magic of the old Fargo again, but I worry at this point that that is just not going to happen with this season.
The entire episode was a non-funny version of Home Alone with hijinx in the home and for professionals to be upset by a former wife of the sheriff.
I hope the show has some master plan to flip a switch and recapture the magic of the old Fargo again, but I worry at this point that that is just not going to happen with this season.
Can we back off the cutesy?
quockquock15 December 2023
Can we just watch a good decent episode without someone having to find some obscure word in the dictionary as a episode title? Do the writers always have to be mysterious and out there? I had to watch parts of this episode 3 times just to find out who was who and what was going on. These obscure events and yawn filled dialog are getting old. I had to quit season four because of this, but I thought I'd give season 5 a try. It looks like another mistake. I still don't understand why some people are chasing other people and in the next scene they are friends or chums. It's a silly season so far I hope I can stomach more.
Home Alone in Fargo-Edition/ Nothing More
adrienpollak30 January 2024
The fifth season was nothing more than the Fargo- Edition of Home Alone. I don't think it was possible to bring back the old glory, the series is sinking lower and lower. The critics say that the fifth season brings back the true atmosphere of Fargo. It's not like this. A sweat-smelling agony, a sad attempt to repeat the unrepeatable. It's a disappointment to me. I am writing these lines after watching four episodes, or rather suffering through them. I do not recommend anyone to watch this, it is a waste of time, frivolous, "made up", devoid of any originality. This star is sacrificed in the sky. This should be noted. Three seasons of Fargo are worth something, the rest no longer represent any value. Aggression dominates in this more and more. It's empty, empty, the meaningful thing to say has run out. Its uniqueness has also been lost. I'm really sorry, because it was an extremely original and special series, which we didn't succeed in - if not raising it, at least keeping it at the same level. I can't even understand why the critics rated it highly, why it was deified, because there is really nothing in it.
Could this episode be any darker please?!?
jhightshoe21 January 2024
Every scene in pitch black darkness!! I can't see a damn thing!! It's so aggravating I want to scream! No idea what's going on! Literally none. Electricity exists!!! Lights exist!!! The house catching on fire 20 mins into the episode FINALLY provided some actual VISUALS!!! Tv is a VISUAL MEDIUM!!!! Unless you watch this episode in a dark room with your tv brightness on MAX just forget it!! Even the few lights they occasionally show are intentionally muted, low wattage or softer than a bunny rabbit's tail. Also John Ham is terrible. He's over the top and 4 episodes in I have no idea why I should care about this idiot..
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