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Fargo, Ep. 1.07, “Who Shaves the Barber?” takes a breather in (mostly) entertaining fashion

Fargo, Ep. 1.07, “Who Shaves the Barber?” takes a breather in (mostly) entertaining fashion

fargo 1.7

Fargo, Season 1, Episode 7, “Who Shaves the Barber?”
Written by Noah Hawley
Directed by Scott Winant
Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX

After the End Times events of “Buridan’s Ass”Fargo predictably spends most of this week’s episode gathering its breath before it heads into the final stretch of its first (only?) season. It does so by subtly pushing its attention away from the events both unfolded and unfolding in Bemidji (and elsewhere), and back onto the Fantastic Four of its main cast: Lester, Molly, Gus, and Malvo.

When it does get into the more plot-related events of the episode, it tends to drag a bit: while Malvo’s unseen (but most certainly heard) rampage through the building of the organized crime meeting is certainly an audio/visual achievement, it leaves a bit to be desired for our primary antagonist, who shoots his way through multiple throngs of armed guards to kill the man who sent Mr. Numbers (RIP) and Mr. Wrench to Bemidji to kill him. Yes, I’ve spent weeks talking about Malvo as the Devil, which technically means he can’t be killed (at least, not in the traditional sense, as Numbers, Hess, and others have been dying), but in chorus with Molly’s ability to disseminate every single wrinkle of the violent shadows cast over her town, it feels more convenient than revealing and/or satisfying in a narrative sense.

Thankfully, “Barber” goes out of its way (mostly) to highlight individual performances, with long scenes of Gus in the hospital and Lester in an interrogation room continuing to deliver the kind of poignant, darkly hilarious moments that Fargo has made its trademark. In particular, Martin Freeman and Bob Odenkirk shine in the hour, while Lester impressively creates a complex new lie, to both explain how he got a shotgun pellet in his hand and condemn his brother for killing his wife and the chief of police—a wholly disgusting act that represents the ultimate betrayal for Lester, setting him on a dark path he’ll never be able to return from.

Another scene shows him unsuccessfully calling house cleaners to clean up the mess of murder in his living room and basement: if “Who Shaves the Barber?” teaches us anything, it’s that the only way to clean up a mess you’ve created (like Gus shooting Molly, or the men sent to kill Malvo when he killed Sam Hess) is to clean up the damn thing yourself. It’s the ultimate lesson that Gus finally learns in this episode and Lester has ignored through the entire series: if you don’t own up to your mistakes or regrets, the person who gets fucked worse in the end is you. It’s only when you face the problems of your life head-on (especially those you’ve catalyzed yourself), that one is able to forgive themselves, accept responsibility, and continue on their lives, away from the temptations of the Devil—a man who, in Fargo, specializes in conflict resolution with the assistance of a massive assault rifle.

As a whole, “Who Shaves the Barber?” could stand as the weakest link in the wonderful, blood-soaked ride that is Fargo. With the inevitable crescendo of the final three episodes, it’s easy to infer that things will pick up the pace again with next week’s “The Heap” (and hopefully give Key and Peele something to do besides act like they’re in a Key & Peele) while giving us another adorable, awkward conversations between Gus and Molly (“‘Cause you’re you” is the single most romantic thing I’ve heard uttered on television in 2014), of course.

 

Other thoughts/observations:

— Lester’s sexual conquest of the Hess widow is predictable, right down to the picture falling off the wall at the moment of orgasm. Serves its purpose of letting Lester’s dark side slip closer to the surface, but with the simplest masculine cliche I could think of (but I suppose the series began with Hess physically intimidating Lester, an equally cliched moment that catalyzes the entire series).

— Where the heck’s Oliver Pratt this week? Uff-da!

— “Let’s drive away, and pull back up like we just got here.” These are not the FBI’s finest agents, methinks.

— Poor Mr. Wrench! Now he can’t communicate with anyone around, and he’s going to jail for the rest of his life.

 

— Randy

 

 

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