A young state trooper in connection with his Sheriff father in law become obsessed with investigating the family of a major mob syndicate of which somehow somehow a small town beautician and her husband get caught up in the mix.
Fargo revels in presenting ordinary folk with extraordinary problems, in stripping away their everyday guises and peering long and hard at their dark potential. That it can do this through adaptations of true stories makes it all the more jaw-dropping.
Hilarious, harrowing and strangely cathartic, everything I put to words for FX's seminal series feels frustratingly futile, but I can say this: the first four hours of Fargo's second season are home to some of my favorite moments of TV in years.
The cast is excellent, the plot-lines are richer and more neatly interwoven, and the alternating portions of whimsy and menace are served up with extraordinary panache.
Despite its endlessly flat landscape, FX's Fargo is elevated by the most spellbinding direction of any drama currently on TV. Season 2 achieves new heights, thanks to writer-director Noah Hawley.
The fingerprints of writer Noah Hawley and director Randall Einhorn, who worked on the first season, are all over this, and that could explain the smoother transition from season one to season two.
