Well, well, well. I see you Fargo and your very cinematic black and white episode! I also see your nod to The Wizard of Oz! This creative turn is a nice reset for the remaining episodes of the fourth season of Fargo!
Yes, I was sad that there was no Gaetano this week, but we got to spend some much needed time with Rabbi and Satchel, who have been on the run for a little while now. They wind up in rural Kansas where they stop at a bizarre motel to gather their bearings. Satchel is supposed to stay out of sight mainly because rural Kansas doesn’t really care for “coloreds.” While he befriends a dog (uh, Toto much?), Rabbi heads to a catalog shop that used to be a feed store. He had money hidden in those walls, so we see him do a bit of gangster hold up with the owners.
The real drama of the episodes comes when Rabbi heads down to a service station to buy Satchel a sweet for his birthday. Earlier in the episode, we see Omie show up looking for Calamita. He’s not there yet, so Omie offers to paint the building in exchange for being able to wait for him. By the time Rabbi shows up, Calamita has the upper hand and it about to put a bullet in Rabbi before a tornado swallows the men up one by one! That scene was crazy and beautifully shot – if it doesn’t nab an Emmy next year there is something wrong with the world (or, more wrong, anyway).
After the tornado the scene switches back to color and Satchel realizes he’s all alone now. I would have to assume there is no life for Rabbi. The episode ends with Satchel standing in the middle of an abandoned highway staring at a billboard advertising “the future is now.” That’s if Satchel has a future.
I liked the deviations this episode took! Firstly, the choice to shoot in black and white was mesmerizing, and all of the nods to The Wizard of Oz were fun to try and spot. I also liked that this episode only featured a small handful of characters. There’s almost too many to keep track of this season! Also, like I said before, this was a nice reset for the madness that is sure to come in the final two episodes. I’m a little bummed with how it all ended for Rabbi, as I thought there would be a more meaty part for Ben Wishaw’s excellence, but I guess it was a pretty epic way to go. Until next week!