Analyzing Evil: Fargo 

On the flip side, Marge Gunderson is arguably one of the best protagonists in film. She solves the mystery and ends the hunt despite being pregnant. She sees a ton of traumatic and graphic things including a man being chopped up in a wood chipper but holds steady and doesn't snap from the strain and horror of it all. Rather than berate the killer at then end she just shakes her head and says she doesn't get it. She just shakes off all the trauma she just went through and ends up going home to comfort her husband when he gets upset about not winning his stamp competition. One would expect her to snap at him and belittle him like "NORM you have *no idea* what I went through today!" but she just comforts him and doesn't trouble him with the ugliness of her job. She is so based it's almost unreal.

Fargo is a great look at pathetic evil. Evil that comes from cutting corners, not thinking things through, and trying not to think about the consequences.

Jerry Lundegaard is one of the best-written villains in cinema (and perfectly portrayed by William H. Macy). He is not all-powerful, or violent, or maliciously cunning. No - his evil stems from a mixture of cravenness, cowardice and stupidity. And that combination of horrible traits is what makes his villainy not only so memorable, but uncomfortably relatable because in the end, he's all too human.

Jerry Lundegaard behaves almost like how a kid would after flunking a test and would go out of their way to hide the report card from their parents. His arrest at the end of the two officers literally having to drag Jerry kicking and screaming to jail, proves how spineless he is. Now because of Jerry, several people including his wife and father-in-law are dead, his son will possibly have to go to foster care, he's facing several criminal charges and his financial problems will likely worsen if the victim's families decide to sue him. And all because he just wanted a little bit of money too.

Fargo is kind’ve a parody of the “Chekhov’s Gun” writing principle. Instead of everything in the movie having some sort of payoff, there are so many plot elements that are present in the film without having any real bearing to the story. Marge’s pregnancy, for example, is included, and one might expect a main character’s pregnancy having some payoff, especially in dangerous situations, but instead, it’s just there, and there’s no payoff. The Coen brothers even tease this, by showing her hunch over in one of her first scenes, only for her to dismiss it as morning sickness. It’s a movie that knowingly subverts every expectation and norm in filmmaking. Case in point, most of the movie takes place in Minnesota, with only a few minutes of the film happening in Fargo.

I love how every bad guy here is equally stupid and incompetent, just in different ways

The real evil in Fargo is the Minnesota postal service. How dare they relegate Norm's masterpiece to the 3¢ stamp?

Marge's speech in the cop car at the end of the movie feels like it was directed at Jerry, not the homicidal killer in the backseat. That's why he looks so confused and nonplussed at her advice. She extols the virtues of enjoying the life you have, appreciating all that your blessed with and how she can't comprehend why someone would risk so much for a little bit of money. Words that Jerry needed to hear more than anyone since he threw away his family, his job, his freedom, is in financial ruin and is the cause of several deaths...all for some money.

I loved the craziness of the villains in this movie, especially Steve Buscemi.

What do “No Country For Old Men” & “Fargo” have in common? That briefcase of money.

Has everyone forgotten about Scotty??? In a week or so of time, his mom was kidnapped and murdered, his grandfather was murdered, the people that did it killed four other people (three in Brainard and the garage attendant) before one of them killed the other and all of that was set in motion by his own father! If that kid doesn’t have some serious PTSD…

Jerry’s plan was so stupid. It was doomed to fail and I love how Carl and Gaer even said right from the getgo that the plan doesn’t make any sense

The reason I love Coen brothers’ movies is the fact that they understand how stupid people can be and how their stupidity leads them - and us - into increasingly chaotic and darkly humorous consequences. Ordinary people just using their brains correctly tend to be the heroes. Brilliant!

A car dealer's cars on the lot are owned by GMAC. The dealer has to pay GMC for the vehicles, and any interest incurred, when the car is sold. That is why they GMAC guy on the phone is asking for the VIN number's. Jerry kept the $$$ the customers paid for their cars not financed (by the customer) through GMAC. A VIN checker shows up once a month to find the unsold VINs on the lot. It's called being out of trust with GMAC if the lot inventory does not match the VIN list.

You could argue that Jerry’s plan to take out 80k out of the million he was bilking Wade out wasn’t stupid. The problem is that Jerry is absolutely spineless. He made it clear that the kidnappers were only dealing with him, and he should have put his foot down and said no when Wade wanted to intervene, citing that it could compromise Wade’s daughters safety should he be the one to handover the money. But Jerry barely raised his voice when Wade and Stan basically said he would muck up the handoff. Poor Scotty 😢

I heard Peter Stormare in an interview talk about how surprised he was to hear some folks in Minnesota still speaking a Swedish that Stormare had only heard the old folks in the old country speak when he was a little boy.

William H Macy is a seriously underrated actor with insane range. A conniving slime bag in Fargo, a selfish drunk in Shameless, a meek but well-meaning nerd in Wild Hogs, the list goes on. The man is a genius at his craft

This movie is one of the best showcases of the difference between being nice and being kind.

GREED and Stupidity do not mix...

My family is from Minnesota. While my parents were in Florida they ran into a British man that said they sounded like the people in Fargo and asked if they were from MN, I asked my parents if they said "yeah" and they told me "yeah".

"Pretty unfriendly actually. But it's the way you're unfriendly, how you're so polite about it. Like you're doing me a favor." Mike Milligan in Fargo Season 2 summarizing Minessota friendly demeanor.

It always struck me when I first saw this movie how even though Jerry is pathetic, his actions led to the death of 7 people. Which I think is higher body count than what you see from other characters that are inherently more evil

"You're Darn Tootin"🗣🗣🗣📢📢📢🥶🥶🥶🔥🔥🔥

Great episode. I actually just re-watched Fargo this week. The scary thing about Jerry is that there are a lot, and I mean A LOT of real life true crime stories that start out with people like him. Some horrific crimes in history start out with an everyman or woman just trying to get some money for some mundane reason.

The law of Yanta reads like a dystopian law .

I was too young to watch this on the big screen when it came out, but I saw it on the anniversary at the Warner theater in DC, and William H Macy was there in person to answer questions for a pretty generous amount of time

This is one of those films I watch over and over and can't find any faults

Marge also can’t risk a physical altercation with these characters. No only because she’s pregnant, and not because she’s a woman, but because she’s alone during this whole investigation. The only one she really has is with Grimsmud at the end and fortunately she surprises him and she already has her gun out. She has to kill em with kindness.

REALLY loved steve buscemi on this! My favorite role of his alongside tony b.

I think Jerry suffers from avoidance. He avoids confronting things head on and being honest, in the hopes that lying and deflecting will allow him to escape reality and that he will never have to account for his mistakes.

Macy played the spineless weasel to perfection. Such a great film. One awesome aspect of it in my opinion is Marge's character development. It's subtle, but after her encounter with Mike Yanagita she gets more assertive when dealing with Jerry and the other criminals, yet never becomes jaded.

William H Macy's performance as Jerry Lundegaard is some of the best acting I've watched. It's difficult to pull off the weasel/coward role, and Macy knocked it out of the park!

Peter Stormare was probably one of the best depiction of a psychopath on film!

After living in PA all my life and moving to MPLS at 25, I can attest to this "politeness". It is often more genuine then ppl think it is, like the gentleman code of Victorian England, it is a form of discipline designed to make those around you more comfortable. A sacrifice, small yes, but a sacrifice of self for the larger social group. I moved from MPLS to Honolulu another place where ppl are incredibly kind, though I'll say, in Hawaii, it is not an act, but perhaps a form of geographic psychology born of being born in a physical (if not mental) paradise. Living now in Baltimore I can tell you, passive aggressive or not, it's far preferable to the feral lack of social consideration on display here every day

As a person from the West Coast, most of what I learned about “Minnesota Nice/Politeness/Passive-Aggressiveness” came from Mystery Science Theater 3000. Which is expected as the show originated in Minnesota with most of the cast and crew being from Minnesota. They definitely made a lot of Fargo references in the later seasons; especially the famous “wood chipper” scene.

Whenever I watch this film I always feel bad for scotty. Not only does his mum get killed but his dad gets sent to jail and I always wonder what would happen to him

A great showcase of how while politeness is important you need to drop it on certain situations For a better result. Plus the effort of maintaining the facade will eventually get to you. You need to be more open with your emotions and problems so that others may be able to help you.

"BLOOD HAS BEEN SHED JERRY!" -Animal Blundetto

Season 2 of Fargo is one of the best good vs evil. The other examples are people that either compromise their moral compass or commit “necessary evil.”

I actually think Jerry’s biggest motive in his actions is exactly what you say around 20:00. His pride and the fact that he is unwilling to share his troubles with his family, in fear of judgement. His greed and stupidity are only supplementary to that motive.

I love the couple that are buying the car and they know they're being ripped off but they buy it anyway because they're so darned nice 😄

I live in the City Fargo. And that means I have a weird relationship with this movie. Because of this movie, people think we have that accent, and most don't, and I get a lot of Woodchipper jokes. But the movie is so freaking good that I can't hate it.

I literally just spent the last 5 months living in Detroit Lakes, MN. I’m born and raised from Kentucky. Minnesota nice is absolutely real. I just had to move back to KY abruptly and it’s the biggest culture shock I’ve ever felt. Living in Minnesota is like being constantly surrounded by the most seemingly emotionally mature people ever.

4:29 I was born and raised in Northern Minnesota in a family that came to this region shortly after the Civil War. I used to think that "Minnesota Nice" wasn't real, that it was an undeserved stereotype. Not long after hitting 30, I got myself into a career that took me all over the nation and it didn't take me long to realize that Americans everywhere were rude and mean. Yup, Minnesota Nice is an actual real concept.

Due to "Fargo", every time I see or hear a wood chipper, ...It's impossible not to think of Steve Buscemi. How he met his end with an ax whack, then into the wood chipper. Rather like listening to "Stuck in the Middle With You" ...Now I picture the cop getting his ear cut off in "Reservoir Dogs" :) That Michael Madsen sure has some anger management issues. Got him killed in this movie, and "Kill Bill: Volume 2", too :)

This film is a masterpiece. And the show taking place after (and before) this film is equally a masterpiece.

I've always had a good laugh at him trying to jump out the window in his boxer shorts😂

I've always wondered why the son doesn't look anything like either parent. For me, that somehow adds to the "not all is right under the surface" theme.

ANALYSISING EVIL TIGHTEN FROM MEGAMIND

Margie's husband wasn't the only one that loved her. Fargo was a great movie, and Frances McDormand was just so great in it.

It's interesting to me that even though Gaear is by far the most dangerous of the main villainous trio, I get more easily enraged by Jerry and Carl, especially Jerry - I guess as a viewer I'm more tuned to be frustrated with someone being pathetic than them being directly evil.

Neurotic, Cowardly, Nervous AND Impulsive Sounds like the perfect combination of someone who accidentally has a bad day...everyday

One of the greatest left us. Akira Toriyama will never be forgotten. Please do cell

Fargo is a masterpiece. This was the role that WHM was born to play.

I was born and raised in Seattle, WA, but my extended family is from Minnesota. Every time I would go out there it was like going to a different world. Very surreal. I remember being shocked when we went there in the late 80's and all the skater punks were wearing penny loafers.

Thanks for this episode, what a wonderful film. There’s a lot of fascinating villains in the Fargo series, like: Lorne Malvo (s1), Hanzee Dent (s2), V.M. Varga (s3), Odis Weff (s4), and Ole Munch (s5), and they would probably provide the basis for some delicious episodes of Analyzing Evil. There’s plenty more interesting evil characters, in there, too. Here’s another set: Lester Nygaard (s1), The Gerhardts (s2), Yuri Gurka (s3), Orietta Mayflower (s4), Roy Tillman (s5). What a wonderful show. What the hell, one more: Wrench and Numbers (s1), Mike Milligan (s2), the brothers Stussy (s3), Loy Cannon (s4), Gator Tillman (s5). Honorable mention goes to: Rabbi Milligan (s4), Zelmare and Swanee (s4), the brothers Fadda (s4) and Captain Theodore Roach (s4). I don’t understand why many didn’t like season 4. If you like to analyze evil, and I do, there’s a lot to chew on in there.

Covering one of the best movies I've seen in the last year on the day I turn 26. Happy birthday to me!!

8:40 I worked as a security guard in a hospital in San Francisco. Part of my job was to relieve the parking lot attendant, meaning I'd do his job for an hour while he had lunch. That lot had the same rule where just pulling into the parking lot meant you had to pay money, even if they pulled in and left the structure at once. I was walking back after the attendant came back from lunch and I saw an older guy pull in, then start to back out when he realized he didn't want to park there. The problem wat, the lot had those tire spreaders that keep people going out the inside. I stopped him before he damaged his tires and told him where to go to get back out. I told him not to worry about any charge, I'd fix it for him. So while he drove I walked back to the booth. I explained to the attendant what had happened but the attendant still wanted to charge him $5. I ended up paying the $5 out of my own pocket. After all, the guy had to balance his register. The driver said he would pay but I told him I knew who to talk to to get my money back. The guy left happy and I went to talk to my boss. I did get my money back, and the next day when I went to relieve the attendant for lunch, he said they had changed the policy. If a car returned less than 10 minutes after entering the lot, they would not charge them. Turns out the attendant hated that rule as much as I did. The funny part was, about half way through my shift as a parking attendant the same guy showed up, only this time he'd actually parked, so that time he had to pay.

Lorne Malvo is a must

I love when Mike Milligan calls out the Sheriff for being nice. He gets it lol.

Not only would I recommend a video on Lorne, but maybe a video on every Fargo season, with Hanzee and Varga as well. They all deserve their flowers and have great material for analysis. Great video!

The bad karma runs rampant in this amazing movie.

And let's not forget, little snot nose Scotty has to be raised by Jerry's parents now.

Sinclair Lewis's "Main Street" exploded this stereotype in 1920. Back then there was also a lot of prejudices between all the different people from different Scandinavian countries. I read it in 2012, and it was still relatable.

Some suggestions: - Analyzing Evil: Park Yeon-jin from The Glory - Analyzing Evil: Thor "The Swede" Gundersen from Hell on Wheels

Jerry is if Ned Flanders was greedy.

As a Norwegian. This is really spot on. And i kinda like it here, where talking to strangers on public transport is seen as something only crazies and drunks do. Unless you have a damn good reason, like a question or a plead for assistance. Oh, and if we ever ask how you're doing, it's not an invitation to talk about your personal life. We don't EVER do that to people we haven't known for 10+ years or reeeeeaaaaaaally have a deep relationship with. And even then we'll ask specifics. "How are you" had two accepted answers; I'm good or I'm ok.

"I'll do a damn lot count! Right now. You're darn tootin'!"

Thank you so much, VileEye! This is a great movie to analyze. (A. A. Gill wrote a brilliant article for Vanity Fair back April, 2012 called "Nordic Exposure". He briefly touches on how the 'ego' is viewed in Scandinavian culture).

Peter Stomare is so menacing in this great film .

My wife is from Japan, so she doesn't speak English fluently, ans had never watched this movie until we picked up at a rental store (they are still popular today in Japan) Watching her react to this film, as she was not ready for it to be so hilarious, was PRICELESS.

Being a Manitoban and north of Minnesota I will say we are polite to the point of stupidity, for example you can bump into someone and they will apologize to you. We say sorry about 2000 times a day.

If you're interested in Minnesota Nice, you should come down to Saskatchewan. We're like Minnesota Nice evolved. I work in tourism and the number of times people from other countries, mainly the US are just dumbfounded by how polite, friendly, and outgoing we are is kinda hilarious. You get some people who seem to genuinely believe they've walked into a Twin Peaks dream sequence or something.

Shep truly steals all the scenes he’s in.

I can’t believe my favorite RU-vid channel has finally covered my favorite movie.

The Coen brothers love the “one mistake and you pay dearly for it” trope. It’s usually a through line in all of their films.

Let’s not forget the fact that he also bribed a college admissions office.

Minnesota Nice absolutely has a passive-aggressive undercurrent, and I say this as a Minnesotan. While Fargo exaggerates it for effect, it very much exists.

As for Minnesota nice, I'll have to talk it over with Stan Grossman and get back to you.

Non-Minnesotans probably miss this, but Stillwater is well known to be a really tough place to be incarcerated. Both inmates and COs have died there, so that’s a really big threat she’s making.

Jerry’s car loan scam with GMAC was based on a real guy who did the same thing on the east coast. He got loans for van conversions but no vans were converted. He spent the cash on real estate and some other stuff.

The film is absolutely 'Shakespearean' in that one tragic character flaw and one bad decision - would cascade into a torrential flood of misery, suffering and pain.

RIP akira Toriyama. Please do frieza

The Coen brothers have made many amazing films, but even so, this one, imo, remains far and away their best to date. Excellent job covering this, Vile Eye!

Minnesotan here, thank you for calling it what it actually is, MN Passive Aggression. Makes for great storytelling for sure. And yes, the accents are largely on point.

" Pretty unfriendly, actually. But it's the way you're unfriendly-- how you're so polite about it, like you're doing me a favor. "

I've always looked at Jerry as largely a product of his relationship with his wife's father. The film establishes pretty well that he struggles to be the man of his own household, and it's implied that his father-in-law is trying to force him out and he thinks he's pathetic. Over the course of the movie, his father-in-law strong-arms him, takes advantage of him, and ultimately his father-in-law's own downfall is caused by underestimating what Jerry was willing to do, and forcing himself to take charge of the situation. They don't explicitly state it, but the business deals that went bad before the start of the movie that kick off his desperation were probably made to try and get out from the shadow of Wade's wealth. And it's possible that there were events earlier then what he even tells about, that led him to become more and more desperate. With the clear threat that Wade seems to present to Jerry, that he'll be ready to take his family away from him Sure, he never commits any crimes, but what he did to Jerry over the parking lot was just plain cold, and something you just don't do to family. There's no reasonable way he didn't know that Jerry You can't excuse Jerry for what he's done, but ultimately Wade made Jerry a desperate man. Wade's need to constantly strong arm Jerry even leads him to put his daughter's life in danger, when he takes the money against the explicit instructions of the hostage takers. None of this excuses Jerry's actions. He put his wife in danger. It was indefensible. But the movie implies pretty clearly that Wade's downfall was his own making. He even put his daughter's own life in danger, when he ignored the hostage-takers' instructions and rushed off to trade the money himself. Jerry is not some victim in all of this, but Wade? Wade brought his own fate upon himself when he underestimated what a man, who he made very desperate, capable of.

9:28 "is above all things--a moron." 😄😂

“Jerry Lundegaard is, above all else, a moron.” I died laughing about 4 times before I could move on with the video.

As a Minnesotan, that was the most accurate breakdown of Minnesota Nice/Passive Aggressive I've heard on a youtube video.

Please do a video on The Governor from The Walking Dead tv series 🙏

Great video! Every season of Fargo series has like 4-6 deliciously written villains that I'm sure would also make perfect subjects to analyse (with obvious highlights in Lester Nygaard, Lorne Malvo, VM Varga and Roy Tillman)!

Yes thank you for doing this!! I hope you continue with the series: Malvo/Lester S1, Hanzee/Mike S2, Varga S3, and Roy/Munch S5!! Each season could easily get its own analysis, tho i think Malvo and Varga would be the best, esp Varga

As a Minnesotan, the behavior of "Minnesota nice" is real

As far as the craziness,evil, unpredictability,and sudden insanity and ultraviolet acts after a quiet calm length from a person who is very quiet and seemingly doesn't seem like a serious threat until his true colors are shown. In which he becomes completely unhinged and is definitely unexpected and comes out of nowhere after just seeing this man be quiet and nearly unspoken. Once after upon watching the film and seeing what this lunatic is capable. Makes you wonder what his very quiet eyes are thinking through nearly the whole introduction of him and Steve Buscemis character. As this guy with his dyed blonde hair and quiet deep blue eyed gaze is definitely the most terrifying and very scary. The scariest character in the movie. He's a total monster.

I feel three movie characters who should be analyzed are Stanley Kowalski from A Streetcar Named Desire, Jett Rink from Giant and Mrs. Robinson from The Graduate. Is there a possibility in the future for this?

Very few films reach this level of mastery.

Where has this channel been all my life?!? I mean, I’d kinda like to punch you for reminding me how old this movie is, and therefore reminding ME how old I am 🤣 Seriously though, this was a great watch. New subscriber here! ♥️♥️♥️

The parking lot proposal was sound. That's the thing about Jerry that never adds up for me. It had to be a _very_ good idea if it got a guy like Wade interested, when he was still bothered by losing money on similar deals THIRTY YEARS prior. Everything else can be summed up as the actions of an incompetent idiot, except for that. It makes all of those "But Why" questions, that you might dismiss due to stupidity, stand out more.

Such a good film, but a frustrating watch for me because of all the stupidity. Marge's character is a gem, though. Thanks for the great video!