I took the UFO to be an homage to Close Encounters. UFO sightings were sort of a cultural phenomenon in the late 70's.

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I took the UFO to be an homage to Close Encounters. UFO sightings were sort of a cultural phenomenon in the late 70's.

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I think it's symbolism. It's not something that's ever going to be explained, it's just part of the background that alludes to the theme of the story.

Note that in addition to the UFO lights, at the end of Episode 2, while Fat Jesse Plemmons is butchering Rye, they pan up to the sky and a V/O recital of "War of the Worlds" begins, this recital is part of an orchestration by Jeff Wayne and you can find it online easily.

So with those two references to aliens, I have two theories about what it is supposed to represent. Note that I don't think they are mutually exclusive ideas, they could both be correct, or neither, or just my interpretation.

1) The story is about an invasion. The peaceful sleepy town of Bum-****, Minnesota (I forget the actual name) is witnessing an invasion of violence spilling over from Fargo. Note, that Ted Danson tells his Deputy that he believes the GI's in Vietnam brought something home with them, like a seed or "pod" that has grown into something sinister. Likewise, Fargo is itself being invaded by an even bigger, more menacing force from Kansas City.

2) The story is about "being watched from above and judged". The War of the Worlds quote says:

"No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. No one could have dreamed we were being scrutinized, as someone with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water."

And the pan out to space makes you feel like Jesse Plemmon's character is being watched from above and judged. They are using UFO's and aliens as a metaphor, but the real judge is either god, or the viewer, or both.

Any thoughts?

http://uproxx.com/tv/2015/10/fargo-ufo-val-johnson/

But more than anything, I'd take the dude at his word that he was paying homage to the Coen brothers and the use of the UFO in "The Man Who Wasn't There"

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But more than anything, I'd take the dude at his word that he was paying homage to the Coen brothers and the use of the UFO in "The Man Who Wasn't There"

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Yeh there seem to be a lot of homages to other Coen Bros. movies this season. The song that rolled during the credits in ep. 1 was a re-make of the Tammy Wynette song from O Brother Where Art Thou (the siren song). And then obviously butchering Rye was disgustingly similar to the original Fargo's woodchipper.

Great episode. I agree that Mike Milligan is probably the best character so far, but I also really liked Mama Gerhart. I also think Plemmons is knocking it out of the park. You can just see the torment and burden on his face.

I might recommend staying away from any ground beef or sausage at Bud's Meats for a while.

Someone clear this up for me.

The oldest brother sent the Indian to look for the dead brother. So why is it that the guys from KC are the ones who are looking for him? Is that a parallel desire to seek him out to leverage one brother against the other?

I like it Rogue, it apparently is not just a one time deal as our aliens have now shown up twice and as noted it is after the most awful events depicted.

I just hope they don't try to say the aliens delivered Reagan, I know they have something planned with Ronnie at some point.

The KC crew is looking for him to use him as leverage for negotiating with the Gerharts. I think the Indian is also looking, they just haven't showed it yet.

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Someone clear this up for me.

The oldest brother sent the Indian to look for the dead brother. So why is it that the guys from KC are the ones who are looking for him? Is that a parallel desire to seek him out to leverage one brother against the other?

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Yes, they want to use him if needed.

I kinda thought the balloon may have been what Rye saw when he got hit by the car. He was high car lights hitting a floating balloon could be a UFO.

I thought the same thing about the balloon. That fits in with the interview earlier and the writer/ creator saying that he's not really going to tell us what's real and what's just perceived.

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The KC crew is looking for him to use him as leverage for negotiating with the Gerharts. I think the Indian is also looking, they just haven't showed it yet.

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They want to offer him that shiny red apple.

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I thought the same thing about the balloon. That fits in with the interview earlier and the writer/ creator saying that he's not really going to tell us what's real and what's just perceived.

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UFO Ripped from the headlines?

Here is a theory that the UFO is in reference to a famous UFO sighting in Minnesota in 1979.

see 10 posts up or so

Anyone know how i can watch the first episode of this season? Can't find it online or on demand.

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Anyone know how i can watch the first episode of this season? Can't find it online or on demand.

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You can torrent it or see if your provider has playback or on demand for their cable channels.

I'm saving each ep on my dvr this year. I'm gonna be re watching the eps throughout the year. This show for whatever reason is just near perfect television for me

Season 2: Brad Garrett = Alien
Season 1: BBT = Satan

Thanks! I might give torrent a try. Tried everything else and they just don't have episode 1 available for some reason.

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Thanks! I might give torrent a try. Tried everything else and they just don't have episode 1 available for some reason.

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I know it's "frowned upon" but if you're paying for tv service and just missed it, I don't see the big deal. i do the same things on network shows that I either forget to record, or sporting events mess up recordings.

But be careful. ISP's are cracking down on that stuff, and will temporarily block your internet service if they catch you. I purchased a VPN for $5 a month just to protect me since I do torrent from time to time.

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Season 2: Brad Garrett = Alien
Season 1: BBT = A wolf

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This is my interpretation from last year, that Malvo was a wolf among sheep. An alpha predator. He was pretty evil though, so I think that its not far of a stretch to say he was more of a "Grimm's Fairy Tale Wolf" which is the embodiment of evil aka Satan. So maybe you're right after all.

Good to know. Thanks again!

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Season 2: Brad Garrett = Lobster's crusher claw
Season 1: BBT = Lobster's pincer claw

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Season 2: Brad Garrett = Alien
Season 1: BBT = A wolf

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This is my interpretation from last year, that Malvo was a wolf among sheep. An alpha predator. He was pretty evil though, so I think that its not far of a stretch to say he was more of a "Grimm's Fairy Tale Wolf" which is the embodiment of evil aka Satan. So maybe you're right after all.

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Last season was about about a predator

This season is about an alien invasion

I loved how Dodd refused to sit next to his mom. He had to take the head of the table.

I saw Malvo as a Satan character, especially early on he was tempting and prodding people into committing sinful acts.

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I saw Malvo as a Satan character, especially early on he was tempting and prodding people into committing sinful acts.

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Well either way, I love television that makes you think and debate and discuss stuff like this. I love plenty of cheesy fluff tv too, but I love when a show like Fargo comes around.

Agree with that.

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Season 2: Brad Garrett = Alien
Season 1: BBT = A wolf

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This is my interpretation from last year, that Malvo was a wolf among sheep. An alpha predator. He was pretty evil though, so I think that its not far of a stretch to say he was more of a "Grimm's Fairy Tale Wolf" which is the embodiment of evil aka Satan. So maybe you're right after all.

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I actually always went back and forth on the devil/ wolf thing. But now I think "Grimm's Fairy Tale Wolf" is exactly what they were going for. Colin Hanks's character was even named Grimly. Can't believe I never connected those dots.

She took the head of the table.

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She took the head of the table.

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And he took the other head.

Which probably was her seat before the stroke.

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Which probably was her seat before the stroke.

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How can you be so obtuse?

Freakin love it so far. So many suspenseful scenes in this second episode.

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Mom: "Molly, what are you going to name your snowman?"
Molly: "Billy Bob."

I LOL

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I was wondering if I was the only one who caught that

Just watched season 1 on Hulu over the last few weeks and loved it, one of my favorite shows from the past year, and season 2 has been fantastic so far. And I'm a big Mike Milligan fan, his scenes have been great.

I'm also betting the shoe ends up being a big part of the case, which looked to be playing out a bit in ep 2.

As per the aliens...

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/fargo-season-2-premiere-noah-hawley-reboot-ronald-reagan-ufos-1201616225/

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What's up with the UFO?

For me it ties into the narrative that in the '70s everything became like "black is white, the sky is the ground." That's the mindset. Obviously UFOs were huge in the '70s. What do they say in "A Serious Man"? "Accept the mystery." It's not in there accidentally, let's put it that way. We'll see what it adds up to.

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