Review: Fargo, “Insolubilia” | Year 5, Episode 4
Last week’s Fargo cliffhanger resolves with a nail-biting home invasion scene and three great monologues
As I mentioned back in my review of the season premiere, it’s not easy to construct and stage sequences of action and suspense that can compete with, say, the failed assassination attempt on Leo O’Bannon in Miller’s Crossing or the cat-and-mouse at the border hotel between Moss and Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. And I would never argue that Noah Hawley—or the director of this week’s Fargo episode, Donald Murphy—is on the same level as the Coen brothers. But by golly, the TV Fargo is doing its best. This isn’t just a show about funny accents and dark souls. It can, at times, be an exercise in pure thrill-craft.
The opening sequence in “Insolubilia” is one of those times. Following up on last week’s cliffhanger, the episode begins with Gator and his crew entering the Lyons’ booby-trapped house, wearing The Nightmare Before Christmas masks. Hawley—the screenwriter—sets the scene cleverly. Dot has left something in the oven that will burn, creating a distraction. Wayne …