Thought the finale was good but not great, but I guess we're so accustomed to grandiose finales in television that we forget a denouement is an imperative part of storytelling.
Kirsten Dunst swept the floor with the episode, and I really enjoyed the complexity of her speech in the cab. She's so desperate to escape the American dream, and Lou cutting her off only reinforces the volatile consequences of women trying to free themselves from it. Someone on Reddit said that after the Vietnam war there was this huge pressure on woman to be both capable careerwomen AND stay-at-home moms at the same time.
This contrasts to Mike's exclusion from the American dream, only to find himself sucked into it. The ending for his character was brilliant.
I really disliked the explanation of Hank's symbols and stuff. It felt like a cop-out with the alien tie-in and honestly the speech was schmaltzy. I also didn't like how they wrote off the UFO so quickly. I understand if the writers want to have a Coen-esque absurdity to the plot, but at least have realistic reactions from the characters. Betsy was completely unphased when told they were deus-ex-machina'd by aliens.
I'm not sure what to think on Hanzee's transition, but I'm going to feign doubt now that he's become Tripolli. That's just too silly of a twist tbh.
I disagree. The show keeps trying to reinforce that Peggy started everything, but she really didn't. Rye's death was leverage used by both parties, and Hanzee. Peggy isn't responsible for anything but Rye's death, and kidnapping douche Gerhardt.
In an effort to get my parents into this show, I got them to watch Season 2. They tried watching Season 1 before but they found it too weird. However they loved Season 2, and after giving Season 1 another chance they found it a lot better. Unusually, the season with a freaking UFO in seems to be the most accessible of the two.
Anyway, I took the opportunity to rewatch both seasons. I really enjoyed it! This show has a ton of rewatch value.
Overall I'd say both are pretty evenly matched.
I think the story in season 2 is better. It's more focused. Every individual plot is centered around a common theme and they all converge in the final few episodes. Whereas season 1 had a few stories which felt isolated from the rest of the action. The Stavros storyline for example. That whole arc had no bearing on the main story, and there wasn't really a conclusion.
The advantage Season 1 has though, is it's characters. Lester and Malvo were amazing villains, some of the best on TV, and Molly, Gus and Lou were great too. I said before that I cared more for the characters of Season 1, and that hasn't changed after the rewatch.
Also, I watched the movie last night. The series seems to have taken everything good about it and amplified it. It was good. I had no idea the show was supposed to be a direct sequel to the movie, so you can imagine my surprise when:
Spoiler
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Steve Buscemi buried the money in the snow, which Stavros finds in the series.
It actually made that whole storyline make a bit more sense. I wonder if the show will ever revisit characters from the movie. That could be cool...but it could also suck.
HI. So I was watching this on Netflix in France and this show is seriously SO GOOD. I had to come on and see if anyone shared my sentiments. I just started Season 2. Love Papa Solverson.
