‘Fargo’ finale review: Lester Nygaard, Lorne Malvo, and a white void

“Fargo” came to an epic conclusion Tuesday night, and while there was buzz going in of a potentially-unsatisfying end, we have to say that by and large, we were fairly pleased with the way all of this went down. The story was unpredictable, and the only criticism that we could see someone offering is that either Lester Nygaard nor Lorne Malvo were not punished enough for all they did.

What exactly happened to them? They both died, albeit in separate ways. The death of Malvo was cooler from an action point of view, given that you saw the once-cowardly Gus realize that he could be the one to make Malvo pay rather than the alternative. Thanks to his wife’s hard work, he did the one thing that he was not sure he was capable of … and was rewarded for it. Molly got a reward in her own right, courtesy of a fantastic promotion.

As for Lester, let’s just say that he is off in the big chill somewhere after falling in the ice. This ending was so Lester that it is hard to describe. He would never admit defeat or that he was a criminal, and chose to let his own cowardice seal his fate.

Then, you have the smaller moments of the good guys winning that make us smile, including that final scene of Gus and Molly together, and finding out that Molly is getting the promotion she deserves while Bill realizes that he is the one who needs to walk away. In just ten episodes, the character study here was such that you could have exactly what you want transpire without making it seem forced just for fan service. It was all realistic, and took away that terrible sort of TV cynicism that is so easy to develop.

This was the fantastic way to end this season, at least in that everyone truly got what they deserved for a change in a world where that does not always happen. Not only that, it all felt appropriate. The show ended in a way that has us begging for more, but cheers to Noah Hawley and company for not forcing a second season upon us. If we get it, it will be something hopefully new and equally magical. Grade: A.

One finale note: We’ll be podcasting the finale later tonight!

What did you think about the “Fargo” finale? Share your thoughts with a comment.