Fargo Season 3 Finale Draws Parallels With Trump’s America

“Fargo,” Noah Hawley’s multi-award-winning crime drama anthology series (now that’s a mouthful), makes no secret of the current political climate’s influence on its third season. We see Donald Trump’s America everywhere. Found in the silent menace of V.M. Varga (David Thewlis) and the greedy capitalism of Emmit Stussy (Ewan McGregor). Underlying the dialogue of characters, turning a normal exchange into political discourse. And explored in the overarching question that seems to be posed by the third season: “What is truth?”

Ewan McGregor in Fargo (2014). Photo via FX Networks.

Ewan McGregor’s ‘Trump moments’ On Fargo

Ewan McGregor plays brothers Emmit and Ray Stussy on “Fargo,” two very different roles that have had the actor stretching his acting muscles. While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, McGregor expounded more on the brother’s differences. He also revealed that while playing Emmit, he sometimes noticed “moments I feel like are his Trump moments.” Emmit, the “Parking Lot King of Minnesota,” epitomizes capitalism, according to McGregor. The actor also notes that the character is “quick to blame other people for his own mistakes.”

Ewan McGregor in Fargo (2014). Photo via FX Networks.

David Thewlis Sees A Silent Menace In His Character

Here’s another actor who sees the influence of Trump’s America on his own character. David Thewlis plays the third season’s main villain V.M. Varga, an unscrupulous and enigmatic businessman. He recently sat for an interview with TVWorthWatching to talk about his character. Though not modeled after any particular person, Varga inhabits a silent menace reminiscent of the current political climate. During the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency, Thewlis often watched American news and saw many of Vargas’ views in what was being reported.

David Thewlis in Fargo (2014). Photo via FX Networks.

Noah Hawley and Fargo’s ‘Post-Truth World’

In an interview with The New York Times, “Fargo” creator Noah Hawley revealed that he didn’t design the show to be political. Instead, he explained that he wanted to “deconstruct that opening sentence, ‘This is a true story.’” Every episode of “Fargo,” and even the original film from which the series is based, opens with that line. Often, the show proves the claim to be false.

In the third season, Hawley wanted to further explore it in a metaphysical more than political sense. But instead, he ended up running “headlong into reality.” He hit a point where Fargo entered a post-truth world. Fargo had become political, reflective of the current climate and the idea of relative truth. Post-truth. Even alternative truth. It sounds eerily similar to Trump’s alternative facts.