It’s Out There But ‘Fargo’s’ Weird Extraterrestrial Theme Might Be Bigger Than Sioux Falls

Monday night’s season premiere of Fargo hit the ground running by turning back the clock to 1979 and introducing us to the sleepy, snowy, and secretive towns of Luverne, Minnesota, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

In the aftermath of a triple homicide at Luverne’s local Waffle Hut, we get to know State Trooper Lou Solverson (played by Patrick Wilson in Keith Carradine‘s former role), townies Ed and Peggy Blomquist (Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst), as well as a melting pot of henchmen from Kansas City who wish to overtake prominent local crime family the Gerhardts, whose patriarch recently suffered a paralyzing stroke. Already, this brilliant prequel installment proves to be another Coen Brothers-inspired bout of politely menacing Midwestern accents and artful blood splatter, but the twisted winter wonderland isn’t the only world we should be paying close attention to as Season Two unfolds. Turns out, there are elements of the extraterrestrial unknown lurking above all that snow. (Mild spoilers ahead).

Littered throughout the first four episodes made available for critics to review is a mysterious, possibly sinister, and inarguably bizarre overarching theme of the potential for alien life. In Fargo. It’s weird, I know, but stick with me.

Positioning itself in a way that’s almost purposely out of place — that mankind is being watched, that time is malleable, and that we are ultimately alone in this world — creator Noah Hawley‘s extraterrestrial connective tissue directly coincides with the Coen Brothers’ go-to existentialist narrative that we are, in the most consequential sense, in control of our so-called destinies even though we aren’t at all.

In nearly every Coen film, a character makes a choice that makes his or her life leap from meaningless to meaningful. Llewelyn Moss decides to steal an abandoned suitcase full of cash in No Country for Old Men, Hi and Ed decide to steal a baby in Raising Arizona, and, of course, Jerry Lundegaard decides to have his wife kidnapped in Fargo. Similar to Season One’s religious undertones juxtaposed against Lorne Malvo’s (Billy Bob Thornton) “there are no rules” rules to live by, Fargo‘s second season deals in heavy hands of existentialism in an absurd, irrationally violent world — that, sure, we have control over our own choices that can sometimes have grave consequences, but we’re also just cogs in a much larger wheel, in a world where the inexplicable is, well, inexplicable.

Too dark maybe? Don’t worry — Hawley probably isn’t aiming to give a philosophy lesson this second at bat. But like the Coen Brothers before him, he is trying to get us to think. In the first episode of the new season, Kieran Culkin’s misfit Rye Gerhardt has what seems like an extraterrestrial encounter just before he’s, erm, interrupted by the windshield of Peggy Blomquist’s car. A later episode, however, kicks off with an alien-themed Ronald Reagan flick playing at the local Sioux Falls movie theater where young Dodd Gerhardt (Jeffrey Donovan) accompanies his father to assassinate a rival crime boss. Keeping in tune with the mock film set opener in Episode One, the theater encounter marks another nod to Reagan’s pre-political film career. But really, the moment serves to remind us how obsessed the politico was with “alien invaders.”

To be perfectly clear, other than my Coen-obsessed observations above, I have zero evidence at my disposal that suggests aliens are going to swoop into Fargo and do… whatever we think aliens do. (Abduct the citizens of Sioux Falls, maybe?) Extraterrestrial life, however, and the general idea of “the unknown,” fits like a puzzle piece in the ominous jigsaw that is this Coen-inspired series. The idea that we are in control of our own destiny — Rye Gerhardt decided to kill a judge, after all — is an act that gives meaning to an otherwise meaningless moment while also representing the complete absurdity of it all. Sure, Rye chose to shoot up the Waffle Hut, but what did the judge choose along the way that “decided” her fate? Would something similar have happened if she chose to eat elsewhere that night? Would Rye have tracked her down no matter what? Keep in mind, he only stalked her in the first place to try and bully her into dropping a case so it would free up funding for his electronic typewriter partnership — something ultimately meaningless that causes a meaningful chain reaction of violence.

Whether Season Two of Fargo introduces aliens or not, only time will tell. But if I have to guess based on what Hawley told Variety, probably not literally. The idea of the unknown, however, fits perfectly with this odd, quaint setting that feels as if we’re looking at it through a fishbowl. Because while these characters are surely the only factors behind their dangerous decision making, the consequences that follow remind us that anything can happen to anyone at any point in time, and that irrational violence and death cannot fully be explained. Rye Gerhardt may have chosen to stand up for himself that night, but it was the unknown that got him: in this case Peggy Blomquist speeding down a dark, wintery road.

Season Two of Fargo is available to stream on FX NOW. Season One is available on Hulu and Amazon Video.

Like what you see? Follow Decider on Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation, and sign up for our email newsletters to be the first to know about streaming movies and TV news!

Photos/Gifs: FX