Fargo Review: The Pretend War (Season 4 Episode 4)

An all-out war is averted, at least for now, on Fargo Season 4 Episode 4, “The Pretend War.” But once again, the Smutnys find themselves on the precipice of danger from multiple fronts.

The end of Fargo Season 4 Episode 3, “Raddoppiarlo,” saw the Faddas and Cannons on the verge of a full-on gang war. On “The Pretend War,” the families step back from the edge rather quickly when it comes out that Josto isn’t the one who ordered the hit on Loy’s son, and that Zelmare and Swanee’s hold up of the Cannon’s isn’t connected to the Faddas.   

Peace is maintained for now, but it’s an even more fragile peace than before. One that both sides know isn’t going to last. 

One thing that doesn’t make a lot of sense about the escalating tension between the Faddas and Cannons is why the Faddas aren’t more concerned about Gaetano. Except for Constant, none of the Faddas seem like they want things to escalate with the Cannons, or are on onboard with Gaetano’s brute force approach.  

Gaetano is so obviously a disaster waiting to happen; it’s unclear why they aren’t taking him more seriously.

Josto confronts Gaetano on “The Pretend War” when he finds out that he ordered a hit, but it’s obvious that humiliation only makes him angrier — and simply threatening him isn’t going to do much to contain the man.

We need to know more about the internal politics of the Faddas and perhaps the larger organization Josto mentions. The answer to why there isn’t more urgency about Gaetano or why Josto feels like he can’t take stronger actions might lay there.

If the answer isn’t in internal politics, it could just be Josto’s own hubris preventing him from seeing the full threat he represents, However, that wouldn’t explain why everyone else seems mostly unconcerned. Whatever the reason, it’s perplexing that Josto seems more annoyed than worried about Gaetano. He could easily shut down his brother at this point but the longer he waits the harder it will be.

Elsewhere on “The Pretend War” the Smutny’s can’t seem to keep themselves out of trouble. Just as the end of Fargo Season 4 Episode 2, “The Land of Taking and Killing” does, this episode puts the Smutny’s in many dangerous situations they aren’t even fully aware of yet.

First, there’s Ethelrida leaving her notebook in Oaretta’s murder closet during one of the most stressful scenes of the episode. Not only that, she takes Donatello Fadda’s ring, which will no doubt end up being just as important as the forgotten notebook. 

Ethelrida seems too smart to leave her notebook in a closet she is told to stay away from, especially one as weird as Oraetta’s murder closet, but as soon as she sets it down it is inevitable that’s what she’d do.

Now it’s just sitting there like a ticking time bomb waiting to be discovered. If Ethelrida is going to realize her mistake in time, she better do it quickly because it likely won’t be long until Oraetta has another souvenir for her grim collection.

Oraetta is also indirectly responsible for the most immediate threat facing the family.

Loy makes the connection between the money Thurman tries to pay him back with and the money stolen from him by Zelmare and Swanee because of the vomit smell on the money. It’s a clue that is only there because of the poison pie from Oraetta that Swanee eats before the heist. 

As I mentioned in my review of “Raddoppiarlo,” Zelmare and Swanee mean well, as the lovely little scene between Zelmare and Thurman underscores, but they are still dangerous and now Loy Cannon is coming for their family.

If all that isn’t enough, Fargo is also now apparently a ghost story with a ghost somehow connected to Dibrell and Zelmare. There is some subtle foreshadowing of this development on “Raddoppiarlo” when the camera focuses on Dibrell while Swanee talks about people being haunted. 

Other than that, there isn’t a lot to say yet about the introduction of this mysterious ghost in terms of the plot because there is no context or back story for Dibrell and Zelmare to explain this creepy but seemingly random additional storyline.

That is likely coming, but for now, the most striking thing about this ghost is how cool the scene of it coming out of the bathroom and moving around Zelmare and Swanee’s room is. 

In fact, the strongest part of the entire episode is its direction and non-verbal storytelling. The three best scenes of the entire episode, the magnificent opening sequence, the scene of Ethelrida looking through Oraetta’s closet, and the ghost scene in Zelmare and Swanee’s room, are all scenes with very few words but that are completely gripping. 

Dearbhla Walsh does a simply masterful job building tension using sound, pacing, and visual elements to create an engrossing experience for viewers and expand the story on the page.

She creates a visceral sense of danger that makes the episode more than the sum of its parts and continues to keep viewers invested.

What did you think of this episode of Fargo? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Fargo airs Sundays at 10/9c on FX.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

25 Most Spectacular Streaming and Cable TV Shows of the Decade