Fargo Review: The Nadir (Season 4 Episode 8)
Nothing goes according to plan for anyone on Fargo Season 4 Episode 8, “The Nadir,” and it costs a few characters their lives.
So many things go off the rails on “The Nadir” and almost all of it in an unexpected way, starting with Oraetta.
Oraetta gets two blows right out of the gate, first learning that Josto is getting married and more importantly that Dr. Harvard not only survived her poisoned baked good but that he is expected to make a full recovery. Meaning he’ll be able to identify her as the one who poisoned him.
The revelation that Dr. Harvard survives is the first of a few unexpected turns on “The Nadir.”
I didn’t even question whether Dr. Harvard would survive watching Fargo Season 4 Episode 7, “Lay Away,” and it seems from her reaction neither did Oraetta.
Her whole world crashes around her at that moment as we watch her go from overly confident, bordering on cocky, to utterly panicked over the course of a phone call.
In hindsight, Oraetta’s whole plan to murder Dr. Harvard is sloppy from the start. Even if Dr. Harvard does die it’s easy to tie her to his murder. She can be placed in his office at the time of the poisoning and her attempts to make herself seem like a witness feel pretty flimsy.
With that in mind, maybe it’s not that surprising that she wouldn’t make sure he was dead before leaving his office.
After being thrown out of Oraetta’s apartment, Josto gets a curveball of his own when he finds out Loy didn’t take his bait and kill his brother. The even bigger surprise for Josto though, is that trying to have Gaetano murdered is exactly what he needed to do to win his brother’s loyalty.
As shocking as Gaetano’s response feels at first, it’s actually the least surprising twist of the hour. Gaetano isn’t a complicated character. He sees ruthlessness as strength and respects leadership that dominates. Josto was never going to win his respect any other way.
There are a few other surprises on “Nadir” but the most dramatic ones come at the end of the episode with the attack that kills Josto, and Gaetano’s mother and sister. Most importantly, the showdown at the train station between Zelmare, Swanee, Deafy, and ultimately Odis.
I don’t exactly know what to make of Odis shooting Deafy and Swanee. I don’t understand his choice. The pressure on him from all sides has been growing all season and it’s been evident that something had to give, but shooting Deafy and then Swanee feels haphazard.
Maybe he is just finally breaking and it’s not supposed to make sense, but I’d like to understand more before the end of the season.
From an execution standpoint, the showdown at the train station is perfection. Watching Zelmare’s face change as she realizes what’s happening is a magnificent stand-alone moment of the episode, but the entire sequence leading up to the shoot out has amazing tension and anticipation. It’s completely captivating.
That said, I can’t help but be disappointed by Zelmare and Swanee’s fate.
Killing queer characters always needs to be done carefully because of the long history of the “bury your gays” trope. At the same time, Zelmare and Swanee are outlaws in the tradition of the western gunslinger and the 1930s gangsters.
A happy ending was never really in their futures, even before they kill what looks like dozens of innocent bystanders. As much as I wanted to see them ride off into the sunset together, that’s rarely how these stories go.
But they still deserve better than they got. They deserve to get the Bonnie and Clyde ending their story is inspired by. Instead, they got what so many other queer couples on TV have gotten, heartbreak just as they are at the brink of happiness.
It appears as though Zelmare needs to survive to play a part in the still vague ghost plotline and I am definitely happy we’ll see more of her.
Still, I can’t help but feel a sense of disappointment that the progression of Zelmare’s storyline has to come from the death of her love like so many other examples of the “bury your gays” trope before.
While Swanee’s fate is a significant mark against the episode overall it’s a solid outing for the series otherwise.
Things are escalating quickly and we are barreling toward a final confrontation between the Loys and Faddas. The season still has work to do to bring the different pieces together if we are to get a satisfying conclusion but one thing it can’t be accused of at this point is being slow or boring.
Stray Thoughts
- Josto continues to be insufferable and frankly, I resent him making me side with an unapologetic serial killer whose next move is likely to try and kill a child. He’s just that awful and unpleasant.
- Now that Deafy is dead we can officially say, Timothy Olyphant has been completely underused all season.
- The scene between Dibrell and Loy’s wife is probably the other highlight of the episode along with the sequence leading up to the shootout.
- Loy is still the better man in the Cannon-Fadda fight (not that the bar is high when comparing him to Josto or Gaetano) but giving up Zelmare and Swanee so easily is a reminder that he is still a ruthless mob boss.
- Oraetta finally finds Ethelrida’s notebook so once again the Smutny’s find themselves in danger they are completely oblivious to.
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Fargo airs Sundays at 10/9c on FX.
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Sarah Fields
Sarah is an obsessive geek who likes to get into the weeds and over think things. She is passionate about Sci-Fi and comics and is a giant classic film nerd. Sarah cares deeply about media representation and the power of telling diverse stories. When she's not writing or watching her favorite shows she spends her days working in the non-profit world trying to make life a little better for those that need some extra help.