Copyright 2020, FX Networks. All Rights Reserved.
Imagine 20th-century America as a pristine archaeological site and that instead of digging backwards through different geological eras â the Pliocene, Pleistocene, Holocene â intrepid academics instead could date different ages by the bones of whichever murdered criminals they uncovered. In a roundabout way, thatâs the premise of the opening of series four of
Fargo, which quickly sets up an ambitious criminal parable that reflects the history of America itself.
Thereâs no actual digging, of course, even if comically grisly excavations would be absolutely on-brand for a series so openly inspired by the Coen Brothers. Instead, weâre immediately treated to a narrated history of the crime gangs of various ethnicities that have occupied the same turf, one after another, in a patch of Kansas City, Missouri between 1900 and 1950 (interestingly, Kansas City isnât in Kansas, an act of small revenge meted out b