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* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nikki establishes her cunning during her and Ray's encounter with Maurice. In later episodes, she will show additionally canniness and credit her skill in bridge for her strategic mind.
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* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nikki places highly in a bridge tournament with Ray and soon thereafter establishes her cunning during her and Ray's their encounter with Maurice. In later episodes, she will show additionally shows additional canniness and credit her skill in bridge for her strategic mind.
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* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Nikki establishes her cunning during her and Ray's encounter with Maurice. In later episodes, she will show additionally canniness and credit her skill in bridge for her strategic mind.
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* SeriousBusiness: Nikki and Ray take the Wildcat Semi-Professional Bridge Tournament very seriously and are extremely proud of their "third
runner-up" placing. Nikki credits her skill at handling life-and-death situations to her proficiency at bridge.
runner-up" placing. Nikki credits her skill at handling life-and-death situations to her proficiency at bridge.
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*** It's then Varga's turn when Nikki reveals her partner has just taken down the sniper Varga had trained on her.
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* ThouShaltNotKill: Not stated outright, but heavily implied with [[spoiler:Nikki and Mr. Wrench after their encounter with Paul Marane]], as both had been known to believe that MurderIsTheBestSolution, but are afterwards shown to [[spoiler:execute their plans against Varga and his henchmen with zero casualties, even with Meemo and Varga himself at their mercy.]]
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** Emmitt is rocked when [[spoiler: his confession to killing Ray is beaten as Gloria tells him that (thanks to Varga) another man has confessed to the killing as well as others. Which means Ray is free to go where Varga is waiting to pick him up.]]
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** Nikki meets with Varga in a public place, positive he can't do anything as "you're a pretty distinctive guy." Varga just smirks. "Am I? Look around." Nikki does...and sees that just in this lobby, there are at least six people who are dressed almost exactly the way Varga is. And this is after she notes that Varga loves to put on the "middle management" act in order for people to underestimate him. She can only sigh "nice."
*** It's then Varga's turn when Nikki reveals her partner has just taken down the sniper Varga had trained on her.
*** It's then Varga's turn when Nikki reveals her partner has just taken down the sniper Varga had trained on her.
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* FailedASpotCheck:
** This is invoked by Varga who dresses and behaves in a way that people assume that he is a middle management drone and thus pay him no attention until it is too late. This trips up Nikky who is savvy enough to see what Varga really is but fails to realize how the average person might perceive him. She has an OhCrap moment when she realizes that Varga could kill her in a public place and witnesses would likely fail to notice that Varga was present.
** Varga falls to this trope when he gets too arrogant in his dealings with Nikky and fails to do the criminal arithmetic that would let him realize that she has to have at least one accomplice.
** This is invoked by Varga who dresses and behaves in a way that people assume that he is a middle management drone and thus pay him no attention until it is too late. This trips up Nikky who is savvy enough to see what Varga really is but fails to realize how the average person might perceive him. She has an OhCrap moment when she realizes that Varga could kill her in a public place and witnesses would likely fail to notice that Varga was present.
** Varga falls to this trope when he gets too arrogant in his dealings with Nikky and fails to do the criminal arithmetic that would let him realize that she has to have at least one accomplice.
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* OddlySmallOrganization: Before the County takeover, the entirety of the Eden Valley police force was made up of only two officers, and that includes the chief[[note]]In 2011, the average in the US for cities with fewer than 10,000 residents was 3.5 officers per 1,000 inhabitants.[[/note]].
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* OddlySmallOrganization: OddlySmallOrganization:
** Before the County takeover, the entirety of the Eden Valley police force was made up of only twoofficers, officers for the entire 1,000 town... and that includes the chief[[note]]In 2011, the average in the US for cities with fewer than 10,000 residents was 3.5 officers per 1,000 inhabitants.[[/note]].[[/note]].
** For most of the season it seems that the entirety of Varga's organization is made up of just Yuri and Meemo. [[spoiler: When things start getting more complicated Varga brings in ''a lot'' more minions.]]
** Before the County takeover, the entirety of the Eden Valley police force was made up of only two
** For most of the season it seems that the entirety of Varga's organization is made up of just Yuri and Meemo. [[spoiler: When things start getting more complicated Varga brings in ''a lot'' more minions.]]
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** Walking around the forest wearing a wolf's head and pelt is an excellent way to get yourself shot by hunters.
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* SerialKillingsSpecificTarget: [[spoiler:Varga has Meemo kill two men named Stussy in St. Cloud and Eden Valley in ways that mimic the deaths of Ennis and Ray. He does this to make it seem like all four were killed by a serial killer and does so to neutralize Emmit's confession of Ray's death.]] He goes as far as securing a [[TakingTheHeat willing patsy]] who confesses to the whole thing.
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* InventedIndividual: [[spoiler:Or rather company. It takes Nikki ''one conversation'' to figure out that Narwhal is a complete fabrication and Varga is his own boss.]]
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* OlderThanTheyLook: With his perfect hairline and chestnut brown hair, you'd expect Emmit to be younger than the balding, grey-haired and weathered Ray, but Emmit is actually the older brother.
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* OlderThanTheyLook: With his perfect hairline and chestnut brown hair, you'd expect Emmit to be younger than the balding, grey-haired and weathered Ray, but Emmit is actually the older brother.brother by 2 years.
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* SiblingRivalry: One of the central themes of the season. Ironically the two genuinely seem intent on settling the rivalry by episode two, only for Sy and Nikki respectively escalate it.
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* SiblingRivalry: One of the central themes of the season. Ironically the two Ray and Emmit genuinely seem intent on settling the their rivalry by episode two, only for Sy and Nikki respectively escalate it.
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* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Many characters in universe (as well as the audience) ponder whether Nikki is in love with Ray or just using him to suit her own ends. As the series goes on it's gradually revealed that there is a love for him and [[spoiler:after he's died Nikki's grief is real]].
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* AnnoyingArrows: Inverted when [[spoiler:Nikki is shot in the ankle and is clearly in severe pain and unable to walk]], but then immediately played straight when [[spoiler:Mr. Wrench pulls it out and she's instantly able to walk again]]
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* AnnoyingArrows: Inverted when [[spoiler:Nikki is shot in the ankle and is clearly in severe pain and unable to walk]], but then immediately played straight when [[spoiler:Mr. Mr. Wrench pulls it out and she's instantly are each shot by at least one bolt from a crossbow, but are still able to walk again]]fight off their attackers and seem little worse for wear a few scenes later]].
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* AnnoyingArrows: Inverted when [[spoiler:Nikki is shot in the ankle and is clearly in severe pain and unable to walk]], but then immediately played straight when [[spoiler:Mr. Wrench pulls it out and she's instantly able to walk again]]
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* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Mr. Wrench flings his wood axe into the shadows and manages to clip Yuri, taking him out of the fight.
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* AnimalMetaphor: Yuri is associated with wolves. He is a grandchild of the Wolves' Hundred and wears a wolf head for a hat. This is a callback to the similarly associated Lorne Malvo, who has a similar scene threatening an police officer into backing down.
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* AnimalMetaphor: Yuri is associated with wolves. He is a grandchild of the Wolves' Hundred and wears a wolf head for a hat. This is a callback to the similarly associated Lorne Malvo, who has a similar scene threatening an a police officer into backing down.
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* ShaggyDogStory: Gloria spends an episode learning about her former stepfather's dark secret in California, but realizes that it has no bearing on her current investigation.
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* TimeSkip: "Who Rules the Land of Denial" skips ahead a few months.
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* MagicRealism: This season goes more heavily toward the supernatural than previous seasons. When Nikki and Mr. Wrench are chased into a bowling alley, she meets a man who is implied to be some sort of angel from the Hebrew Bible who displays mysterious knowledge of her, Ray and Yuri. Yuri's vision of murdered Jews may be a supernatural vision or just a hallucination brought on by blood loss and his knowledge of Cossack history.
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* MagicRealism: This season goes more heavily toward the supernatural than previous seasons. seasons with the presence of Paul Murrane, implied to be the [[FlyingDutchman Wandering Jew]]. [[spoiler:He appears beside Gloria during her trip to L.A. to give a strange anecdote about a woman who is both divorced and not divorced. When he meets Nikki and Mr. Wrench are chased into Yuri at a bowling alley, she meets a man who is implied to be some sort he appears beside each of angel from the Hebrew Bible who them and displays mysterious knowledge of her, Ray about their past while speaking about judgment and Yuri. Yuri's vision of murdered Jews may be a supernatural vision or just a hallucination brought on by blood loss and his knowledge of Cossack history.the afterlife]].
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* AnimalMetaphor: Yuri is associated with wolves. He is a grandchild of the Wolves' Hundred and wears a wolf head for a hat. This is a callback to the similarly associated Lorne Malvo, who has a similar scene threatening an police officer into backing down.
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->''This is a true story. The events depicted took place in Minnesota in 2010. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occured.''
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->''This is a true story. The events depicted took place in Minnesota in 2010. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occured.occurred.''
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''Fargo (Season Three)'' aired on April 19, 2017. It focuses primarily on the feud between the successful Emmit Stussy (Creator/EwanMcGregor) and his brother Ray (also [=McGregor=]), a balding parole officer. When Ray's fiancee-to-be, Nikki Swango (Creator/MaryElizabethWinstead), convinces him to try and steal his brother's priceless stamp, the messy results attract Chief Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) to the Stussy brothers. Ray's continued pursuance of his brother's assets, however, proves distracting to Emmit, who finds himself caught amidst a sketchy business deal with the mysterious V.A. Varga (Creator/DavidThewlis) and his Ukrainian associate, Yuri Gurka (Goran Bogdan).
to:
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* MagicRealism: This season goes more heavily toward the supernatural than previous seasons. When Nikki and Mr. Wrench are chased into a bowling alley, she meets a man who is implied to be some sort of angel from the Hebrew Bible who displays mysterious knowledge of her, Ray and Yuri. Yuri's vision of murdered Jews may be a supernatural vision or just a hallucination brought on by blood loss and his knowledge of Cossack history.
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''Fargo (Season Three)'' aired on April 19, 2017. It focuses primarily on the feud between the successful Emmit Stussy (Creator/EwanMcGregor)and his brother Ray (also [=McGregor=]), a balding parole officer. When Ray's fiancee-to-be, Nikki Swango (Creator/MaryElizabethWinstead), convinces him to try and steal his brother's priceless stamp, the messy results attract Chief Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) to the Stussy brothers. Ray's continued pursuance of his brother's assets, however, proves distracting to Emmit, who finds himself caught amidst a sketchy business deal with the mysterious V.A. Varga (Creator/DavidThewlis) and his Ukrainian associate, Yuri Gurka (Goran Bogdan).
to:
''Fargo (Season Three)'' aired on April 19, 2017. It focuses primarily on the feud between the successful Emmit Stussy (Creator/EwanMcGregor)and (Creator/EwanMcGregor) and his brother Ray (also [=McGregor=]), a balding parole officer. When Ray's fiancee-to-be, Nikki Swango (Creator/MaryElizabethWinstead), convinces him to try and steal his brother's priceless stamp, the messy results attract Chief Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) to the Stussy brothers. Ray's continued pursuance of his brother's assets, however, proves distracting to Emmit, who finds himself caught amidst a sketchy business deal with the mysterious V.A. Varga (Creator/DavidThewlis) and his Ukrainian associate, Yuri Gurka (Goran Bogdan).
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** After Emmit [[spoiler: accidentally kills Ray]], Varga immediately instructs him on how to behave when the police inevitably inform him of the news to draw suspicion off of him. When the police do come a few hours later to inform Emmit, he's borderline drunk, on the verge of breaking down, and immediately starts behaving incredibly suspiciously, forcing Sy to intervene in order to stop him from implicating himself further.
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** After Emmit [[spoiler: accidentally kills Ray]], Varga immediately instructs him on how to behave when the police inevitably inform him of the news to draw suspicion off of him. When the police do come a few hours later to inform Emmit, he's borderline drunk, on the verge of breaking down, and he immediately starts behaving panics and flubs his alibi, making himself look incredibly suspiciously, forcing suspicious. Sy quickly has to intervene in order to stop him from implicating himself further.
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* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:After Varga's henchmen viciously beat up Nikki in the previous episode, she and Ray flee to a motel. Ray realizes he left the getaway money in his apartment and leaves Nikki alone, unaware that one of Varga's henchmen, Meemo, followed them to the motel to finish the job. Meemo hides in the bathroom while Nikki gets some ice, leading the audience to believe that her demise is imminent. Instead, it's ''Ray'' who ends up dead, killed accidentally by Emmit, and Meemo is called away to clean up the scene before he has a chance to kill Nikki.]]
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* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:After Varga's henchmen viciously beat up Nikki in the previous episode, she and Ray flee to a motel. Ray realizes he left the getaway money in his apartment and leaves Nikki alone, unaware that one of Varga's the henchmen, Meemo, followed them to the motel to finish the job. Meemo hides in the bathroom while Nikki gets some ice, leading the audience to believe that her demise is imminent. Instead, it's ''Ray'' who ends up dead, killed accidentally by Emmit, and Meemo is called away to clean up the scene before he has a chance to kill Nikki.]]
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* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:After Varga's henchmen viciously beat up Nikki in the previous episode, she and Ray flee to a motel. Ray realizes he left something in his apartment and leaves Nikki alone, unaware that one of Varga's henchmen, Meemo, followed them to the motel to finish the job. Meemo hides in the bathroom while Nikki gets some ice, leading the audience to believe that her demise is imminent. Instead, it's ''Ray'' who ends up dead, killed accidentally by Emmit, and Meemo is called away to clean up the scene before he has a chance to kill Nikki.]]
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* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:After Varga's henchmen viciously beat up Nikki in the previous episode, she and Ray flee to a motel. Ray realizes he left something the getaway money in his apartment and leaves Nikki alone, unaware that one of Varga's henchmen, Meemo, followed them to the motel to finish the job. Meemo hides in the bathroom while Nikki gets some ice, leading the audience to believe that her demise is imminent. Instead, it's ''Ray'' who ends up dead, killed accidentally by Emmit, and Meemo is called away to clean up the scene before he has a chance to kill Nikki.]]
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* FakeGuestStar: Michael Stuhlbarg as Sy Feltz is only credited as a guest star, despite his massive role in the story.
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** Who does Nikki end up sitting next to on [[spoiler:the bus taking her to jail]]? None other than [[spoiler:Mr. Wrench himself.]]
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** After Emmit [[spoiler: accidentally kills Ray]], Varga immediately instructs him on how to behave when the police inevitably inform him of the news to draw suspicion off of him. When the police do come a few hours later to inform Emmit, he's borderline drunk, on the verge of breaking down, and immediately starts behaving incredibly suspiciously, forcing Sy to intervene in order to stop him from implicating himself further.
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* UnexpectedCharacter: When [[spoiler:Mr. Wrench]] turned up in episode 7, it took the entire audience completely by surprise.
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fargo_season_3.jpg]]
->''This is a true story. The events depicted took place in Minnesota in 2010. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occured.''
-->--'''the text that opens each episode'''
''Fargo (Season Three)'' aired on April 19, 2017. It focuses primarily on the feud between the successful Emmit Stussy (Creator/EwanMcGregor)and his brother Ray (also [=McGregor=]), a balding parole officer. When Ray's fiancee-to-be, Nikki Swango (Creator/MaryElizabethWinstead), convinces him to try and steal his brother's priceless stamp, the messy results attract Chief Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) to the Stussy brothers. Ray's continued pursuance of his brother's assets, however, proves distracting to Emmit, who finds himself caught amidst a sketchy business deal with the mysterious V.A. Varga (Creator/DavidThewlis) and his Ukrainian associate, Yuri Gurka (Goran Bogdan).
The series also features Michael Stuhlbarg, Andy Yu, Olivia Sandoval, and Shea Wigham in supporting roles, among others.
----
!!This series provides examples of:
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: To talk to her son from LA, Gloria had to call her partner, Donny, who then proceed to pull aside the school bus Nathan was on to lend him the phone.
* TheAllegedCar: Ray's piece of shit Corvette, which is falling apart. It's implied it used to be a CoolCar, but that was decades ago and Ray is too broke to keep it in good condition.
* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:Ray eats it about halfway through the season.]]
* AssholeVictim: Howard Zimmerman the Hollywood producer who [[spoiler:conned Thaddeus Mobley out of all the money he had back in TheSeventies]] richly deserved it when [[spoiler:Thaddeus beat him into a coma with his own cane.]]
* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:After Varga's henchmen viciously beat up Nikki in the previous episode, she and Ray flee to a motel. Ray realizes he left something in his apartment and leaves Nikki alone, unaware that one of Varga's henchmen, Meemo, followed them to the motel to finish the job. Meemo hides in the bathroom while Nikki gets some ice, leading the audience to believe that her demise is imminent. Instead, it's ''Ray'' who ends up dead, killed accidentally by Emmit, and Meemo is called away to clean up the scene before he has a chance to kill Nikki.]]
* BeautyInversion: Ray is portly and balding, neither of which really apply to Creator/EwanMcGregor. Emmit represents a slighter case, as he only gets saddled with a ''really'' unfortunate hairstyle.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Informed that Varga has brought a semi-truck into a parking lot they own, Emmit's reaction is that it's against city property codes.
* ContrivedCoincidence: Unlikely coincidences and their consequences are the main theme of the season, and they shape the plot to a greater degree than previous seasons.
** Monumentaly stupid as Maurice may be, what are the odds that after driving 75 miles the wrong way to Eden Valley instead of Eden Prairie he would still run into someone named E. Stussy?
** What are the odds that [[spoiler:the stamp's frame would require repairs just before Nikki broke in to steal it?]]
** This is discussed by Varga who uses the example of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand to point out how coincidences can have momentous effects. Ferdinand survived an assassination attempt earlier in the day but then his driver got lost and stopped the car to get his bearings. Coincidentally, one of the assassins was just a few meters away and seized the opportunity to open fire. Ferdinand died and World War 1 began.
* DealWithTheDevil: As Varga lampshades, Emmitt really should have asked more questions before he took the money.
* EntertaininglyWrong: When Nikki [[spoiler:breaks into Emmit's house to steal the stamp and finds a framed picture of a donkey instead]] she concludes that he has anticipated her move and left her a cunning personal insult, while [[spoiler:moving the stamp to a safety deposit]]. In reality, [[spoiler: the stamp's frame got broken and Emmit just sent to to get fixed.]]
* FanService: Mary Elizabeth Winstead flashes her rear end getting out of a bathtub.
* FemmeFatale: The first season to feature full-blown examples, as Nikki Swango fills this role in the present day while Vivian Lord did in the backstory.
* FictionalCounterpart: A newspaper clipping identifies the sci-fi award Thaddeus Mobley [[spoiler:a.k.a. Ennis Stussy]] won as a "Golden Planet" but the shape of the trophy makes it pretty clear it's supposed to be a stand-in for a Hugo Award.
* ForWantOfANail:
** A flashback reveals that Thaddeus Mobley took his alias, [[spoiler:Ennis Stussy]], from a stamp on a toilet reading [[spoiler:"Dennis Stussy and Sons" with the D worn off]]. This saved his life at the time and also doomed him to die 35 years later and halfway across the country when [[spoiler:he is mistaken for another "E. Stussy" and murdered]].
** "The Lord of No Mercy" gives us two: If Ray hadn't forgotten something in his apartment and went back, [[spoiler:he wouldn't have ended up dead at Emmit's hand]]. And the episode ends with Gloria deciding to turn around and head to Ray's apartment, [[spoiler:unaware that Varga and Meemo are there cleaning up the crime scene at that moment]].
* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: There are three main factions, so to speak, involved in the the season's plot: Chief Gloria Burgle, looking for justice for the murders (the Good); Ray and Nikki, a pair [[spoiler:of murderous petty criminals]] who get a somewhat sympathetic portrayal (the Bad); and the loathsome monster V.M. Varga and his sadistic goons (the Evil). This leaves Emmit and Sy in the unenviable position of being caught between all three.
* HiddenDepths: Both Yuri and Meemo are surprisingly intelligent for goons. Yuri is prone to waxing poetic about Russian history, while Meemo either has some legal knowledge or can fake it convincingly enough to face down an IRS agent.
* ImprovisedWeapon: [[spoiler:Nikki]] comes up with the idea to use an air conditioning unit to [[spoiler:kill Maurice after he fumbles the robbery.]]
* ItsASmallNetAfterAll:
** Blumkin's search for "VM Varga" yields a single result, which is a website carrying Varga's computer virus. Apparently a search for "VM Varga" is so rare that he'll kill anyone who makes one.
** Varga himself makes a search for "Gloria Burgle" and receives 0 hits. Apparently Gloria is such a WalkingTechBane that it extends to everyone with the same name.
* IndyPloy: [[spoiler:Nikki Swango]] reveals a great aptitude for these when [[spoiler:she comes up with a way to kill Maurice and convincingly make it look like an accident]] ''in less than a minute'' and then executes it flawlessly in less than ''two''.
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Ray dies thanks to the stamp that started his stupid feud with Emmit.]]
* LoanShark: Subverted. Emmit thought that he was borrowing money from one and is prepared to pay a hefty interest on the loan. However, the people who gave him the money thought of it as an "investment" and insist that Emmitt pay them back by using his business to launder their money.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident:
** [[spoiler:Maurice]]'s death is passed off as an accident, which is possible because [[spoiler:he was killed by dropping an air conditioning unit on his head.]]
** The death of [[spoiler:Emmit's lawyer, Irv]] is reported as a suicide, even though [[spoiler:he didn't jump of off that parking structure, but was rather thrown off by Varga's goons.]]
* MoonLandingHoax: Varga uses this as an example during his speech on "perception becomes reality." Whether he's saying it really was a hoax or if he's just messing with Sy and Emmit is unclear.
* MuggingTheMonster: Nikki and Ray start messing up Emmit's life and think that the worst that could happen is that Sy will try to get back at them. They are for a very rough surprise when they find that their actions mess with Varga's "investment" in Emmit and Varga does not take such stuff lightly.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: In typical ''Fargo'' fashion [[spoiler:Nikki]] decides that the best solution to the problem of [[spoiler:Maurice fumbling the robbery and blackmailing Ray for it]], is to kill him ''immediately''.
* OddlySmallOrganization: Before the County takeover, the entirety of the Eden Valley police force was made up of only two officers, and that includes the chief[[note]]In 2011, the average in the US for cities with fewer than 10,000 residents was 3.5 officers per 1,000 inhabitants.[[/note]].
* OhCrap:
** Emmit and partner Sy's reaction when Varga makes it clear they can't pay back the "loan" but rather are going to be used to launder money for his criminal organization.
** Also when Varga takes over an office of Emmit's to start bringing in several dozen file folders to be used in their money laundering. Once again, they insist they can pay back the money and can't hide it with their small lots. Varga simply tells them to buy more lots.
-->'''Varga''': There we go. Now you see it. You're trapped. Oh and [[spoiler: condolences on your lawyer.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: With his perfect hairline and chestnut brown hair, you'd expect Emmit to be younger than the balding, grey-haired and weathered Ray, but Emmit is actually the older brother.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: The Stussy brothers occasionally sound like they're Minnesotans by way of Scotland.
* OutsideContextProblem: Varga and his goons are a threat that Ray and Nikki couldn't have possibly seen coming and the ramifications of which they can't possibly understand.
* PolarOppositeTwins: Ray is an overweight balding low-level parole officer barely making ends meet. Emmit is a debonair man into the high life and comes off highly educated. What they have in common is getting in ''way'' over their heads on things.
* RealityEnsues:
** A parole officer is strictly prohibited from having sex with a parolee because of the great potential for abuse. When Ray's bosses find out about his relationship with Nikky they are extremely unhappy and fire him when he tells them that he intends to keep seeing her. In addition this could be considered a violation of Nikky's parole and she could be sent back to prison.
** If you use a massive Hummer to smash not one, but ''two'' cars in a restaurant parking lot ''in broad daylight'', the police are not only going to come looking for you, they're going to find you rather quickly.
* RippedFromThePhoneBook: When he arrives at Eden Valley, Maurice looks up E. Stussy in a gas station's phone book and ripps out the page with his address in full view of the attendant. Not only does it lead to him killing the wrong person, it also provides evidence that the killing wasn't random.
* SiblingRivalry: One of the central themes of the season. Ironically the two genuinely seem intent on settling the rivalry by episode two, only for Sy and Nikki respectively escalate it.
* SoundtrackDissonance: Ray and Sy have a bitter confrontation, indulge in a little FlippingTheBird and Ray's car is totaled to "The Christmas Song."
* StupidCrooks: Maurice might just be the stupidest criminal in the series which is saying a lot given the competition.
* TwinSwitch: Ray manages to imitate Emmit to get into his bank vault, taking $10,000.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Although they're not married yet, Ray and Nikki. Not only is he probably old enough to be her father, he looks like an overweight gnome, while she is a gorgeous bombshell.
* UnPerson:
** This concept is examined as it applies to the Information Age where so much of our identity is connected with our online presence .
** Varga has almost no online footprint and has arranged that all searches for his name go to a single website that he controls.
** Gloria does not exist as far as the Internet is concerned because she has no website or social network presence. This is taken even farther when motion sensors all over the country fail to recognize her presence and automatic doors fail to open for her. It's as if technology is disputing her existence.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Emmit reads a newspaper article about [[spoiler: Ennis Stussy's]] murder, and doesn't even comment on the similarities in name and location.
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Both Emmit and Sy are confused by Varga's very strange speaking manner, leading to them to ask this:
-->'''Sy Feltz:''' Where are you from?
-->'''V.M. Varga:''' [[NonAnswer America]].
* WickedCultured: The villainous V.M. Varga is well-traveled and multilingual.
* XanatosSpeedChess: Nikki's greatest asset isn't her ability to come up with new plans or adapt the old ones when they fail or get derailed.
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->''This is a true story. The events depicted took place in Minnesota in 2010. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occured.''
-->--'''the text that opens each episode'''
''Fargo (Season Three)'' aired on April 19, 2017. It focuses primarily on the feud between the successful Emmit Stussy (Creator/EwanMcGregor)and his brother Ray (also [=McGregor=]), a balding parole officer. When Ray's fiancee-to-be, Nikki Swango (Creator/MaryElizabethWinstead), convinces him to try and steal his brother's priceless stamp, the messy results attract Chief Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) to the Stussy brothers. Ray's continued pursuance of his brother's assets, however, proves distracting to Emmit, who finds himself caught amidst a sketchy business deal with the mysterious V.A. Varga (Creator/DavidThewlis) and his Ukrainian associate, Yuri Gurka (Goran Bogdan).
The series also features Michael Stuhlbarg, Andy Yu, Olivia Sandoval, and Shea Wigham in supporting roles, among others.
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!!This series provides examples of:
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: To talk to her son from LA, Gloria had to call her partner, Donny, who then proceed to pull aside the school bus Nathan was on to lend him the phone.
* TheAllegedCar: Ray's piece of shit Corvette, which is falling apart. It's implied it used to be a CoolCar, but that was decades ago and Ray is too broke to keep it in good condition.
* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:Ray eats it about halfway through the season.]]
* AssholeVictim: Howard Zimmerman the Hollywood producer who [[spoiler:conned Thaddeus Mobley out of all the money he had back in TheSeventies]] richly deserved it when [[spoiler:Thaddeus beat him into a coma with his own cane.]]
* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:After Varga's henchmen viciously beat up Nikki in the previous episode, she and Ray flee to a motel. Ray realizes he left something in his apartment and leaves Nikki alone, unaware that one of Varga's henchmen, Meemo, followed them to the motel to finish the job. Meemo hides in the bathroom while Nikki gets some ice, leading the audience to believe that her demise is imminent. Instead, it's ''Ray'' who ends up dead, killed accidentally by Emmit, and Meemo is called away to clean up the scene before he has a chance to kill Nikki.]]
* BeautyInversion: Ray is portly and balding, neither of which really apply to Creator/EwanMcGregor. Emmit represents a slighter case, as he only gets saddled with a ''really'' unfortunate hairstyle.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Informed that Varga has brought a semi-truck into a parking lot they own, Emmit's reaction is that it's against city property codes.
* ContrivedCoincidence: Unlikely coincidences and their consequences are the main theme of the season, and they shape the plot to a greater degree than previous seasons.
** Monumentaly stupid as Maurice may be, what are the odds that after driving 75 miles the wrong way to Eden Valley instead of Eden Prairie he would still run into someone named E. Stussy?
** What are the odds that [[spoiler:the stamp's frame would require repairs just before Nikki broke in to steal it?]]
** This is discussed by Varga who uses the example of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand to point out how coincidences can have momentous effects. Ferdinand survived an assassination attempt earlier in the day but then his driver got lost and stopped the car to get his bearings. Coincidentally, one of the assassins was just a few meters away and seized the opportunity to open fire. Ferdinand died and World War 1 began.
* DealWithTheDevil: As Varga lampshades, Emmitt really should have asked more questions before he took the money.
* EntertaininglyWrong: When Nikki [[spoiler:breaks into Emmit's house to steal the stamp and finds a framed picture of a donkey instead]] she concludes that he has anticipated her move and left her a cunning personal insult, while [[spoiler:moving the stamp to a safety deposit]]. In reality, [[spoiler: the stamp's frame got broken and Emmit just sent to to get fixed.]]
* FanService: Mary Elizabeth Winstead flashes her rear end getting out of a bathtub.
* FemmeFatale: The first season to feature full-blown examples, as Nikki Swango fills this role in the present day while Vivian Lord did in the backstory.
* FictionalCounterpart: A newspaper clipping identifies the sci-fi award Thaddeus Mobley [[spoiler:a.k.a. Ennis Stussy]] won as a "Golden Planet" but the shape of the trophy makes it pretty clear it's supposed to be a stand-in for a Hugo Award.
* ForWantOfANail:
** A flashback reveals that Thaddeus Mobley took his alias, [[spoiler:Ennis Stussy]], from a stamp on a toilet reading [[spoiler:"Dennis Stussy and Sons" with the D worn off]]. This saved his life at the time and also doomed him to die 35 years later and halfway across the country when [[spoiler:he is mistaken for another "E. Stussy" and murdered]].
** "The Lord of No Mercy" gives us two: If Ray hadn't forgotten something in his apartment and went back, [[spoiler:he wouldn't have ended up dead at Emmit's hand]]. And the episode ends with Gloria deciding to turn around and head to Ray's apartment, [[spoiler:unaware that Varga and Meemo are there cleaning up the crime scene at that moment]].
* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: There are three main factions, so to speak, involved in the the season's plot: Chief Gloria Burgle, looking for justice for the murders (the Good); Ray and Nikki, a pair [[spoiler:of murderous petty criminals]] who get a somewhat sympathetic portrayal (the Bad); and the loathsome monster V.M. Varga and his sadistic goons (the Evil). This leaves Emmit and Sy in the unenviable position of being caught between all three.
* HiddenDepths: Both Yuri and Meemo are surprisingly intelligent for goons. Yuri is prone to waxing poetic about Russian history, while Meemo either has some legal knowledge or can fake it convincingly enough to face down an IRS agent.
* ImprovisedWeapon: [[spoiler:Nikki]] comes up with the idea to use an air conditioning unit to [[spoiler:kill Maurice after he fumbles the robbery.]]
* ItsASmallNetAfterAll:
** Blumkin's search for "VM Varga" yields a single result, which is a website carrying Varga's computer virus. Apparently a search for "VM Varga" is so rare that he'll kill anyone who makes one.
** Varga himself makes a search for "Gloria Burgle" and receives 0 hits. Apparently Gloria is such a WalkingTechBane that it extends to everyone with the same name.
* IndyPloy: [[spoiler:Nikki Swango]] reveals a great aptitude for these when [[spoiler:she comes up with a way to kill Maurice and convincingly make it look like an accident]] ''in less than a minute'' and then executes it flawlessly in less than ''two''.
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Ray dies thanks to the stamp that started his stupid feud with Emmit.]]
* LoanShark: Subverted. Emmit thought that he was borrowing money from one and is prepared to pay a hefty interest on the loan. However, the people who gave him the money thought of it as an "investment" and insist that Emmitt pay them back by using his business to launder their money.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident:
** [[spoiler:Maurice]]'s death is passed off as an accident, which is possible because [[spoiler:he was killed by dropping an air conditioning unit on his head.]]
** The death of [[spoiler:Emmit's lawyer, Irv]] is reported as a suicide, even though [[spoiler:he didn't jump of off that parking structure, but was rather thrown off by Varga's goons.]]
* MoonLandingHoax: Varga uses this as an example during his speech on "perception becomes reality." Whether he's saying it really was a hoax or if he's just messing with Sy and Emmit is unclear.
* MuggingTheMonster: Nikki and Ray start messing up Emmit's life and think that the worst that could happen is that Sy will try to get back at them. They are for a very rough surprise when they find that their actions mess with Varga's "investment" in Emmit and Varga does not take such stuff lightly.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: In typical ''Fargo'' fashion [[spoiler:Nikki]] decides that the best solution to the problem of [[spoiler:Maurice fumbling the robbery and blackmailing Ray for it]], is to kill him ''immediately''.
* OddlySmallOrganization: Before the County takeover, the entirety of the Eden Valley police force was made up of only two officers, and that includes the chief[[note]]In 2011, the average in the US for cities with fewer than 10,000 residents was 3.5 officers per 1,000 inhabitants.[[/note]].
* OhCrap:
** Emmit and partner Sy's reaction when Varga makes it clear they can't pay back the "loan" but rather are going to be used to launder money for his criminal organization.
** Also when Varga takes over an office of Emmit's to start bringing in several dozen file folders to be used in their money laundering. Once again, they insist they can pay back the money and can't hide it with their small lots. Varga simply tells them to buy more lots.
-->'''Varga''': There we go. Now you see it. You're trapped. Oh and [[spoiler: condolences on your lawyer.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: With his perfect hairline and chestnut brown hair, you'd expect Emmit to be younger than the balding, grey-haired and weathered Ray, but Emmit is actually the older brother.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: The Stussy brothers occasionally sound like they're Minnesotans by way of Scotland.
* OutsideContextProblem: Varga and his goons are a threat that Ray and Nikki couldn't have possibly seen coming and the ramifications of which they can't possibly understand.
* PolarOppositeTwins: Ray is an overweight balding low-level parole officer barely making ends meet. Emmit is a debonair man into the high life and comes off highly educated. What they have in common is getting in ''way'' over their heads on things.
* RealityEnsues:
** A parole officer is strictly prohibited from having sex with a parolee because of the great potential for abuse. When Ray's bosses find out about his relationship with Nikky they are extremely unhappy and fire him when he tells them that he intends to keep seeing her. In addition this could be considered a violation of Nikky's parole and she could be sent back to prison.
** If you use a massive Hummer to smash not one, but ''two'' cars in a restaurant parking lot ''in broad daylight'', the police are not only going to come looking for you, they're going to find you rather quickly.
* RippedFromThePhoneBook: When he arrives at Eden Valley, Maurice looks up E. Stussy in a gas station's phone book and ripps out the page with his address in full view of the attendant. Not only does it lead to him killing the wrong person, it also provides evidence that the killing wasn't random.
* SiblingRivalry: One of the central themes of the season. Ironically the two genuinely seem intent on settling the rivalry by episode two, only for Sy and Nikki respectively escalate it.
* SoundtrackDissonance: Ray and Sy have a bitter confrontation, indulge in a little FlippingTheBird and Ray's car is totaled to "The Christmas Song."
* StupidCrooks: Maurice might just be the stupidest criminal in the series which is saying a lot given the competition.
* TwinSwitch: Ray manages to imitate Emmit to get into his bank vault, taking $10,000.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Although they're not married yet, Ray and Nikki. Not only is he probably old enough to be her father, he looks like an overweight gnome, while she is a gorgeous bombshell.
* UnPerson:
** This concept is examined as it applies to the Information Age where so much of our identity is connected with our online presence .
** Varga has almost no online footprint and has arranged that all searches for his name go to a single website that he controls.
** Gloria does not exist as far as the Internet is concerned because she has no website or social network presence. This is taken even farther when motion sensors all over the country fail to recognize her presence and automatic doors fail to open for her. It's as if technology is disputing her existence.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Emmit reads a newspaper article about [[spoiler: Ennis Stussy's]] murder, and doesn't even comment on the similarities in name and location.
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Both Emmit and Sy are confused by Varga's very strange speaking manner, leading to them to ask this:
-->'''Sy Feltz:''' Where are you from?
-->'''V.M. Varga:''' [[NonAnswer America]].
* WickedCultured: The villainous V.M. Varga is well-traveled and multilingual.
* XanatosSpeedChess: Nikki's greatest asset isn't her ability to come up with new plans or adapt the old ones when they fail or get derailed.
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