History Series / FargoSeasonThree

* SerialKiller: [[spoiler: Varga covers his tracks by having his men murder two other men named Stussy and then paying a random homeless man to confess to being a serial killer who exclusively hunts people with that surname]].

[[Series/FargoSeasonOne 1]] | [[Series/FargoSeasonTwo 2]] | '''3''' | [[Series/FargoSeasonFour 4| [[Series/FargoSeasonFive 5]]]]]]

[[Series/FargoSeasonOne 1]] | [[Series/FargoSeasonTwo 2]] | '''3''' | [[Series/FargoSeasonFour 4| [[Series/FargoSeasonFive 5]]]]

[[Series/FargoSeasonOne 1]] | [[Series/FargoSeasonTwo 2]] | '''3''' | [[Series/FargoSeasonFour 4| [[Series/FargoSeasonFive 5]]]]]]]]

[[Series/FargoSeasonOne 1]] | [[Series/FargoSeasonTwo 2]] | '''3''' | [[Series/FargoSeasonFour 4| [[Series/FargoSeasonFive 5]]]]]]

[[WMG:[[center:[-'''Seasons of ''Series/{{Fargo}}'''''\\
[[Series/FargoSeasonOne 1]] | [[Series/FargoSeasonTwo 2]] | '''3''' | [[Series/FargoSeasonFour 4]]-]]]]]

* ShoutOut:
** The names Varga and Ehrmantraut, like Mike and Nacho in ''Series/{{Breaking Bad}}''/''Series/{{Better Call Saul}}''.
** Similarly, [[spoiler:in the finale, Varga gives his name as]] [[ComicBook/''IronFist'' Daniel Rand]].

* ShoutOut: The names Varga and Ehrmantraut, like Mike and Nacho in ''Series/{{BreakingBad}}''/''Series/{{Better Call Saul}}.
** Similarly, [[spoiler:in the finale, Varga gives his name as [[series/''IronFist'' Daniel Rand]].]]

* Shout Out: The names Varga and Ehrmantraut, like Mike and Nacho in Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul.

* KickTheDog / PetTheDog: Varga uses both methods to intimidate Emmit and Sy into fallingnin line with his plans. He emphasizes his intention to make Emmit rich, posits himself as Emmit's protector while nurturing his growing paranoia, and even comforts Emmit in his own odd way by reciting a childhood nursery rhyme. Contrast that with how Varga treats Sy: an endless stream of humiliation and intimidation, including insulting Sy's wife to his face and sticking his johnson into Sy's mug before forcing him to drink out of it.

** Before the County takeover, the entirety of the Eden Valley police force was made up of only two 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]].

* RealityEnsues:
** Ray and Nikki may genuinely love each other, but 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 Nikki, they are extremely unhappy, and they fire him when he tells them that he intends to keep seeing her. In addition, this could be considered a violation of Nikki's parole and she could be sent back to prison.
** Sy uses a massive Hummer to smash not only Ray's Corvette, but another unlucky passerby's Subaru in a restaurant parking lot ''in broad daylight''. It only takes a few days for the police to track Sy down and seek to question him.
** After Emmit [[spoiler:accidentally kills Ray]], Varga 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 immediately panics and flubs his alibi, making himself look incredibly suspicious. Sy quickly has to intervene in order to stop him from implicating himself further.
** Walking around the forest wearing a wolf's head and pelt is an excellent way to get yourself shot by hunters.

The series also features Creator/MichaelStuhlbarg, Andy Yu, Olivia Sandoval, and Creator/SheaWhigham in supporting roles, among others.

* DistractedByTheSexy: Used and/of PlayedForLaughs in episode one "The Law of Vacant Places," when Nikki emerges from the bathtub to distract Maurice and allow Ray a chance to wrestle the gun away. He fails in his attempt, but they emerge alive, regardless.

* SiblingRivalry: One of the central themes of the season. Ironically, Ray and Emmit genuinely seem intent on settling their rivalry by episode two, only for Sy and Nikki to escalate it.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Yuri Gurka takes pride in his Russian heritage and likes to brag about his Cossack ancestors who [[RapePillageAndBurn murdered thousands of Jews during the Uman massacre]]. The actual [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Uman Uman massacre]] was committed by Ukrainian Haidamaks with '''no''' Russian forces involved. That being said, the Russian Empire was at that time aligned with the UsefulNotes/PolishLithuanianCommonwealth, and the Russian troops fought on its side ''against'' the Cossacks (which means that Russians and Jews were de facto on the same side).
** Gurka also gives a... [[{{Understatement}} somewhat distorted]] description of Russian history:

The third season of ''Series/{{Fargo}}'' aired on April 19, 2017. It focuses primarily on the feud between parking lot mogul 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 Eden Valley police 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 crooked business deal with the mysterious crimelord V.M. Varga (Creator/DavidThewlis).

* {{Homage}}: The bowling alley scene in Episode 8 is a pretty clear one to ''Film/TheBigLebowski''. Ray Wise's casting as [[spoiler: an AmbiguouslyHuman character who appears in an otherworldly location to give cryptic advice to the protagonist]] would also seem to be one to ''Series/TwinPeaks''.

* AmbiguouslyHuman: [[spoiler: Paul Murane is ''heavily'' implied to be a spirit of some kind]].

* FlyingDutchman: Paul Muranne is hinted to be the Wandering Jew, exhibiting a number of MagicRealism properties and bearing the name given to the Wandering Jew in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_Writ_by_a_Turkish_Spy Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy]].

* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: [[spoiler: A mysterious bowling alley in the middle of the wilderness, whose sole patron appears to be [[AmbiguouslyHuman Paul Murane]].]]

* MagicRealism: This season goes more heavily toward the supernatural than previous 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 Yuri at a bowling alley, he appears beside each of them and displays mysterious knowledge about their past while speaking about judgment and the afterlife.]]

* MeaningfulName: Maurice la Fay's name is very similar to [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Morrigan le Fay]].

* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Maurice la Fay is an absolute dumbass, but that doesn't stop him from [[spoiler: breaking into an old man's house and murdering him by ''gluing his nose and mouth shut'']].

* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: [[spoiler: A mysterious bowling alley in the middle of the wilderness, whose sole patron appears to be [[TheWanderingJew Paul Murane]].]]