Fargo has always been weird. It’s a show where UFOs show up in the middle of a shootout and fish rain from the sky in the suburbs. But when fargo tv show season 4 dropped, people didn't just find it weird—they found it jarring. It swapped the snow of Minnesota for the humid, dusty streets of 1950s Kansas City. It traded the "polite" Midwestern murderer for a sprawling war between Black and Italian syndicates. Some fans hated it. They felt it lost the "Fargo-ness" of the previous years.
But honestly? They’re kinda wrong.
If you actually sit with it, season 4 is the skeleton key for the entire franchise. It’s the origin story of the chaos. It’s the moment the series stopped being about quirky crimes and started being about how America itself was built on a series of bloody handshakes. Noah Hawley took a massive risk here. He moved away from the Coen Brothers’ Fargo movie vibes and leaned harder into Miller’s Crossing.
The Gang War That Nobody Expected
The setup is a bit of a mouthful. You’ve got the Cannon Limited, led by Loy Cannon (Chris Rock), facing off against the Fadda Family, an Italian mob outfit. To keep the peace, they trade sons. It’s a tradition in this version of Kansas City. The Italians give a son to the Black gang, and the Black gang gives a son to the Italians.
It’s a recipe for disaster.
Chris Rock was a polarizing choice for Loy. People know him as the guy who makes jokes about taxes and relationships, not a cold-blooded crime boss. But that’s the point. Loy Cannon is a man who is constantly "on." He has to be smarter, faster, and more innovative than the established white power structures just to stay alive. He invents the credit card—or a version of it—only to be told by a white banker that it’s a "nice idea" but not for him.
The Fadda family is led by Josto (Jason Schwartzman), who is basically a walking insecurity complex. He’s short, he’s loud, and he’s constantly trying to prove he’s a "real American." The tension between these two groups isn't just about territory. It’s about assimilation. Who gets to be part of the American Dream? Who is allowed to walk through the front door, and who has to use the service entrance?
Oraetta Mayflower and the Banality of Evil
If there is one character who keeps this firmly in the Fargo universe, it’s Oraetta Mayflower. Jessie Buckley is absolutely terrifying in this role. She’s a nurse who fancies herself an "Angel of Mercy," which is just a polite way of saying she’s a serial killer who poisons her patients with ipecac and worse.
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She talks in that singsong, "Minnesota Nice" accent that feels like a warm hug—right before she stabs you in the neck.
Oraetta is the wild card. While Loy and Josto are playing a high-stakes game of chess, Oraetta is over in the corner playing with matches. She represents the chaos that defines the series. She has no grand political motive. She isn't trying to build an empire. She just enjoys the power of life and death. Her subplot with Ethelrida Pearl Smutny (Emyri Crutchfield), the brilliant teenager who catches onto Oraetta’s crimes, is arguably the most "Fargo" part of the season. Ethelrida is the moral center. She’s the Marge Gunderson or the Lou Solverson of the year, just without a badge.
Why the Critics Were Split
The pacing was the big sticking point. Fargo tv show season 4 is dense. It’s got a cast of about twenty-five main characters, and sometimes it feels like the show is trying to do too much. You’ve got the gay outlaws Zelmare and Swanee. You’ve got the Mormon US Marshal Dick "Deafy" Wickware (played with amazing stiffness by Timothy Olyphant). You’ve got the ghost of a slave ship captain haunting the Smutny house.
It’s a lot.
Some viewers felt the monologues went on for too long. Hawley loves a good speech, and in season 4, everyone has a story to tell about their grandfather or a metaphor about a fox and a rabbit. But if you look at the historical context, these characters are fighting to be heard. Their long-windedness is a defense mechanism. If they stop talking, they might cease to exist in a world that wants to erase them.
Real Historical Anchors
Unlike some other seasons, this one leans heavily into real-world history.
- The Great Migration: The influx of Black families moving North for a better life.
- Italian Immigration: The struggle of the "new" white people to be accepted by the "old" white establishment.
- The Birth of Corporate Crime: The transition from street brawls to boardrooms.
The show suggests that the "civilized" world we see in the later seasons (chronologically) was bought and paid for with the blood of these 1950s street wars.
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The Mike Milligan Connection
If you haven't finished the season, stop reading for a second.
The reveal at the end—that the young boy Satchel Cannon grows up to be Mike Milligan from Season 2—is one of the most satisfying "aha!" moments in modern TV. It recontextualizes everything Bokeem Woodbine did in that earlier season. You realize Mike Milligan’s obsession with corporate structure and his poetic way of speaking weren't just quirks. They were survival traits passed down from his father, Loy, and his mentor, Rabbi Milligan (Jason Schwartzman’s brother in the show, played by Ben Whishaw).
Rabbi Milligan is the heart of the season. He’s a man caught between two worlds, having betrayed his own family to survive. His relationship with Satchel is the only truly "good" thing in a season filled with greed. When they are out on the road together, it feels like a dark version of The Wizard of Oz, complete with a literal tornado.
Misconceptions About the Tone
People often say this season isn't funny. I disagree. It’s just a different kind of funny. It’s more satirical and biting. The scene where the Italian mobsters try to "act natural" in a public park is pure Coen Brothers gold. The physical comedy of Gaetano Fadda (Salvatore Esposito)—a man who looks like he’s about to explode out of his own skin—is hilarious in a grotesque way.
It’s also surprisingly bleak. The ending isn't a "win" for anyone. It’s a cynical look at how the gears of America grind people up. The Italians eventually get "whited," meaning they are accepted into the mainstream, while the Cannons are pushed back to the margins.
How to Approach a Rewatch
If you’re going back to fargo tv show season 4, don't expect it to be a cozy murder mystery. Treat it like a historical epic that happens to have some "Fargo" weirdness sprinkled on top.
Pay attention to:
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- The Wardrobe: The colors are highly symbolic. Loy is often in vibrant blues and reds, while the Faddas are in muddy browns and greys.
- The Sound Design: The score is percussion-heavy. It sounds like a heartbeat or a ticking clock. It’s meant to keep you on edge.
- The Parallels: Look at how Ethelrida’s school experience mirrors Loy’s business struggles. Both are being graded by people who want them to fail.
Making Sense of the Chaos
Ultimately, this season is about the "outlaws" of history. The people who weren't allowed to have a legitimate seat at the table, so they built their own table in the basement. It’s about the cost of entry into the United States.
Is it the best season? Probably not. Season 2 is almost perfect, and Season 1 has that lightning-in-a-bottle energy of Billy Bob Thornton. But Season 4 is the most ambitious. It’s the one that takes the biggest swing. Even if it doesn't always hit a home run, it’s far more interesting than 90% of what’s on television.
It demands your full attention. You can’t scroll on your phone while watching this one, or you’ll miss a crucial piece of the puzzle. It’s a slow burn that ends in a conflagration.
If you want to get the most out of your viewing experience, here is how you should actually tackle it. Start by watching the first two episodes back-to-back to get the rhythm of the dialogue. Don't worry about memorizing every name in the Fadda family immediately; focus on Josto and Gaetano. By the time you reach the "East/West" episode (Episode 9), which is filmed in stunning black and white, everything will click. That episode alone is a masterpiece of television, a standalone story that justifies the existence of the entire season.
Take it for what it is: a sprawling, messy, violent, and deeply intellectual look at the roots of the American Midwest. It’s not "Minnesota Nice." It’s "Kansas City Cruel." And that’s exactly why it works.
Practical Steps for a Better Fargo Experience:
- Watch in chronological order: If the anthology format confuses you, try watching Season 4 first, then Season 2, then Season 1, then Season 3, then Season 5. It creates a massive, decades-spanning epic about the evolution of crime.
- Track the "True Story" disclaimer: Notice how the date changes in the opening credits. It’s a meta-commentary on how we mythologize the past.
- Research the 1950 Kansas City Massacre: While the show is fictional, it draws heavy inspiration from the real-world violence that occurred when the various syndicates in Missouri began to clash over the burgeoning gambling and narcotics trades. This adds a layer of grit that makes the fictional Cannon/Fadda war feel much more grounded.