Published: Jul 10, pm. Was it a sequel? In other ways, not really, especially as the show closes on a pregnant female police officer investigating multiple murders with her dopey husband in the periphery, which suggests that the show was more borrowing from the movie than building on it.
Perhaps the biggest reason that I hesitate to call the show great, however, is its treatment of women. The thing about truly great shows is that they write their female characters as interesting individuals, rather than just help meets for their male leads.
Whereas in mediocre shows, nearly all of the female characters can be identified by their relation to men β wives, daughters, sisters, girlfriends, mothers.
And she was awesome! And not necessarily conventionally attractive! In a word, no. On the surface, though, how great is Molly? So how could a character like that not be progressive? In short, Molly is offered as a Strong Female Character almost as a foil to all of the other women of Fargo.
You can see what I mean right from the start. When Lester savagely beats his wife to death with a hammer, the writers seem to have intended for a small measure of catharsis. Gina Hess Kate Walsh and Helena Milos Allegra Fulton are presented as nasty, opportunistic gold-diggers clinging on to their fading looks. Hess to get the hell out. And she shows up all of twice. How could she not be a feminist icon? Does overt sexism happen? And maybe this placement of Molly within the realm of the show would be okay if her character was then vindicated in the end.
