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How FARGO Season 3 Kinda Mirrors PETER AND THE WOLF

How FARGO Season 3 Kinda Mirrors PETER AND THE WOLF

Continuing Noah Hawley’s love of parable and fable in TV storytelling, the third installment of his anthology series, Fargo, is set up as a mirror to the classic Russian musical story, Peter and the Wolf. In fact, at the 2017 Television Critics Association Winter Tour, the new FX series was set up, complete with that iconic music, in a visual reel of what the show intends to be (Sorry, no spoilers!). But wait: if every character is in the grey area—who ends up the wolf?

Apparently, no one in the cast really knows, but that’s also the fun of Hawley’s take on the Coen Brothers’ world:

“[Noah] likes all the characters to feel like they could be a hero or a villain at any given moment,” explained Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who plays the feline Nikki Swango, a seeming love interest for one of Ewan McGregor‘s twin brothers. “Nikki definitely falls between the two — she definitely has a history and a past and a bit of a dark side to her. She’s incredibly smart in a street-savvy way, but I’m still figuring her out, to be honest.”

But, she added, “[Nikki] definitely has the capacity to be conniving as a cat maybe would.”

The rest of the actors seem to agree with the sentiment, as David Thewlis stated about his own character, V.M. Vargas, “he’s a very mysterious character from out of time who may be very ill-mannered,” adding that Vargas is a “very Machiavellian character.”

Being set in 2010—the most modern era of the series to date—puts it very close to the season one story, set in 2006. So will we see any Easter Eggs? Yes, says executive producer Warren Littlefield: “Each season of Fargo is a chapter form that book and yes, we will have a kiss-in to season one that we think is appropriate … There are thematic touches and some character kisses as well.”

But before you scream “fan service overload!” have no fear—the Cohen brothers definitely approve of everything that’s happening. (And I mean, really, do you think they’d be all about that?) “They really believe that Noah has the vision for the series.”

Perhaps the biggest question mark on the season is its Peter—or rather, Peters, given that this season’s star, Ewan McGregor, is playing TWO characters (brothers that aren’t, in fact, twins named Emmit and Ray Stussy). For McGregor, the biggest question mark is the accent, the most challenging of his life.

“The challenge is to try and master the accent which is really very, very difficult, it’s very strange,” explained McGregor before adding, “it’s the hardest accent I’ve ever done and I’ve done Dutch once — but this was worse.”

Playing two characters, however, is far from foreign for McGregor, who’s played a clone (and the clonee—also is that a word?) in The Island and also—spoiler alert—god AND the devil in Last Days in the Desert. Thankfully, for McGregor, “they’re brothers but they’re not twins, and their life paths have been very different from one another” which allows him a bit more wiggle room than in, say, The Island.

But don’t expect familial bliss or two brothers in harmony, as evidenced by Michael Stuhlbarg’s character, a dear friend of Emmit’s named Sy Feltz: “They’re almost more brotherly than his other brother. He finds himself in and out of their relationship in interesting ways.”

Featured Image: Focus Features


Alicia Lutes is the Managing Editor of Nerdist, creator/host of Fangirling, and is documenting all the shenanigans at this year’s TCAs on Twitter!

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