I really don't like the way they've handled Tommy's rape on this show. He wasn't "fucked" but was violated.

""Psychosis" is a laughable overstatement…"

But you're forgetting that figures like Floyd Gerhardt serve as counterpoints to Constance's smarmy faux feminism. Floyd's advice to Simone that women are worthy of greater rights is genuine and is actualized by her own status as a powerful and important figure within the Gerhardt organization.

You're confounding the issue. The fact that Ed experiences privilege in his marriage to Peg doesn't negate the fact that he loves her and is committed to preserving their marriage.

I personally feel as if Peg and Ed had communication issues from the beginning before her boss entered the picture. But you raise a very good point about how cynically Connie uses feminist mantras in hopes of sexually exploiting Peg. I love that weathered cynicism which has become a staple of Fargo's drama.

I don't find your ad populum appeal to be very convincing here.

Typo.

The advent of Reaganism in American politics seems to be the major metaphor for this season or else Hawley's decision to begin the season with that 1940s "behind the scenes" clip of a B-movie Western director and an Indian extra waiting for Reagan to show up on set would be a non sequitur. His looming cultural…

I also have zero doubt that Peggy has deeper seated issues. Martial patriarchy is one thing, but her willingness to jeopardize her and Ed's lives in order to realize her dream of attending a LifeSpring class seems to be the manifestation of a larger psychosis. I just think that Peggy wouldn't have been so wacky had…

The fact that Ed doesn't have to actively exert his will in defining their marriage is actually how traditional patriarchy works, especially in your typical 1970s working-class Midwestern household. The "soft patriarchy" which implicitly accepts as a given that men make the final household decisions without consulting…

This season's unfolding tragedy can be seen as a social commentary upon the late 1970s United States, particularly as it relates to the question of American cultural decline. Whereas the last episode focused on the myth of American exceptionalism, as epitomized by Reagan's "City on the Hill" speech extolling the…

I also read the episode title ("Rhinoceros") as invoking the Ionesco play. But I found the metaphor of one individual conscientiously seeking to maintain sanity against a rising tide of hysteria to not just extend to Karl but to various figures imploring for reason against the chaos around them. In particular, Hank…

That's interesting because I thought this was by far the most allegorical episode in the entire show's catalog. Matt was Job, St. Joseph, The Good Samaritan, and Jesus Christ all in one 50 minute story arch.

So don't worry ladies. If Brad Pitt becomes a serial rapist it really isn't rape.

Lots of men get excited during the act of rape for various reasons, including as part of an emotional response to the fear just like there are women who get excited and orgasm during rape.

You're missing the forest for the trees if you're getting caught up in the minutiae of plot mechanics for an allegory. Its like saying the story of Christmas isn't enjoyable because there is no way a homeowner would allow a pregnant woman to conceive in a barn.

If it was I didn't the character development in showing how the trauma influenced his decision to use his powers.

Its really problematic that people excuse rape because of the attractiveness of the perpetrator.

This episode was far better than the Indian Casino episode from Season 1. This actually reached a symbolic/allegorical mode of storytelling rarely pulled off at so high a level on TV. I was touched by the Judeo-Christian themes epitomized in Matt's devotion to his wife in the face of government persecution (Joseph),…

I don't think its stupid at all. Again, that you're projection.