TV Review: FARGO: Season 1, Episode 7: Who Shaves the Barber? [FX]

FX’s Fargo Who Shaves the Barber? TV Show Review. Fargo: Season 1, Episode 7: Who Shaves the Barber? pins the audience to their seats and drops their jaws before the title card even shows up. The once gentle Lester now leaves the police precinct with a smirk, his brother firmly planted under the bus.

It’s been only two days since Lester killed his wife and inadvertently caused the death of the Sheriff, but those days have seen more action than most lifetimes. There have been at least five more (important character) deaths spawning from Lester’s actions, and the police only know about three of them. Molly Solverson is in the hospital after Gus Grimly accidentally shot her during last episode’s whiteout gunfight, which is just about the worst thing you can do to someone you are trying to flirt with. But truly the most fascinating development lies with Lester.

Lester has been a mostly sympathetic character up until this point. However, that tide may be turning. After planting some clues to incriminate his brother last week, Lester seems to be embracing an evil side that he never knew he had before. It sincerely throws a new light on this character, who has been pushed around most of the series. His readiness to tear his brother’s family apart is startling, and Martin Freeman sells it convincingly. And even though Lester is the reason Sam Hess is now dead, it doesn’t look like he’s done getting even with his dead bully. Lester seems to be having a little too much fun being bad.

After the rather stunning opening in which Lester officially turns to the dark side, the episode settles back into subtle, reactionary mode. The investigations are becoming clearer, even if Molly is reaching the correct conclusions with the wrong evidence. Lorne is also on the hunt for those from Fargo that betrayed him, and in one brilliant scene of clever sound mixing and restrained cinematography, he gets his revenge. While Lorne is just as cool as ever, the show is noticeably missing the goofy interplay between him and now-deceased Don.

Finally, there’s an unexpected cameo by comedy duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, better known as Key and Peele from their Comedy Central show of the same name. The pair play FBI agents that don’t seem to be very good at their job.

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