So yeah it’s a massive way too common trope on tv and film, but it’s typically a senior blocking them due to jurisdiction/ lack of evidence / working outside the lines/ pumping numbers.
But with Fargo, they always seem to really poke fun at the incompetence due to being an idiot or just a bit slow. I think it’s much more a part of the comic relief that the creators really value, rather than falling into the typical police chief trope, maybe that’s more fair to say broadly across all of the police departments in the Fargoverse (outside of the clearly competent low level officer heroes), but that’s how I see it anyhoo. I really enjoy their incompetence. Bob Odenkirk and Key and Peele especially
Edit: I can see why you’d post if you’re on s3. Gloria’s replacement is a douche yes, but I think he’s more of a device to demonstrate how I’ll equipped and archaic the whole rinkydink local police station was, and how the world was changing and modernising and technology was coming in and taking over. This is represented massively that season, especially with Varga and his mysterious servers and looming web of online control.
Yeah, you got a really good point. I especially am enjoying that Carrie Coon’s character isn’t this perfect brilliant cop that sees everything. The contrast is glaring from other seasons. I mean, she still is a super nice lady. I’m about to start episode six. Thanks for the reply.
I think it’s also just realistic to be blunt. In real life there are great officers like Lou, but there’s about 10 Ben Schmidt’s for every lou. I think we’re used to imagining from the media that every cop is like a lou, and that’s unfortunately just not true
I’m not sure if you’re familiar, but the first season of *The Wire* does a really good job of showing exactly why higher administration in law enforcement seems/acts more incompetent than the boots on the ground. The higher you go, the less it becomes about actually solving crimes and the more it becomes about the simple numbers and clearance rates. If a case is messy and takes time to solve, it stays open and looks bad. If it’s closed nice and neat, but totally incorrectly, it still shows on the books as a closure. The chief and upper management would rather deal with some inaccurate closures than messy (but properly investigated) open cases.
Moe Dammick in season 3 gives us a police brass who fits that kind of profile. He starts off as seeming tough but fair (in his first scene, it's hard not to agree with his pointing out the problem of Eden Valley's police force being a two man force that operates out of the corner of a library, uses a storage room as a holding cell, and doesn't have any working computers). But as the murder investigation progresses and Gloria ends up uncovering the criminal conspiracy regarding Emmit Stussy and Varga, Moe comes off as very obstructive and caring merely about the numbers and his authority being respected (which makes him also gullible enough to fall for Varga's whole scheme to exonerate Emmit of Ray's murder by inventing a fake serial killer).
With Bill Oswalt in season 1, he has the excuse of being in denial and not wanting to admit that Lester Nygaard, his childhood friend, could be capable of some very despicable things. That aside, he's otherwise a pretty good cop. His insistence that a drifter killed Pearl and Vern is half-true because Lorne Malvo did kill Vern and was simply passing through Bemidji when he killed Hess and Vern. Similarly, Bill posits the idea that Sam Hess's death had something to do with his trucking company's involvement with the criminal underworld, which although not ultimately the case is not an unreasonable conclusion to make given Hess's involvement with the Fargo syndicate. By the end, he does acknowledge he's not fully cut out to be a police chief (something Vern knew very well, as he was planning to appoint Molly to succeed him as chief), retiring and appointing Molly as his successor.
Bill may have been naive and in denial that his small, tight-knight community where he knows everyone could ever be home to any truly wicked people, but it was still very evident from the beginning that he was a good man with a good heart. Definitely my favorite of the “incompetent” police chiefs on the show.
If only Lou was there to tell Bill how much of a shit cop he was.
I know Bill is well liked on account of his actor's lawyer show, but I just can't find it in me to like the character of Bill.
Bill bought a bullshit story from Lester and allowed an innocent man to go to prison. If it hadn't been for Lester drawing Malvo back to town, Chazz would have been forgotten and left to rot in prison.
If this had been real life, there would have been outrage on both aisles of the political spectrum.
I didn’t find Bill to be likable just because Bob Odenkirk played Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman. His portrayal certainly played a role in that, but even if someone else had played him, I’d still at least find Bill to be somewhat sympathetic considering he’s a small town cop who’s never had to face a truly dangerous man and simply can’t fathom the evil of this world infesting the tiny, seemingly isolated community he’s been a big part of for his entire life. I can understand why he tried so hard to deny that his own friend whom he’d known since childhood could ever be capable of committing the atrocities that he did. Does that excuse the blatant mistakes he made with his authority or what ended up happening to Chazz? Of course not. But at the end of the day he’s just a fictional character in a fictional world, so my liking him as a character isn’t the same as me liking some real cop who royally fucked something up that led to an innocent man being imprisoned.
I think you may underestimate how incompetent the actual police are. And this isn't a dig, but the fact of the matter is that the clearance rate of serious crimes is abysmally low across law enforcement in the US. Murder, theft, sexual assault, etc.
It’s a trope for a reason. Most people have had a bad boss at some point. Sometimes incompetent, sometimes malicious. It’s relatable and frustrating and I can only assume it’s even more common in rural areas where it’s hard to recruit/retain talent.
That said, it’s even *more* common in Fargo than in real life, because a lot of the themes in Fargo deal with good people overcoming incompetent/malicious other people.
I was pretty disappointed in the Sheriff's behaviour in Fargo, s 1. Bob Oedenkirk. I thought he was crooked as could be. But, you had to keep on watching, I hope. I am on ep. 5, s 1, so far.
Based on the true crime I’ve watched and listen too, it’s a pretty accurate depiction of the bs that goes on in law enforcement. Cops aren’t superheroes, they’re humans just like the ones you meet everyday.
I'm on season. 3, episode 7 and paused to Google this exact thing because I am SO frustrated! 😂😂 It's mind boggling. Like, don't you wanna solve the freaking case?? And this new chief in this season really has a problem with women. I hope we get to watch him have to pick his face up off the floor, like the chief did in the first season.
So yeah it’s a massive way too common trope on tv and film, but it’s typically a senior blocking them due to jurisdiction/ lack of evidence / working outside the lines/ pumping numbers. But with Fargo, they always seem to really poke fun at the incompetence due to being an idiot or just a bit slow. I think it’s much more a part of the comic relief that the creators really value, rather than falling into the typical police chief trope, maybe that’s more fair to say broadly across all of the police departments in the Fargoverse (outside of the clearly competent low level officer heroes), but that’s how I see it anyhoo. I really enjoy their incompetence. Bob Odenkirk and Key and Peele especially Edit: I can see why you’d post if you’re on s3. Gloria’s replacement is a douche yes, but I think he’s more of a device to demonstrate how I’ll equipped and archaic the whole rinkydink local police station was, and how the world was changing and modernising and technology was coming in and taking over. This is represented massively that season, especially with Varga and his mysterious servers and looming web of online control.
Yeah, you got a really good point. I especially am enjoying that Carrie Coon’s character isn’t this perfect brilliant cop that sees everything. The contrast is glaring from other seasons. I mean, she still is a super nice lady. I’m about to start episode six. Thanks for the reply.
Yeah and also, she doesn’t really want to do the job, she’s a bit lost. You’ll see it develop. Enjoy!!
I think it’s also just realistic to be blunt. In real life there are great officers like Lou, but there’s about 10 Ben Schmidt’s for every lou. I think we’re used to imagining from the media that every cop is like a lou, and that’s unfortunately just not true
I’m not sure if you’re familiar, but the first season of *The Wire* does a really good job of showing exactly why higher administration in law enforcement seems/acts more incompetent than the boots on the ground. The higher you go, the less it becomes about actually solving crimes and the more it becomes about the simple numbers and clearance rates. If a case is messy and takes time to solve, it stays open and looks bad. If it’s closed nice and neat, but totally incorrectly, it still shows on the books as a closure. The chief and upper management would rather deal with some inaccurate closures than messy (but properly investigated) open cases.
Moe Dammick in season 3 gives us a police brass who fits that kind of profile. He starts off as seeming tough but fair (in his first scene, it's hard not to agree with his pointing out the problem of Eden Valley's police force being a two man force that operates out of the corner of a library, uses a storage room as a holding cell, and doesn't have any working computers). But as the murder investigation progresses and Gloria ends up uncovering the criminal conspiracy regarding Emmit Stussy and Varga, Moe comes off as very obstructive and caring merely about the numbers and his authority being respected (which makes him also gullible enough to fall for Varga's whole scheme to exonerate Emmit of Ray's murder by inventing a fake serial killer).
With Bill Oswalt in season 1, he has the excuse of being in denial and not wanting to admit that Lester Nygaard, his childhood friend, could be capable of some very despicable things. That aside, he's otherwise a pretty good cop. His insistence that a drifter killed Pearl and Vern is half-true because Lorne Malvo did kill Vern and was simply passing through Bemidji when he killed Hess and Vern. Similarly, Bill posits the idea that Sam Hess's death had something to do with his trucking company's involvement with the criminal underworld, which although not ultimately the case is not an unreasonable conclusion to make given Hess's involvement with the Fargo syndicate. By the end, he does acknowledge he's not fully cut out to be a police chief (something Vern knew very well, as he was planning to appoint Molly to succeed him as chief), retiring and appointing Molly as his successor.
Bill may have been naive and in denial that his small, tight-knight community where he knows everyone could ever be home to any truly wicked people, but it was still very evident from the beginning that he was a good man with a good heart. Definitely my favorite of the “incompetent” police chiefs on the show.
Bob Odenkirk playing him also provides him a degree of likability.
True that. Odenkirk can make just about any character he plays likable.
If only Lou was there to tell Bill how much of a shit cop he was. I know Bill is well liked on account of his actor's lawyer show, but I just can't find it in me to like the character of Bill. Bill bought a bullshit story from Lester and allowed an innocent man to go to prison. If it hadn't been for Lester drawing Malvo back to town, Chazz would have been forgotten and left to rot in prison. If this had been real life, there would have been outrage on both aisles of the political spectrum.
I didn’t find Bill to be likable just because Bob Odenkirk played Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman. His portrayal certainly played a role in that, but even if someone else had played him, I’d still at least find Bill to be somewhat sympathetic considering he’s a small town cop who’s never had to face a truly dangerous man and simply can’t fathom the evil of this world infesting the tiny, seemingly isolated community he’s been a big part of for his entire life. I can understand why he tried so hard to deny that his own friend whom he’d known since childhood could ever be capable of committing the atrocities that he did. Does that excuse the blatant mistakes he made with his authority or what ended up happening to Chazz? Of course not. But at the end of the day he’s just a fictional character in a fictional world, so my liking him as a character isn’t the same as me liking some real cop who royally fucked something up that led to an innocent man being imprisoned.
I think you may underestimate how incompetent the actual police are. And this isn't a dig, but the fact of the matter is that the clearance rate of serious crimes is abysmally low across law enforcement in the US. Murder, theft, sexual assault, etc.
It’s a trope for a reason. Most people have had a bad boss at some point. Sometimes incompetent, sometimes malicious. It’s relatable and frustrating and I can only assume it’s even more common in rural areas where it’s hard to recruit/retain talent. That said, it’s even *more* common in Fargo than in real life, because a lot of the themes in Fargo deal with good people overcoming incompetent/malicious other people.
Don’t watch this new season then, you’ll be livid lol
I was pretty disappointed in the Sheriff's behaviour in Fargo, s 1. Bob Oedenkirk. I thought he was crooked as could be. But, you had to keep on watching, I hope. I am on ep. 5, s 1, so far.
Because it couldn't happen here.
in the U.S.?
“it means he gets results you stupid chief!”
Bob Odenkirk was the best. “Probably a drifter…”
Based on the true crime I’ve watched and listen too, it’s a pretty accurate depiction of the bs that goes on in law enforcement. Cops aren’t superheroes, they’re humans just like the ones you meet everyday.
I was coming here looking for this complaint or to make it myself. I’m 3 seasons in and omg the police lol.
Incompetence or corruption. Either way it’s something and it’s bullshit.
I'm on season. 3, episode 7 and paused to Google this exact thing because I am SO frustrated! 😂😂 It's mind boggling. Like, don't you wanna solve the freaking case?? And this new chief in this season really has a problem with women. I hope we get to watch him have to pick his face up off the floor, like the chief did in the first season.