Television

Standard Of Review: In Praise Of Attorney Sy Feltz From 'Fargo'

The third Fargo season isn't quite as strong as the first two, but Sy Feltz is a truly terrific character.

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Fargo television showFX’s Fargo has consistently been my favorite television show since it premiered in 2014. The first season brilliantly took the themes and tone of the classic and eponymous 1996 Coen Brothers film and told an entirely new tale. The second season was even better, going back in time to tell an enthralling mob story (paying homage to Miller’s Crossing just as much as the Fargo film). So when the promotional materials from the third season touted character actor Michael Stuhlbarg as mustachioed lawyer Sy Feltz, I got very excited. While the third Fargo season has not quite reached the meteoric heights of the first two (despite being very good), Sy has been a terrific character (this column will contain spoilers up through last week’s episode – I will not spoil last night’s).

For those who have never watched, Fargo is almost beyond description. It is (mostly) an anthology series, each season telling a new crime story in the upper midwestern United States. Fargo’s current season is a tale of strife between two brothers. Younger brother Ray Stussy (Ewan McGregor) is a down-on-his-luck parole officer who begins a relationship with the conniving yet loving Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), his parolee. Nikki convinces Ray to hire another parolee, Maurice LeFay (Scott McNairy), to steal a valuable stamp from Ray’s more successful brother Emmit, the “Parking Lot King of Minnesota” (also McGregor).

Of course, Fargo being Fargo, things go wrong and Maurice ends up accidentally killing another, unrelated man named Stussy. To cover up the crime, Ray and Nikki kill Maurice, causing Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon), the chief of police of rural Eden Valley, to begin investigating. At the same time, Emmit’s life is thrown off balance by the arrival of V.M. Varga (David Thewlis), a mysterious Englishman who, after providing Emmit with a generous loan, coerces Emmit to use his parking lot company as a front for the criminal criminal enterprise in which Varga is involved.

Sy is Emmit’s right hand man at his parking lot business. Because most works of legal fiction unsurprisingly involve litigation, it is rare that I discuss a character like Sy who works as an in-house counsel. Sy engages in typical corporate counsel work, filtered through Fargo’s lens. He gets into a fight with Emmit about the amount of diligence he did on Varga’s company; as Sy explains it, Emmit’s company was in such dire straits after the financial meltdown of 2008 that it needed a loan as quickly as possible. Sy also has the good sense to hire outside counsel once Varga shows up and reveals his intention to use the parking lot company to launder money. Unfortunately, this is Fargo, so instead of hiring a someone equipped to deal with a criminal such as Varga, Sy turns to his local attorney, whose solution is just to start Googling, and of course ends up killed by Varga’s goons. Furthermore, as things with Varga get worse and worse, Sy begins to negotiate a sale of Emmit’s entire business.

But aside from his profession, Sy is a fascinating character. In keeping with one of the most famous aspects of the film, the vast majority of characters on Fargo are “Minnesota nice,” unfailingly polite and non-confrontational. Not so with Sy. He drives a bright yellow Hummer, which is probably the most ostentatious vehicle imaginable. Rather than being passive-aggressive, he is often flat-out aggressive, freely referring to Ray as a loser, threatening him, and ultimately ramming his Hummer into Ray’s car. In one hilarious scene, as Emmit and Sy speculate about the nature of Varga’s business, Emmit can barely utter the word “drugs” while Sy easily spits out “slave girls.”

Sy’s temperament is largely based on his relationship with Emmit. As Emmit’s friend, business partner, and lawyer, Sy believes that he is closer to Emmit than Ray ever was. Accordingly, Sy feels threatened by Ray and advocates that Emmit cut Ray off instead of continuing to provide him with money. Things are worse when Varga shows up. Initially, both Emmit and Sy are equally frustrated and incredulous at Varga’s continuing presence at their business. But Emmit soon bends to Varga’s will, leaving Sy out in the cold – literally. In last week’s episode, Sy attempts to visit Emmit, who is holed up at his house, frequently missing work. Varga ushers Sy out quickly (and, as we later learn, Varga has hurt Sy by more than preventing him from visiting Emmit). But as Sy walks out into the cold, he sees Emmit in the window and they wave to each other. Stuhlbarg does a terrific job showing the longing on Sy’s face as he sees what has become of his friend.

Fargo wraps up its third (and possibly) last season next week, and I hope that Sy is part of the story’s conclusion. Between Sy and Season 2’s wonderfully named Karl Weathers (Nick Offerman), Fargo has a very good track record with attorney characters. If there is ever a fourth season, maybe a lawyer will finally be front and center in the main role. After all, someone has to defend the apparently endless amount of murderers in rural Minnesota.

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Harry Graff is a litigation associate at a firm, but he spends days wishing that he was writing about film, television, literature, and pop culture instead of writing briefs. If there is a law-related movie, television show, book, or any other form of media that you would like Harry Graff to discuss, he can be reached at harrygraff19@gmail.com. Be sure to follow Harry Graff on Twitter at @harrygraff19.

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