Waiting for Dutch

"Waiting for Dutch" is the premiere episode of the second season of the FX anthology series Fargo, and the eleventh episode of the series overall. It was written by series creator and showrunner Noah Hawley and directed by Michael Uppendahl and Randall Einhorn, making it the only episode in the series with two directors. The title refers to the Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot, and to Ronald Reagan, occasionally nicknamed "Dutch", who appears via archival footage.

As each season of Fargo follows its own self-contained narrative, "Waiting for Dutch", set in 1979, introduces a new storyline and cast, along with many new characters: in the episode, Rye Gerhardt (Kieran Culkin), the youngest son of Otto Gerhardt (Michael Hogan), the head of the Gerhardt mafia dynasty, who rules over Fargo, North Dakota, attempts to threaten a tenacious judge (Ann Cusack) for financial gain while in Luverne, Minnesota; their face-off triggers a suite of events that will forever impact the lives of the Gerhardt family and the people of Luverne.

The episode was first aired on October 12, 2015, and was seen by 1.59 million viewers.^[1] It received considerable acclaim from critics, who praised its writing, acting, and new set of characters, and considered it equally good, if not superior, to season one opener "The Crocodile's Dilemma"; they also noted that the episode seemed to give the new season a different tone, with a bigger scale and more characters, while the episode's themes and characters were considered a fitting addition to the universe of the original film and the works of the Coen brothers. It received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie for cinematographer Dana Gonzales.