Streetlights in Minnesota are just captivating. (credit: FX)

Warning: this piece contains minor spoilers to several episodes of the show. 

By now everyone knows Fargo’s famous disclaimer—”This is a true story.” The Coen Brothers’ 1996 classic starts the same way each episode of the TV series it inspired on FX does, but just because something is true doesn’t mean it can’t get a little fuzzy or downright weird. And the currently-in-progress-season two is playing with pop culture’s favorite oddity—aliens. UFOs, technically.

Then again, were there UFOs in this season’s penultimate episode last Monday? The cop (Lou Solverson, played by Patrick Wilson), the villain (Angus Sampson as Bear Gerhardt), and everyone in-between sure seemed to stop mid-firefight to stare at something, but only the in-over-her-head beautician (Kirsten Dunst as Peggy Blumquist) said anything: “It’s just a flying saucer, hon.” This is the same person who hallucinated a Lifespring coach in her basement one week earlier.

Fargo, obviously, is not a true story. The people are made up, the intercity travel times fudged, the Midwest accents exaggerated. But among other things making its current season an all-time great is that its brand of aliens feels different. Rather than having any scientific or nefarious purposes or creature-like appearances, Fargo’s aliens are… a mystery. That’s what makes this season the most realistic pop culture depiction of extraterrestrial life to date.