Welcome to the Alternate Economy

In September 2020, it was reported that the first episode of the season would be titled "Welcome to the Alternate Economy", and was to be written and directed by series creator Noah Hawley. This was Hawley's 24th writing credit, and his third directing credit.[1] The episode was originally scheduled to premiere on April 19, 2020.[2] In March 2020, however, FX announced that the premiere would be delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the production to shut down with two episodes left to be filmed.[3]

In its original American broadcast, "Welcome to the Alternate Economy" was seen by an estimated 1.22 million household viewers and gained a 0.2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that 0.2 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.[4] This was in line in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 1.22 million viewers with a 0.3 in the 18-49 demographics.[5]

"Welcome to the Alternate Economy" received generally positive reviews from critics. Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "A lot happens, there's an undercurrent of rising danger, but little sense of a story or narrative unfolding; it's most just a collection of scenes which, presumably, will all be relevant to one another if we keep watching."[6]

Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone wrote, "There is an awful lot going on here in terms of plot, character, and theme — perhaps too much. We'll have to see how this all comes together by the end to know what's essential, what's a colorful enough flourish to justify its presence anyway, and what's just pointless extraneous quirkiness. But 'Welcome to the Alternate Economy' is so packed with people and mythology that it has to be presented as part of Ethelrida's report."[7] Nick Schager of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Out of respect for the dead — and the show — the entirety of its sprawling, complex crime narrative will be told exactly as it occurred. And there's plenty of plot to relay, even if its premiere installment, 'Welcome to the Alternate Economy', gets things off to a slow, if intriguing, start."[8]

Keith Phipps of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "We'll undoubtedly find out more as the season progresses, just as we'll find out more about Josto and Loy. The glimpses we get of the taciturn Loy at home, where he apparently leads a quiet family life despite trading away his son for another man's suggest we've only seen the surface of the character. In fact, 'Welcome to the Alternate Economy' is so packed with characters and information it often feels like we're zooming past important elements."[9] Nick Harley of Den of Geek wrote, "This is a jam-packed premiere episode that has pacing problems. The crisp, deftly edited intro makes the rest of the runtime lag a bit. Fargo's signature three-panel split screen appears, but it doesn't really serve any purpose or demonstrate any real style. I also have concerns about their being too many characters. Key figures like Satchel Cannon, Zero Fadda, and Loy's wife Buel could hypothetically anchor this season, but they already appear to be being pushed to the margins. I'm glad Fargo has returned, but I sure hope it stays focused."[10] Scott Tobias of The New York Times wrote, "The first two episodes, which aired back-to-back on Sunday, draw these battle lines starkly, but they also suggest key areas where ethnic and racial barriers are crossed, with all the promise and danger that goes along with it."[11]