The season is set in Kansas City, Missouri from November 1950 to early 1951, and follows two crime syndicates as they vie for control of the underground.
One of these is Loy Cannon, the head of a crime syndicate made up of black migrants fleeing the Jim Crow South who have a contentious relationship with the Italian Kansas City mafia.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.70 million household viewers and gained a 0.2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
He is also visited by Deafy (Timothy Olyphant), who is aware that Loy sent Zelmare (Karen Aldridge) and Swanee (Kelsey Asbille) away from the city and demands to know their location.
[1] In its original American broadcast, "The Nadir" was seen by an estimated 0.70 million household viewers and gained a 0.2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
"[5] Nick Schager of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "There's no such thing as a reliable criminal alliance, meaning the fortunes of gangsters are as unpredictable as the wind.
Fargo's traditionally been good with propulsive action scenes and dialogue-driven character moments, but much of 'The Nadir' plays like a shapeless collection of the latter capped by the former.
"[7] Nick Harley of Den of Geek gave the episode a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Regardless of how I felt about it, there's going to be no talk of deescalating the war now that Josto and Gateano lost their mother.
"[8] Scott Tobias of The New York Times wrote, "For the most part, this episode was an entertaining jumble of loose ends and Plan Bs, full of characters who are scrambling to figure out how to act when their schemes have been blown up.
The site wrote, "With her aw-shucks accent and cute Minnesota-isms, Nurse Oraetta Mayflower seems at first glance to be from the same good-hearted Midwestern stock as Fargo's original Marge Gunderson.
But behind that kindly smile lies a cold-blooded killer, and Buckley — already Season 4's MVP — hit new heights this week as Oraetta opened up about her twisted childhood... and started to see her master plan fall apart.