Fargo 5.02

Trials and Tribulations

Sheriff Roy Tillman of Stark County, ND meets with Munch, the kidnapper who survived and got away from the gas station. Munch explains that they weren't properly warned what to expect and that they should have been paid more given the level of danger. Tillman agrees to pay Munch anyway but Gator, Tillman's righthand man, doesn't get the job done. Munch gets away after breaking Gator's wrist and shooting two of Roy's men. They were getting ready to execute him.

Officer Olmstead visits the Lyon home. She meets with Dot and Wayne. She casts doubts on Dot's story but Dot has excuses for everything. Officer Olmstead leaves empty handed but promises to keep working the case, which does not please Dot.

Lorraine and Danish meet in her office. Lorraine is suspicious of Dot's story and her motives. She suspects that Dot is out to get money from her. She has Danish go to meet with Wayne while she meets with Dot.

FBI agents Joachim and Meyer visit Sheriff Tillman to let him know that they are starting an investigation into why he isn't enforcing the law. Roy doesn't take kindly to their presence or their accusations. He sees his job differently from them and makes that clear.

Lorraine visits Dot, at home. She wants answers. She makes Dot angry. Dot tells her in no uncertain terms to back off. Dot and Scotty, after Lorraine leaves, work on fortifying their home against further intruders. Danish visits Wayne at the car dealership that he owns. Danish gets Lorraine on the phone so that she can be present.

Officer Olmstead visits Deputy Farr in the hospital. She is getting ready to show him a picture of Dot when Gator shows up. He "accidentally" deletes the picture off Olmstead's phone after taking a look at it, before Witt gets a chance to see it.

Wayne comes home and sees some of the work that Dot and Scotty have done. Dot and Wayne talk about it. He doesn't understand at first but eventually he starts to come around and suggests that maybe they could get some guns.

Gator and one of the other deputies from Stark County stop by the gas station in Beulah, where the shootout happened in the previous episode. Gator goes inside to get some snacks while the other deputy refuels their SUV. Much shows up and kills the other deputy with a knife before Gator returns. He leaves a note pinned to the dead deputy. It reads, "YOU OWE ME".

Thoughts

Roy Tillman is played by Jon Hamm. I know him best from Mad Men but I've seen him in a couple other things.

The gas station where the shootout took place in the previous episode was in Beulah, ND which is 525 miles from Scandia, MN. If that is correct then I don't see how Dot got home before the sun came up the next day.

The FBI agents look like buffoons, which is usually how the Feds are portrayed in Fargo. It's the local cops who are the smart ones, the real heroes.

Gator calls Roy Dad at one point. Is Gator Dot's son? Dot ran off about 10 years ago. Scotty is about 9 to 10 years old. Is Roy Scotty's biological father? These possibilities make me wonder about what is going to happen when Gator crosses paths with Dot and Scotty. Is Gator really his name? Could it be that his first name is really Scotty? How will Roy respond to the way Scotty presents themselves? 

The moment where Dot got real with Lorraine was a real surprise. I wasn't expecting that, despite how tough she has proved to be.

What will Lorraine's next move be? She seems convinced that Dot is after her money. I don't think that's the case. I imagined what a confrontation between Gator and Lorraine would be like. I think that she would probably have a degrading remark about his name.

What will Officer Olmstead's next move be? What will she find next?

I think that Gator and the other Stark County deputy were headed to Scandia to grab Dot when Munch struck at the end of the episode. Gator can't just take off and leave his comrade there. How much will this delay the efforts to kidnap Dot?

This is extremely good. I am really enjoying it. Once again, I watched this episode twice. The second time I turned on the subtitles so that I didn't miss anything. I'm not sure if I will keep watching these episodes twice but it felt like the right thing to do this week.