Dot the Tiger (Juno Temple) orders Lorraine Lyon (Jennifer Jason Leigh) out of Wayne’s hospital room as FX’s riveting season five of Fargo continues with episode five. Lorraine’s not used to having her will be thwarted and considers what to do next about the Dot and Wayne situation.
Lorraine knows Dot’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but how do you handle a wild animal without getting bitten?
Dot and family have moved into Lorraine’s mansion, and Lorraine wrongly believes she has them under her thumb. Like the tiger, Dot has a cunning and strategic mind. A fact that’s made apparent when Lorraine conspires with her chief counselor, Danish Graves (David Foley), to have Dot locked up in a psychiatric ward.
When the orderlies come to get her, she reminds them of her recent history. She reportedly burned a man alive and chopped another’s ear off, and she will not go quietly.
After a brief but apparently vicious off-screen battle, Dot is strapped onto a gurney and taken to the Walter Mondale Care Center. (It’s the same hospital where Wayne’s being treated.) You can almost see the wheels turning as she plots her escape. Step one, distract the orderly. Step two, launch a surprise attack that results in the orderly strapped onto the gurney and Dot trying to blend in as she walks down the hall.
Dot’s attempt at small talk with two other employees doesn’t go well, and an alarm’s triggered – nearly ruining her escape. But Dot is fast on her feet and acts like she’s escorting a patient in a wheelchair.
Do. Not. Mess. With. Dot.
Lorraine conducts business with two men who have greatly underestimated her, seeming to believe Danish Graves is the person they should be dealing with. Lorraine quickly picks up on the fact they’re chauvinists and calls them out. She points out she’s the CEO of the billionaire dollar corporation Redemption Services.
Lorraine reveals she wants to buy their bank. Research shows they don’t have the funds to cover banking regulations. When they call her “lady,” Lorraine knocks $10 million off her offer. One partner dares to interrupt, and she silences him while explaining she wants to get into the credit business along with being in the debt business. Buying their bank is the first step in accomplishing that.
“But if you hate women more than you love money, I’ll just take my millions elsewhere,” says Lorraine, wrapping up the conversation. They have until the end of business to get back to her.
And now for the first face-to-face meeting between Lorraine Lyon and Sheriff Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm). She notes he’s from North Dakota and then welcomes him in when he claims Dot is his wife. Lorraine believes everyone can be bought and asks Roy what his “f**k off fee” is. Roy’s offended by Lorraine’s assumption he can be bought and explains he and Nadine were married in June 2007. After two years of being in a relationship, she disappeared.
Roy assumed she was dead and only discovered that she’s still alive after she was arrested. Lorraine would love to send Dot back to Roy, but unfortunately, her son loves Dot so Roy’s just going to have to “put his big boy pants on” and deal with it.
Roy claims that biblically speaking, it’s Wayne who is the thief and should send Dot back to him. Lorraine deduces he’s a constitutional lawman who doesn’t believe in taxes, helping the poor, assisting people with disabilities, or LGBTQ+ rights. Roy confirms she nailed it. That’s him to a T.
Basically, he wants freedom but no responsibility. Lorraine says the only person who gets that deal is a baby. “You’re fighting for your right to be a baby,” says Lorraine.
Danish interrupts to discuss the bankers, and Roy says he knows one of them. The amount of you-know-whats Lorraine has left to give has been depleted, and she announces Roy is leaving. If she can’t buy him off, then she has nothing further to talk about.
Before he leaves, Lorraine reminds him that after seven years of being missing, a person is presumed dead. So, Dot is Wayne’s “property” now.
As Roy’s leaving, Deputy Indira Olmstead (Richa Moorjani) arrives with news that Dot escaped. Roy overhears this juicy tidbit and calls Gator (Joe Keery), ordering him to take his men and kidnap the husband. Oh, but Gator isn’t going to be in on the job. Roy doesn’t trust him to get it done and sends the other men into the hospital instead.
Dot’s making her way to the exit when Roy’s men walk in and ask for Wayne Lyon at the front desk. They’re sent to the third floor, and Dot quickly changes her plans, pushing the patient into the elevator and hoping to get to Wayne first.
Gator busies himself by pouting and vaping until he sees FBI Agents Meyer and Joaquin pull up. He runs into the hospital, hoping to warn his dad’s men.
Dot switches the patient’s nameplate from across the hall with Wayne’s and then enters his room, using it as a temporary hiding spot. When the patient insults her, she reacts by knocking him out. Next, Dot steps into Wayne’s room, and he asks what money is. The poor guy is completely oblivious to the world at this point – but incredibly lovable.
Dot escorts him to the bathroom to keep him out of harm’s way. They pause for a huge hug, and then Dot gently settles him into the bathroom. She instructs him to lock the door and not come out until she tells him to.
Gator walks by just as the FBI agents ask Dot/Nadine to step into a room to talk. She doesn’t have time right now but asks for their card.
Meanwhile, Roy’s minions have taken the rude patient, believing he’s Wayne. Gator’s never seen Wayne, so he doesn’t realize they’ve grabbed the wrong guy.
(Throughout the episode, season four star Jason Schwartzman’s been providing a voice-over with key facts about tigers that relate to Dot’s circumstances.)
Dot spots the orderlies who’ve been searching for her and suddenly agrees to Meyer and Joaquin’s help getting to the restroom. It takes a few minutes, but finally, the agents realize she’s escaped out the bathroom window.
Deputy Indira Olmstead meets with Lorraine, and the first thing Lorraine points out is that Indira is $192,000 in debt. Lorraine asks if Indira sees the cage that she’s in, and Indira admits she does. Indira’s just another animal in the cage at the zoo, while Lorraine is the zookeeper.
Lorraine wonders if Indira will do her job and look for Dot or continue to waste her time peppering her with questions.
While this is all going down, Dot makes her way to Lorraine’s house and secretly meets with Scotty out in the snow. (There’s armed security all over the property, yet Dot creeps in unnoticed.) Scotty reveals Sheriff Roy was there and said to say hi, and Dot claims he’s just someone she used to know.
Indira’s shocked when she arrives home after a disastrous day and discovers Dot and Scotty are in her house. Dot’s even made coffee, and Scotty’s happy to announce she had breakfast for dinner.
Scotty watches The Little Mermaid while Dot spills some of the beans. (Roy took her when she was 15 and abused her throughout their marriage.) She’d like to leave Scotty there for a few days, certain she’s not safe at Lorraine’s. After hearing her traumatic story, Indira is now officially #TeamDot – along with all of the audience, I’m sure.
Dot drives off in one of the dealer cars from Wayne Lyon Motors.
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- Fargo Season 5 Episode 1 “The Tragedy of the Commons” Recap
- Fargo Season 5 Episode 2 “Trials and Tribulations” Recap
- Fargo Season 5 Episode 3 “The Paradox of Intermediate Transactions” Recap
- Fargo Season 5 Episode 4 “Insolubilia” Recap
- Fargo Season 5 Episode 6 “The Tender Trap” Recap
- Fargo Season 5 episode 7 “Linda” Recap
- Fargo Season 5 Episode 8 “Blanket” Recap
- Fargo Season 5 Episode 9 “The Useless Hand” Recap
- Fargo Season 5 Episode 10 “Bisquik” Finale Recap
