Summary
- Fargo season 5, episode 3 reveals Tillman’s cover-up of a cop’s death to keep his criminal operation hidden.
- Gator steals evidence from Iron Mike’s murder, raising suspicions and creating a potential obstacle for Tillman.
- Dot wants to arm herself to protect her family but faces a waiting period, leading to alternative methods of defense.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Fargo season 5, episode 3.
From a scandalous cover-up in Sheriff Tillman’s department to a shocking cliffhanger involving Gator’s breakthrough discovery about Dot, there were a ton of big reveals in Fargo season 5, episode 3. Titled “The Paradox of Intermediate Transactions,” the episode revolves around Dot’s attempts to keep her family safe and protect her home from Tillman’s forces, which are on their way to capture her and bring her back to him. Meanwhile, Deputy Witt Farr’s investigation gets a little deeper and Lorraine grows even more distrustful of her daughter-in-law. The episode was scripted by series creator Noah Hawley and directed by Donald Murphy.
The two-part Fargo season 5 premiere was all about laying out the pieces on the chessboard and revealing the characters’ connections to one another. In episode 3, those chess pieces start making their moves. Witt is growing increasingly suspicious of Gator, Lorraine believes that Dot is trying to extort her, and Wayne has no idea what’s going on with his seemingly mild-mannered wife who suddenly wants to buy a 12-gauge shotgun.
7 Tillman Is Covering Up The Death Of The Officer Ole Munch Killed
To Keep A Lid On The Ole Munch Business
Fargo season 5, episode 2, “Trials and Tribulations,” ended with Ole Munch killing Gator’s partner and leaving a note that said, “You owe me.” Episode 3 picked up shortly after this cop’s murder with Sheriff Tillman telling his son to cover up his partner’s death. He tells him to report the death as accidental and dispose of the vehicle, because he wants to keep a lid on the Ole Munch business. If he reports his officer’s death as a murder and a different cop gets to Ole Munch first, then Ole Munch could spill the beans on the sheriff’s criminal operation.
6 Gator Steals Evidence From Iron Mike’s Murder
Again, To Keep The Ole Munch Situation A Secret
Gator’s partner isn’t the only murder that Tillman wants to cover up; he also wants to cover up the death of the state trooper that Ole Munch killed, nicknamed “Iron Mike.” But Iron Mike’s partner, Deputy Witt Farr, is determined to get to the bottom of it. Despite still recovering from his injuries, Witt wants to get started on the investigation. He heads to the evidence room to go over the evidence from Iron Mike’s death, hoping to start putting the pieces together. However, he’s surprised to find that Gator has gotten to it first. When he gets down there, Gator is already tampering with the box of evidence.
When Witt catches him at the evidence locker, Gator leaves the box of evidence surrounding Iron Mike’s death with nothing but a Slim Jim wrapper. Witt doesn’t trust Gator for a second. He was already dubious about Gator when he visited him in the hospital and “accidentally” deleted Dot’s picture from Indira’s phone to prevent Witt from identifying her. But after catching Gator snooping around the evidence locker, and finding the box of evidence nearly empty, Witt suspects foul play. Witt is a good-natured everyman cop in the mold of the original movie’s protagonist, Marge Gunderson; unlike most Fargo characters, he actually wants to do the right thing.
5 Dot Wants Guns To Protect Her Family
But There’s A Pesky Waiting Period
When it becomes clear that Tillman knows where she lives and will inevitably send even more people to capture her, Dot decides to arm herself to the teeth to protect her family. She draws up a shopping list; instead of listing milk and eggs, she lists 12-gauge shotguns and assault rifles. However, when she goes to the gun store and speaks to the proprietor (dressed like a pirate for Halloween), she finds that there’s a waiting period that prevents her from getting the guns right away. This means she’ll have to use other weapons to protect her family from Gator’s crew.
Dot Isn’t Tillman’s Only Wife
Fargo season 5, episode 3 has revealed a little more about the social structure of Tillman’s closed-off community. One of the biggest revelations is that Tillman’s community encourages polygamy. The sheriff mentions the dead cop’s “fiancées,” and he’s seen sleeping with one wife while he tries to capture another wife. The wife seen in this episode, Karen Tillman, is interested in sexual roleplay – and, in keeping with Tillman’s conservative views, one of her roleplay personas is “angry feminist.” The fact that Tillman has multiple wives shows just how obsessed he is with Dot. He has other wives, but he can’t let go of this one.
3 Fargo Flashes Back To Wales In 1522
500 Years Earlier…
One of the most surprising turns in the third episode of Fargo’s fifth season is the flashback to Wales in 1522. Right after an unsuspecting elderly lady finds Ole Munch in her house (and he sternly tells her, “I live here now”), the episode cuts away to a title card that boldly says, “500 years earlier.” The flashback takes viewers back to 16th-century Wales where a Welshman takes part in a dark ritual. This scene draws a thematic parallel with Ole Munch’s ritualistic quest for revenge. The Wales flashback is more like the prologue of the Coen brothers’ religious parable A Serious Man than anything from Fargo.
2 Lorraine Has A Private Investigator Digging Around For Dirt On Dot
And He’s Bound To Find Out About Her Marriage To Tillman
During a meeting with Deputy Indira Olmstead, Lorraine tries to stop the police from investigating Dot’s kidnapping any further. She tells them she’ll “handle it internally,” but they insist on continuing the investigation because the abduction led to the murder of a state trooper. After the cops leave and Lorraine consults with her attorney Danish Graves, she calls Dot a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” (confirming that she doesn’t trust her). Graves mentions that he’s sent an ex-CIA private investigator to dig up dirt on Dot’s past. This investigation will likely uncover her marriage to Tillman, which will complicate Dot’s relationship with Lorraine further.
1 Gator Finds Dot’s House On Halloween Night
Setting The Stage For A Battle Next Week
Fargo season 5, episode 3 ends on a cliffhanger setting up an action-packed episode 4 as Gator and his crew finally find Dot’s house. As Dot gets home from trick-or-treating with Wayne and Scotty, she notices a black van pull up at the curb. Gator and his cronies were confused by the road signs that Dot switched around, but they circled around the neighborhood, keeping an eye out for Dot, and eventually spotted her and followed her home. The episode ends on Gator and co. creeping up to the front door. An intense battle between Dot and Gator’s crew will likely ensue next week.
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