Fargo S5E6 Recap: The Chauvinists Are Out in Full Force

The following recap contains spoilers for Fargo S5E6, “The Tender Trap” (written by Noah Hawley & Bob DeLaurentis and directed by Dana Gonzales)

Last week Dorothy (Juno Temple) took off to get her revenge on Tillman (Jon Hamm) but sadly, she doesn’t make an appearance in this episode. I suppose she is off plotting and preparing. Her presence isn’t missed as Tillman, Olmstead (Richa Moorjani), and Lorraine (Jennifer Jason Leigh) move the story along just fine.

Tillman wasn’t lying when he said he knew Dugger. In the opening, Tillman waits outside a strip club as Dugger makes his way out. Some words are exchanged and it is implied that Tillman will kill Dugger if he accepts Lorraine’s offer. Tillman doesn’t even want Dugger to return her calls. Just cut her off and move on. Dugger seems reluctant at first but faced with the money or his life, he chooses life.

Later, Danish (Dave Foley) approaches Lorraine with a note that she knows to be from Tillman which simply states “Not on my watch.” Lorraine knows it means he thinks he has the upper hand and that her deal with Dugger is off. The Lyoness doesn’t handle betrayal well and instructs Danish to find Dugger.

Danish finds Dugger at (no surprise) the strip club, where he has him alone in a private room. He hands the phone over to Dugger so that Lorraine can speak to him. She informs him that the FCC chairman has been notified of his unsavory dealings and that the feds are seizing and freezing his accounts as they speak. Before he can respond, Lorraine also informs him that due to lack of payment, his son was expelled from Notre Dame. So now, not only will Dugger have no future, but neither will his kids. She ends the call by informing him that his mistake was “thinking death was the worst thing that could happen”.

I love her more and more every episode.

Back to Tillman and his not-so-smart gang. Tillman is in the kitchen getting a haircut from his wife when a commercial starring Wayne (David Rysdahl) appears on TV. That, combined with his wife nicking him, causes his temper to flare and him to backhand his wife. This is surely a small taste of what Dorothy experienced in her marriage to him.

He goes outside to see what progress Gator & Co. have made with Wayne when to his surprise he sees a stranger tied up. He shoots the man and reprimands Gator (Joe Keery). Disappointed, and feeling like Munch has something to do with their family’s bad luck, he arranges a meeting between Munch and himself.

Munch shows and Tillman pays him what is owed and then some. As Munch drives off, it is shown that Gator has placed a tracker on his car. Just another dumb move on his part.

Speaking of dumb-dumbs, Olmstead’s husband pulls her aside after she gives Scotty breakfast. He wants to have a heart-to-heart and goes on and on about how he needs a real wife who will tend to his every need, doesn’t complain, cleans, cooks, tends to him sexually, etc.

Never mind that she is a deputy and out fighting crime, or that he has put them in $192,000 in debt. He doesn’t care about that. She should be home being a wife. The parallels between her husband and Tillman are undeniable. Both are chauvinistic and want a slave rather than a wife.

Thankfully, she can’t listen to any more of it and leaves. She arrives at the hospital where the FBI agents are speaking with Wayne. They break the news to him of Dorothy’s true identity and that she is married to Tillman. Poor Wayne is just so confused. Olmstead comes and interrupts the conversation, informing the agents that this is her case and that they need to talk.

They go off to a diner where they share information. Olmstead agrees to help them find Dorothy as long as they will be helping her and not using her to get Tillman. It doesn’t seem like they are interested in helping Dorothy, so we will see where that leads.

Wayne, on the other hand, goes to his mom and cries that he wants Dorothy. In her sweet way, she makes excuses for Dorothy and sends him to rest.

Olmstead shows up with Scotty, who runs to her dad. Olmstead brings Dorothy’s file into Lorraine’s office and tells her about the abuse and that even though Dorothy isn’t asking for help, she needs it. Lorraine holds her tough exterior until Olmstead leaves. She then flips through the file where we see for the first time the extent of the abuse inflicted on Dorothy. There are multiple photos of Dorothy bruised, swollen, and bloody. This is when the tough guy facade breaks and you see the sadness in Lorraine’s eyes.

Going back to the beginning of the season, I was unsure where Lorraine’s allegiance would lie, but I’m thrilled to see that she will most likely be fighting for Dorothy and what’s right. With her money and business ties, I can see that she will be the one to destroy Tillman’s political career. Between Olmstead and Dorothy, they will be the ones to destroy him in every other way. Then there is Gator and his grudge against Munch. I don’t see that ending in his favor.

Oh, and I don’t care who does it, but please let someone take Olmstead’s husband out. Please and thank you.