S05.E01: The Tragedy of the Commons; S05.E02: Trials and Tribulations

[Bort]

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A series of unexpected events lands Dot in hot water and she is plunged back into a life she thought she left behind.

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Roy attempts to reset the "natural order of things" and Lorraine becomes increasingly suspicious.

Airdate: November 21, 2023

[AimingforYoko]

Strong start, with Yes right off the top. (Still doesn't beat Jethro Tull from Season 2.)

When Dot dropped the "Aw, jeez" accent with her MIL, I really got excited. Hard to believe she was ever married to Roy. Everyone's pretty great so far, but obviously this is Juno's ball to carry. Everyone else is just blocking, for now.

[DMK]

That was really good. Dot is feisty, tiny little thing like her gets underestimated but she is not one to be trifled with. 

[sistermagpie]

So far really liking everybody in this (except the one's we shouldn't! Dot, of course, but also the policewoman and policeman who was in the shootout with her. Also really liking the obvious themes about gender expectations with Scotty right there in the center of them in her suit and she/her pronouns!

The one thing that annoyed me was FX showing two episodes in a row starting at 10pm. I know I could watch them whenever, but still, I'd have preferred just the one episode tonight. A lot happened in it!

[LadyintheLoop]

Sometime around the VIN numbers I stopped counting the callbacks to the original movie.

So, which husband is Scotty's real father?

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Well, I don't owe anyone that I must accept the unending physical impossibilities.

Why didn't Madame Lyon finish the job on the remaining kidnapper?  This was worse than the Bond villains talking about killing 007 and not getting it done as a result of the delay.  Why didn't the kidnappers beat the stew out of Dot and then tie her up so tightly that she would be in pain for the trip back to hell?  After what she did to them?!  

One touch I really did like is that this mess all started because of a school board meeting.  

Was Hawley going for a John Dutton/Yellowstone-esque character for Hamm?  At least the train station was on his own property.

Using the Yes anthem to open was great.  Thereafter, most all was not.

  

 

 

[thuganomics85]

It's not enough times to make it typecasting yet, but I find it a little interesting that between this and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, this is the second time that Jon Hamm plays some kind of scumbag who is basically forcing women to marry him.  Although, this is go around he is less cult leader and more John Dutton from Yellowstone if he was even a bigger misogynist.

A bit of a slow start at first, but it picked up the more it went on and it is already filling up with some classic Fargo-like moments from stupid criminals and well-meaning, if imperfect law enforcement facing off, and mistaken identities or other issues causing wrong assumptions.  The main one being Dottie not wanting anyone to know that an actual abduction attempt happened (I guess to protect herself from Roy's reach?), but since it's clear as day that something like that did happen, Lorraine now thinks Dottie was attempting some kind of extortion and is now gunning for her.  But judging from that little conversation they had, it will be easier said than done!

I'm guessing Ole/the hitman is going to the classic wild card character that almost every season has.  Should have just paid him!  Or just shot him and not trash talk, Gator!

Indira seems nice.  Hope she comes out ahead after the smoke is cleared.

Acting was good as always, but Juno Temple definitely was the MVP and carried the majority of this.  Joe Keery was also good at making Gator such an obnoxious tool that I forgot he was being played by the same guy who plays my beloved Steve Harrington!

So, judging from some of the admittedly heavy-handed dialogue, the theme for this season is going to be about how society seems to be on edge with all of the fighting, picking sides, and people in general just at each others throats.  We'll see what Noah Hawley will do with all this, I guess.  

[The Wild Sow]

6 hours ago, LadyintheLoop said:

Sometime around the VIN numbers I stopped counting the callbacks to the original movie.

When she fell down the stairs for me.

Original movie, plus a great big heaping helping of "Home Alone"!

[Chaos Theory]

Good start.  So far this is working for me.  All the main characters are doing what they are supposed to be doing.  It look me a second to figure out the guy in the eye patch was the lawyer.  

Loraine  and Dot scene in the 2nd episode where they were basically threatening each other.    The hitman guy is the classic wild card and its hard to see where he will come out on this since he clearly doesn't like Jon Hamm's character.   

I am not sure what the theme is but it is heavy with the politics and the men v women of it all.    

 

Oh and Dot and Scotty home aloning the house was a great bonding experience.

 

[EtheltoTillie]

This is giving the total Fargo experience I need.  We've waited three years for this season, and it's already much better than the last mediocre season. 

Yes, I too definitely wondered about Scotty's parentage. 

Juno Temple is a warrior princess.  Will she team up with the Indian cop?  I hope they are the ones left standing at the end. 

Edited November 22, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[Armchair Critic]

It took me a minute to recognize Joe Keery. He and Hamm are playing some assholes.

To be honest, after watching two shows that Juno Temple was in I was getting a bit tired of her. But I am liking her character here. I too wonder if she was already pregnant when she met her husband, I can't imagine having to keep the chipper fake accent up for the rest of her life in Minnesota. No wonder she was concerned about her fingerprints getting out.

The female cop's golfer husband was kind of funny but rooting for her to dump him.

Nice to see Jennifer Jason Leigh and Dave Foley too.

 

[EtheltoTillie]

I'm interested in the background of Jennifer Jason Leigh.  She's speaking in Locust Valley Lockjaw.  What is her business?  Why did they pose with guns for their Christmas card?  Could you believe she actually had Dave Foley slap her son? 

Also, I hope we learn why Juno T ever married John Hamm. 

Edited November 22, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[AimingforYoko]

1 hour ago, Armchair Critic said:

It took me a minute to recognize Joe Keery. He and Hamm are playing some assholes.

I love the modern trope of showing someone to be a total douchebag by having them vape.

[EtheltoTillie]

3 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

I love the modern trope of showing someone to be a total douchebag by having them vape.

Also cigar smoking.  Yuck.  John Hamm was smoking a cigar. 

[Crashcourse]

I thought starting the show at 10pm was too damn late for two episodes.  I had trouble keeping up with the second one because I was falling asleep.  Also, I got tired of fast forwarding the endless commercials that were running.  It was like five minutes of show, three minutes of commercials. 

So far, I'm not that impressed with this show.  I think they're laying on the Minnesota accents pretty thick.  Dot is an annoying little shitbird who likes making pancakes.  The only character I'm interested in is the female cop's golfer husband and what role, if any, he might play in this.

I'll keep watching because I'm curious to see who gets killed in the Home Alone house.  I think the first three seasons were the best.

 

[Pike Ludwell]

On 11/22/2023 at 12:43 AM, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Why didn't Madame Lyon finish the job on the remaining kidnapper?  This was worse than the Bond villains talking about killing 007 and not getting it done as a result of the delay.  Why didn't the kidnappers beat the stew out of Dot and then tie her up so tightly that she would be in pain for the trip back to hell?  After what she did to them?!  

I know. I was like shoot him, bash his head in ... something.  Disappointing.

That trooper though was the most incompetent cop imaginable. He was a terrible shot at the beginning at the car. He gets to the store and chooses to stand outside in the extremely bright lights, looking out into the pitch black, giving himself a huge disadvantage, and of course gets shot. Ideally he would have gone into the store, turned off the store lights and left the outside lights on. And hunkered down till help arrived.

And then after he limps into the store he wastes nearly all his ammo shooting at nothing. 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Pike Ludwell

[iMonrey]

Fargo has never been my favorite series. The tone and the noir-like story telling generally leaves me cold. I didn't have much hope for this but boy was I pleasantly surprised. I think the casting is ideal, there's usually one subplot, one character or set of characters I care nothing about and that's not the case here. I'm interested in everybody. Not only did they manage to cast actors I enjoy in every side story but the stories themselves are fun. I can't believe how much I liked this. Previous seasons were always just sort of "meh" for me. One or two quirky, funny characters but a lot of other garbage I don't care about.

17 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Why didn't Madame Lyon finish the job on the remaining kidnapper? 

The way I read that is that she really isn't a violent person and doesn't really want to kill anyone. She's just trying to protect herself and has become an expert at it.

17 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Why didn't the kidnappers beat the stew out of Dot and then tie her up so tightly that she would be in pain for the trip back to hell? 

The main kidnapper guy said they were told it was just a housewife, he didn't see any need to bring a specialist. I don't think they realized how dangerous she actually was until they got to the gas station. The trick with the hairspray and the lighter is something anyone could have come up with.

[peeayebee]

On 11/22/2023 at 1:09 AM, thuganomics85 said:

The main one being Dottie not wanting anyone to know that an actual abduction attempt happened (I guess to protect herself from Roy's reach?)

I think there are two reasons. One is that she would be revealed to be a bigamist. The other is that Scotty is (probably) Roy's daughter. I was rather annoyed when Dot first said that there was no abduction, she just needed to clear her head, but it's also understandable why she would cover up the truth.

And when he discovers that his daughter isn't conforming to his idea of femaleness... Whoo boy.

I wonder who Gator's mother is and what happened to her.

Dot is described as a tiger, but she's also a Lyon! People are animals, I tell ya. Oh, there's also Gator.

This season is a vast improvement on the previous one, which is a low bar. However, so far I preferred the first three seasons. Still, I'm looking forward to her Home-Alone defenses being triggered. One thing: I thought she glued broken glass on the front door knob, but Wayne opened it with no problem.

Wayne is such a milquetoast -- or gentle man, as Dot said -- but it's easy to see why such a man would appeal to her after being married to asshole Roy.

Loved hearing This Is Halloween. Great soundtrack from that movie.

I expect Lamorne Morris's character to become more competent as the season progresses. His spidey sense was already raised by Gator, so it looks like he has good instincts. He seemed more suspicious of Gator than did Indira.

The guy who plays Old Munch (the kidnapper Roy hired) looked so familiar to me, but I actually haven't seen the guy before. He just reminds me of a couple of other actors whose names I can't recall right now.

Edited November 23, 2023 by peeayebee

[DMK]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

One thing: I thought she glued broken glass on the front door knob, but Wayne opened it with no problem.

The glass was glued to the sliding glass door handle. 

Wayne is such a milquetoast -- or gentle man, as Dot said -- but it's easy to see why such a man would appeal to her after being married to asshole Roy.

Definitely can understand why Dot would pick Wayne after Roy. Don’t understand why she didn’t bounce after meeting Wayne’s mother, though. She’s like a female version of Roy. 

[aghst]

On 11/22/2023 at 12:05 PM, Crashcourse said:

I think they're laying on the Minnesota accents pretty thick.

The early scene with Dot and Indira talking to each other that way, it seemed like self-parody, consciously mocking the accents on this show and by extension, the movie.

Especially when Indira seems least likely to have that accent.

Then it's revealed that Dot was putting on the accent all this time.

Whatever Dot was in her previous life, she must have been more than Roy's wife or now Wayne's wife.

Which makes you wonder why she seems to be content whisking Bisquik and working PTA meetings.

Is it a long con to get at Wayne's trust?  Because it's been about a decade that they've been married and when she tells Lorraine that nobody is going to prevent her from getting hers, it could be interpreted as she's waiting for a big payday.

But why would she threaten the one person who can revoke the trust if that's her game?

Maybe she just wants a nice family life, but with security of course -- how can a car dealership owner not afford an alarm system?

So the things Roy was telling the FBI agents is a real movement, the constitutional sheriffs movement, which holds that only local law enforcement are the true defenders of the Constitution.

Was it a coincidence that Gator tells his partner to stop by the same convenience store where Dot took down both assassins?  He must have seen the police reports?  In any event Stark County is on the western part of ND while Fargo is on the eastern part, right on the border with MN.  Minneapolis is much further east.  It's about a 7-8 hour drive from Stark County, ND to Minneapolis and Scandia is a further 25 miles NE of Minneapolis.

Roy may be some small town despot but is he going to really go up against the FBI or come to the Minneapolis suburbs and do whatever he wants?  The montage of "coming this season" seems to show a lot of action, like pseudo-military tactical action, not something you associate with Fargo.

BTW, I never know what to make of "this is a true story" disclaimer at the start of every episode.  I would think if these events occurred as depicted, many of these would be national stories, like the wife of a scion from a rich family being abducted but then denying she was abducted and it turned out she escaped like a combination of MacGuyver and a ninja.

 

 

[peeayebee]

32 minutes ago, aghst said:

Whatever Dot was in her previous life, she must have been more than Roy's wife or now Wayne's wife.

It'll be interesting to find out. My first guess is that when she saw how controlling and abusive he was, she secretly started researching how to defend herself. My second guess is that she learned a lot of this MacGuyver stuff from Roy himself during their marriage. Now she's using it against him. Hmm. I think I prefer my second guess.

I think she just wants a nice, quiet family life. She seems very happy being a mom and wife, though I do wonder about her turning down Wayne's suggestion of a tumble. I don't think it was just because she had a terrible day. Getting fingerprinted rightfully scared her that Roy would find her. And maybe when Wayne asked for sex, she put up her defenses because Roy's brutish behavior was in her mind.

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Is it a long con to get at Wayne's trust?  Because it's been about a decade that they've been married and when she tells Lorraine that nobody is going to prevent her from getting hers, it could be interpreted as she's waiting for a big payday.

I don't think it's a long con. I think Lorraine's threat just pushed her too far, causing her to lash out and drop her facade. Although it is a facade, this appears to be what she wants to be, how she wants her life to be.

I'm not convinced that the trust money is all-important to her. I think she just had had enough of Lorraine's bitchy, controlling nature -- much like Roy's -- and she snapped.

 

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Was it a coincidence that Gator tells his partner to stop by the same convenience store where Dot took down both assassins?  He must have seen the police reports?  In any event Stark County is on the western part of ND while Fargo is on the eastern part, right on the border with MN.  Minneapolis is much further east.  It's about a 7-8 hour drive from Stark County, ND to Minneapolis and Scandia is a further 25 miles NE of Minneapolis.

Yeah, big coincidence, but not unrealistic. They were on their way back home, so it's likely the same route that the two kidnappers took.

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BTW, I never know what to make of "this is a true story" disclaimer at the start of every episode.

The original movie had this too, right? I don't get much out of it. Seems too gimmicky. I mean, obviously these are not true stories. 

 

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by peeayebee

[SeanBug]

On 11/22/2023 at 1:58 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

I'm interested in the background of Jennifer Jason Leigh.  She's speaking in Locust Valley Lockjaw.  What is her business?  Why did they pose with guns for their Christmas card?  Could you believe she actually had Dave Foley slap her son? 

Also, I hope we learn why Juno T ever married John Hamm. 

Re the card with the guns, there have been several conservative politicians do this.  Maybe a subtle way to show what Mama Lyon's politics are? 

Hamm almost doesn't even look like himself.  He was all handsome and cool on Morning Show but here he is just one evil SOB.  

There's an interview with Noah Hawley on ew.com that explains Dot's background with Roy Tillman. 

[cmfran]

My wife pointed out something that I hadn't thought about until now. Why are some of the characters on this show written to be SO dumb/naive? When Dot offered up her ridiculous explanation of where she'd been, the husband was like "oh, golly gee, well, I believe you!" If this scenario happened to me, there's no way I'd believe a word of it. I know people are inclined to believe their spouses, but no one is that dumb.

I don't know if the writers are trying a little too hard to portray "Minnesota nice," but reeling it back a bit would be good. This also happens a lot with portrayals of southerners.

[Raja]

14 minutes ago, cmfran said:

My wife pointed out something that I hadn't thought about until now. Why are some of the characters on this show written to be SO dumb/naive? When Dot offered up her ridiculous explanation of where she'd been, the husband was like "oh, golly gee, well, I believe you!" If this scenario happened to me, there's no way I'd believe a word of it. I know people are inclined to believe their spouses, but no one is that dumb.

I don't know if the writers are trying a little too hard to portray "Minnesota nice," but reeling it back a bit would be good. This also happens a lot with portrayals of southerners.

That is how the franchise started with the original movie. Beyond the name Fargo it is the selling point

[peeayebee]

Wayne didn't completely believe her, and probably doesn't still, but he loves her and supports her and probably thinks if she is lying, she has good reason. 

[iMonrey]

2 hours ago, cmfran said:

My wife pointed out something that I hadn't thought about until now. Why are some of the characters on this show written to be SO dumb/naive? When Dot offered up her ridiculous explanation of where she'd been, the husband was like "oh, golly gee, well, I believe you!" If this scenario happened to me, there's no way I'd believe a word of it. I know people are inclined to believe their spouses, but no one is that dumb.

This has been a recurring theme of the show, probably lifted from the movie. The characters aren't quite "all there." This is sort of reminiscent of Season 2 when Peggy hit that guy with her car and just drove home with him stuck in the windshield. Her husband was kind of dopey about that whole thing too.

It doesn't make much sense for Dot to keep up this charade now that Roy knows where she lives. Arming herself and booby-trapping the house will only do so much if she expects to go on with her life and work for the PTA and drive her kid to school, etc. I think the show goes out of its way to make these characters "quirky" but they come off as being not quite right, mentally.

[DearEvette]

I got a chance to watch these two eps.  They were enjoyable and I was entertained throughout. Enough to want to see the next one which is more than I can say for any season of Fargo since the first one.

I know I am in the minority when I say that I am not as impressed with Juno here as most.  She feels a little miscast, to me.  I don't see the unassuming house wife when I see her.  She has a look that is a little too polished and sharp to be the person she is pretending.  I was truly not surprised to know that that woman at the school board meeting was capable of what she was capable of.  She looked like it from the jump.

It could be that that was intent, but I think the shifts we get  from the 'Oh golly gee" wide eyed persona to the smart escape artist or the "don't fuck with me" steely eyed stare down with her mother in law would have worked better for me  and hit harder if there had been a bigger contrast.  Instead of seeing someone take off a mask to reveal someone wholly new, all I saw was someone drop an accent.

And there were a few things that kept yanking me out of the story.  For one, if Dot is supposed to be so savvy why wouldn't she be fully aware the gig is up?  DIY home siege preparation is fun to see for what it is and how it will come into play, but it is impractical and if someone forgets how something is set up or touches something you can get a hammer to the heads or electrocuted?  Also, If someone wants to get you, they don't have to do it while you're home. 

Joe Keery as Gator was great though.  I barely recognized him and he hit just the right loutish note.  LaMorne Harris also hit just right as the officer who probably never expected to do more than traffic stops or busting up bar fights.  I am betting that Witt and Indira between them will fill the shoes that Frances McDormand has in the original movie.

Jon Hamm was of course great as that particular type of 'I am the law" Sherriff. 

My husband and I were laughing that Jennifer Jason Leigh didn't even attempt the accent, instead dusting off her Hudsucker Proxy tribute to Katherine Hepburn accent.

So far the only people I unreservedly like are Indira, Witt and Scottie.  Very curious about Dot and Roy's relationship and her background.  Also very curious to see what happens with Dot going forward.  If the show remains true to its pattern no one is gonna come out unscathed.

[DMK]

9 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It doesn't make much sense for Dot to keep up this charade now that Roy knows where she lives. Arming herself and booby-trapping the house will only do so much if she expects to go on with her life and work for the PTA and drive her kid to school, etc.

29 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

if Dot is supposed to be so savvy why wouldn't she be fully aware the gig is up?  DIY home siege preparation is fun to see for what it is and how it will come into play, but it is impractical and if someone forgets how something is set up or touches something you can get a hammer to the heads or electrocuted?  Also, If someone wants to get you, they don't have to do it while you're home. 

For one thing, Dot has little alternative. The most obvious is take Scotty and run. But it’s much harder to do that with a kid than it was for her to do on her own ten years before.

Secondly, Roy may have all his “I’m the Law” power but that’s largely diminished if he’s out of his jurisdiction. If he gets himself maimed breaking and entering Dot’s house, he has no weight to throw around. Which I’m sure is why he hired goons in the first place. At any rate, that’s Dot’s best chance, to take a stand on her home turf. 

[SnapHappy]

John Hamm with nipple rings is a character trait I never knew I'd appreciate. 

And to be totally inappropriate, he couldn't be that well endowed if we didn't even see a tiny peek of his package or his berries from the back when he climbed out of his hot tub.  And he hoisted those legs up high. Hot tubs don't cause shrinkage the way cold pools do.  I was disappointed.  

Love Joe Keery as Gator.  A bit like his obnoxious first season Steve in ST.  I wonder if he's actually with the Sherriff's department, or his dad just lets him dress up as one and ride along.  That wouldn't surprise me.

I'm in.  I just want Dot to quit calling pancakes "Bisquicks".  The mix makes biscuits too.  And Impossible pies.  Though her daughter probably coined the term in their house, from the box, the way kids do. 

Edited November 25, 2023 by SnapHappy

[Moot Smoothie]

Yeah, was thinking Scotty was maybe eating a Bisquick Blizzard from Dairy Queen due to all the product placement it was getting.   However you make pancakes beating them into submission like Dot is never a good idea unless you want them to bounce!

Am I the only one wondering why lead kidnapper Munch was wearing a skirt?  It really didn't look like a kilt but in either case it just seemed odd that nobody mentioned the fact that old boy was committing his felonies decked out like Olive Oyl.

Seconding Witt being an incompetent law officer but be he seems like a really good guy who can only improve and I'm feeling him as a major upgrade for Indira's deadbeat BF. 

[EtheltoTillie]

8 hours ago, Moot Smoothie said:

Am I the only one wondering why lead kidnapper Munch was wearing a skirt?  It really didn't look like a kilt but in either case it just seemed odd that nobody mentioned the fact that old boy was committing his felonies decked out like Olive Oyl.

No, I was definitely wondering.  It occurs to me now that it's a counterpart of little Scotty, who is dressing in boys' clothes. 

[EtheltoTillie]

When Dot dropped her accent in her confrontation with JJL, it reminded me of the moment when the Nevada senator drops his cornpone accent to threaten Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II.  See minute 1:20 in this video.

Of course, he does not win, but I expect Dot to do better. 

https://www.google.com/search?channel=ftr&client=firefox-b-1-d&q=godfather+part+ii+senator+contronts+michael#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:10cc1a96,vid:9wtFKXaltKY,st:0

[SnapHappy]

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

No, I was definitely wondering.  It occurs to me now that it's a counterpart of little Scotty, who is dressing in boys' clothes. 

That was kind of funny when her grandmother called her a cross-dresser.  But she's grandly horrible, so I'm loving JJL. 

The kilt-thing the dude was wearing did remind me more of the plaids the guys in "Outlander" wore WAAAAY back in the days before the more traditional, pleated skirt-styles we see on Scots men these days.  They were huge & could literally double as a blanket for somebody caught outside in bad weather.  Which is supposedly all of the time in Scotland.  *LOL*

I think they're always wanting us to like the real, albeit slightly derpy law enforcement officers, excepting the ego-driven psychos like Roy/John Hamm.   They're usually the actual good guys.  

[HelloooKitty]

Juno is awesome but I can’t figure out exactly what JJL is going for/doing here. 

[peeayebee]

Ole Munch's weird clothes certainly caught my eye. There probably won't be an explanation; it's just a character quirk. However, I did do a bit of googling. Munch can be a Norwegian name, and men in Norway used to wear skirts. So there's that.

[Tatum]

I really liked the first two episodes, although I find John Hamm’s character kind of contradictory- he seems to be running some kind of fundamentalist cult based on his lecturing of the wife beating husband, as he tells the battered wife to treat his burns and keep remembering her place, which seems at odds with being a member of law enforcement. I understand the allure of it for him, but think that would be too great a conflict of interest for him and the state law officials. Also, the nipple ring thing seems very at odds with both. 
 

I would assume Dot did not marry him willingly and spent years planning her escape route, but I am surprised she was ever given the resources to do so. Even self taught- she’d need books or internet or something. Although I guess it’s possible she picked up on some of that after she left, as she’s been looking over her shoulder this whole time. 
 

I think her husband knows she’s lying but either trusts her that she has her valid reasons, or doesn’t want to risk alienating her by trying to force the issue. 
 

I found the contracted kidnapper to be quite reminiscent of the killer in No Country for Old Men, both with his deliberate calm and his odd sartorial choices. I wonder if he’ll end up working with Dot. He seemed to hold no ill will against her for defending herself and only blamed her ex for downplaying her level of survival skills. Although I don’t know if he did- it would not surprise me if her ex truly had no idea what she was capable of and thought it would be easy. 

 

I thought the cop stood outside the gas station to avoid making anyone already in there collateral damage if he could- but help didn’t arrive before he was shot. I don’t think he’s supposed to be dim. 
 

 

 

[peeayebee]

11 minutes ago, Tatum said:

I really liked the first two episodes, although I find John Hamm’s character kind of contradictory- he seems to be running some kind of fundamentalist cult based on his lecturing of the wife beating husband, as he tells the battered wife to treat his burns and keep remembering her place, which seems at odds with being a member of law enforcement.

He enforces the law as he sees it. He's an authoritarian, and apparently doesn't think much of the federal government.

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I found the contracted kidnapper to be quite reminiscent of the killer in No Country for Old Men, both with his deliberate calm and his odd sartorial choices.

Don't forget the lovely haircut! 

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I thought the cop stood outside the gas station to avoid making anyone already in there collateral damage if he could- but help didn’t arrive before he was shot. I don’t think he’s supposed to be dim.

 I don't think he's dim either. He probably simply hasn't ever had to deal with anything like this before. This is trial by fire.

[DMK]

19 hours ago, SnapHappy said:

And to be totally inappropriate, he couldn't be that well endowed if we didn't even see a tiny peek of his package or his berries from the back when he climbed out of his hot tub.  And he hoisted those legs up high. Hot tubs don't cause shrinkage the way cold pools do.  I was disappointed.  

I imagine that his dangly bits weren’t allowed in the broadcast so the result we got was either Jon Hamm wearing a sock over his junk or an editing technician earning the big bucks and CGI-ing it out. 

[Tatum]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

He enforces the law as he sees it. He's an authoritarian, and apparently doesn't think much of the federal government.

I get that, but so blatantly mixing his interpretation of church with state seems like he’s pretty much daring any other law enforcement to do something about it. Clearly, he’s already attracted the attention of the feds. He doesn’t seem to care, but I suspect he’ll realize soon enough he’s not untouchable. He’d have been better to be a little more low profile than he’s been. He sure is smug though- he’s managed to out-smug David Thewlis’ character so far which was no easy feat. 

[Raja]

1 hour ago, Tatum said:

I really liked the first two episodes, although I find John Hamm’s character kind of contradictory- he seems to be running some kind of fundamentalist cult based on his lecturing of the wife beating husband, as he tells the battered wife to treat his burns and keep remembering her place, which seems at odds with being a member of law enforcement. I understand the allure of it for him, but think that would be too great a conflict of interest for him and the state law officials. Also, the nipple ring thing seems very at odds with both.

Don't look at him as a cop, but as the man who won the election. It just happens that most elected Sheriff's first present themselves as law enforcement instead of one of their other responsibilities 

[Tatum]

11 minutes ago, Raja said:

Don't look at him as a cop, but as the man who won the election. It just happens that most elected Sheriff's first present themselves as law enforcement instead of one of their other responsibilities 

Yeah, I would just think a man like him would rather have his own compound free from laws of society, than ostensibly be obligated to uphold the laws of whatever jurisdiction he’s in. 

[TakomaSnark]

50 minutes ago, Tatum said:

I get that, but so blatantly mixing his interpretation of church with state seems like he’s pretty much daring any other law enforcement to do something about it. Clearly, he’s already attracted the attention of the feds. He doesn’t seem to care, but I suspect he’ll realize soon enough he’s not untouchable. He’d have been better to be a little more low profile than he’s been. He sure is smug though- he’s managed to out-smug David Thewlis’ character so far which was no easy feat. 

The immediate connection I made was to the Bundys (Ammon/Cliven), with maybe some historicial ties to Koresh and of course, very current ties to MAGA (though I don't expect us to ever hear those four words uttered together). 

Unfortunately, there are a lot of these guys out there, both formally in law enforcement as well as holding up in their own 'sovereign citizen armies.'

[Tatum]

I did laugh when he referred to the woman federal agent as Mrs. “Partner’s Butchered Last Name”…like any woman couldn’t have been there in a professional capacity and the fed must have brought his wife along. So immature but still a little funny. 

[LeeDenny]

I missed season 4 and figured I'd jump into season 5. I like it so far but the accents are putting me over the edge. That is not a central Minnesota accent. 

[possibilities]

23 minutes ago, LeeDenny said:

That is not a central Minnesota accent. 

Thank you! None of the people I know from MN sound anything like the people on this show.

22 hours ago, Moot Smoothie said:

However you make pancakes beating them into submission like Dot is never a good idea unless you want them to bounce!

I loved that, because it showed how stressed she was. No way PTA Mom didn't know better, but she was taking her distress out on the batter!

I wonder if Bisquick is paying to be name-checked. I frankly always think of them as biscuit mix, not pancakes. 

[Tatum]

54 minutes ago, LeeDenny said:

I missed season 4 and figured I'd jump into season 5. I like it so far but the accents are putting me over the edge. That is not a central Minnesota accent. 

No, and Scandia is actually part of the metropolitan Minneapolis area (NE suburb). I’ve lived in various Minneapolis suburbs almost my whole life and no one has an accent like that. We do have the long Ohs but that’s it. Nonetheless, I did think her “look, bitch…anywho”…metamorphosis was pretty good. 

[aghst]

Characters were also saying aboot.

Osmosis from proximity to Canada?

[iMonrey]

15 hours ago, possibilities said:

I wonder if Bisquick is paying to be name-checked. I frankly always think of them as biscuit mix, not pancakes. 

I'm not sure what kind of symbolism we're supposed to read into this, but they certainly are making Bisquick a thing. When Dot ran into the convenience store she stopped and stared at a box of it for a good long while as if in a trance. And after the mayhem was over there were a bunch of Bisquick flyers on the floor.

[peeayebee]

Will we see a Bisquick bomb? 🤣

[Pi237]

I’m just glad they made Dot clever, and not one of these 90lbs soaking wet/no muscle mass/but can fight guys twice her size with magic Hulk punches.