The Lyon, the Tigers, and the Bear? Oh my.

The episode begins in Lorraine’s office as she goes over Wayne’s hospital results. Dot apparently wanted some time alone with her husband, who would have to remain hospitalized for awhile. As time passes, Lorraine recounts Dot’s mask slipping and the threat.

We get some narration- hello, Jason Schwartzman- about the tiger being one of the fiercest animals on Earth. They’re known for their cunning and most dangerous when cornered. Though it may look like the tiger has given up, this is often a ruse. Even now, when cornered, it plans an escape.

Danish and Lorraine discuss what to do about Wayne and Dot. Danish goes to Dot, who is sleeping in a bedroom at Lorraine’s home. With Danish are two orderlies, and this startles Dot, who is dressed in all white. Danish assures Dot that this is for her own good, and as Dot contemplates charging at the orderlies and Wayne, she then fires Dot. No dice.

Dot threatens to hurt the orderlies, saying she’ll break their fingers and bite off both their noses. She then tells her tale of burning another guy alive and biting the other’s ear off. If they try to force her against her will, they’re going to find out.

She does score a few hits on the orderlies, but she’s wheeled into an ambulance nonetheless. Well, shit.

Later, Lorraine is told by Jerome that it’s done, as Dot is sent back to the Walter Mondale Care Center where Wayne is currently being held. Dot assures Danish that she’s feeling better now. All she needs is a bath. Plus, she doesn’t want to keep Danish busy.

Now on her own, Dot asks a hospital employee for a tissue. Instead, she twists his nose and straps him to the gurney. Dot slips into another orderly’s uniform- it’s complicated- and slips out of her room.

At a restaurant, Lorraine speaks with two businessmen: Vivian Dugger, played by Andrew Wheeler, and Rupert Cousins, played by David Snider. They’d rather be meeting with Danish, but Lorraine wants to buy their bank and boasts that she has six governors on speed-dial. Only six?

Anyway, the bank needs to sell, as it does not have enough cash to satisfy current U.S. banking regulations.

One phone call and they’ll have so many SEC agents that they’ll be shitting briefcases for the rest of their lives. How very vivid. See, Lorraine is willing to buy the bank because she’s in the debt business. She wants to get into the credit business. Heh. She and Loy Cannon would’ve gotten along. But she needs to test the waters and make sure the government will let her do both.

As such, she’s starting small, knocking $10 million off of her offer after Dugger calls her ‘lady,’ and will pay a premium to get this done quickly. She could always take her millions elsewhere. Lorraine then leaves, telling the men to respond by end of day. Well, at least the guys got their burgers and fries.

Oh, and apparently the numbers looked good.

Back at the hospital, two smart orderlies check Dot’s name badge and recognize that she is, in fact, not Sarah. So she slips out as the orderlies begin searching the premises. Dot grabs a woman in a wheelchair and takes her for a walk…er, roll.

Lorraine returns home, only to receives a surprise visit from Sheriff Roy Tillman to talk about Lorraine’s daughter-in-law, who once married Roy. The two size each other up, with Lorraine offering Roy ‘fuck-off’ money to never show up again. Roy asks if Lorraine has always been high and mighty, looking down on hard-working Americans like himself.

Lorraine wants the details of this marriage, and Roy provides a marriage photo, confirming the two were wed on June 3, 2007: his second marriage, but her first. They were together for two years and then, poof, Nadine vanishes. Roy thought that she was dead, so now he’s relieved to hear that she’s been found.

While Lorraine would love nothing more than to give Dot away, Dot is married to Wayne and loves him. The wife is the property of the husband, says Roy, which would make Wayne a thief. Lorraine has heard of a man like Roy: a constitutional sheriff who fights defends the freedom of the common man from the tyranny of the state.

So he wants freedom with no responsibilities? Only one person gets that: not the president, but a baby. He’s fighting for his right to be a baby, apparently.

Danish enters to talk about the talk with Dugger, whom Roy happens to know as the banker with a woman’s name.

Okay, good, I’m not the only one who thought that.

Anyway, Roy arrested Dugger once when he found him with a lady of the night, but they came to an arrangement. It’s a small world, isn’t it? Lorraine still offers to write a check to make Roy go away. Between his re-election and Lorraine’s business dealings, neither want any sordid details coming out.

Plus, while they’re talking about property rights, a missing person is presumed dead after seven years. I’m pretty sure that varies from state to state, but whatever. Technically, Dorothy is Wayne’s property now. Roy corrects Loraine: her name is Nadine. Well, to Lorraine, that’s not Dot’s name anymore.

Outside, Danish provides Roy with his card and offers to talk about a deal. But Roy can’t negotiate with a man named after a breakfast pastry. That’s fair. Jerome arrives with Scotty, and Roy tells Scotty to tell Mom that Sheriff Ray said hello. Roy promise to see Danish again, just not in the way that they’re expecting.

Roy departs, tipping his hat to Deputy Olmstead, who arrives and asks Danish if he and Lorraine had Dot committed. Why is that important? Because a call went out on the radio: Dot’s escaped.

Roy tells Gator, who is at the hospital with three others, that it’s time for plan B: kidnap Wayne. Gator passes the phone to Bowman, played by Conrad Coates, who tells Gator to stay in the truck while the others take care of business. So while they leave, Gator vapes.

Back to narrating. The lady tiger can outsmart others and will do anything to protect her young or mate. As the three arrive, Conrad asks about his cousin, Wayne Lyon, who is on the third floor. Nearby, Dot and the old woman head for an elevator just before Bowman can board.

As if to make things worse, Agents Meyer and Joaquin, who just seem to teleport where they want, also arrive at the medical center, so Gator rushes inside.

Dot rushes into a random room where a Jordan Seymore, played by Steven McCarthy- the same ranting man from last time- rants about wanting Jell-O and broth. He’s already not happy about the hospital soon ripping out six feet of his intestines.

Tired of this, Dot smothers Jordan with his own coat, all while saying he lacks grace and dignity. When Jordan passes out, Dot exits and sees the old woman being wheeled away. She then switches Jordan’s name plate with Wayne’s to throw off Conrad.

How long has Dot been doing this as an escape mechanism?

Dot takes a still woozy Wayne to the bathroom, even though he just went. Again, this poor guy! As Dot prepares to leave, she tells Wayne to lock the door and not leave until she says. She also tells him to lock the door, which he does.

Dot leaves just as the three men enter Jordan Seymore’s room. Agents Meyer and Joaquin run into Dot and offer to talk- all while Gator walks by. Dot, petrified, asks the agents if they have a card.

Gator informs the men that federal agents are in the building, but right now, they’ve got the husband, so they leave. Gator implores Dot to keep quiet.

More narration: only the tiger shark is a more dangerous foe. Though the tiger shark, or any kind of shark, would suffocate in a hospital setting. Well, of course.

As Dot stops by the bathroom, the agents feel that Dot should be relieved that there’s no more running. One of the orderlies that Dot attacked asks the agents if they’ve seen the woman. After getting her name, the agents enter the bathroom, but Dot has already left through the window. Why Agent Meyer didn’t follow Dot in to make sure she didn’t try to pull a fast one, I have no idea.

So Deputy Olmstead asks why Lorraine had Dot committed, but Lorraine is more focused on the debt, $192,000 total, that Olmstead owes from credit cards, student loans, mortgage, among other things. Not relevant, but over 90 percent of American adults are debtors. Olmstead isn’t one of them, but Lorraine believes that Olmstead is in a cage. Olmstead put herself through school with two jobs, but she still took a loan.

No one tricked her into debt- she went willingly. Animals in the zoo fight, and all of them are in the zoo, Lorraine believes. Fees go up every month, and when Olmstead dies, her debts become theirs. Right now, Lorraine is the zookeeper. Will Olmstead look for Dot, or just sit and drink coffee in the one house in state where Dot ain’t at?

It’s such an odd line for Lorraine to say, but apparently this last line is a callback to a line in Raising Arizona, which I haven’t seen at the time of writing this, or I’d probably have greater appreciation for this callback if I had.

As Jerome watches Scotty play single-player ice hockey, Scotty spots her mom from afar. They reunite, and Scotty asks Dot who Sheriff Roy is, since he was here not that long ago and wanted to say hello. Dot says that Roy is no one, just someone that mom used to know. The two then leave.

Before Danish can also leave, an agent tells Danish that he needs to show identification. Nobody comes or goes without showing ID. Danish hired the man, but he still needs to show it because those are the rules. Jerome rushes out and asks if Danish has seen Scotty, since she’s missing.

So there aren’t security guards watching the entire perimeter? Just the entrance?

Whatever. Olmstead arrives home and finds Lars playing more virtual golf. Of course. Also in her home are Dot and Scotty. Dot at least made coffee. Scotty can’t watch cartoons since the cable got turned off, but at least they have a DVD of The Little Mermaid. Dot compliments Olmstead’s kind face, but Olmstead can be scary when she needs to be. Dot asks what Lars has been up to for hours with all that golfing.

Olmstead asks Dot if she ever dreamed of not being tall enough to reach it. Lars isn’t there yet, so every month, the credit card bills get bigger and bigger. Dot asks if she can leave Scotty at the house for a few days while she takes care of something. She’s not safe at Lorraine’s. Safe from what? Olmstead offers to help Dot out, but only if Dot tells her the truth.

As Olmstead lights a cigarette, Dot tells her that some fellas came for her on Halloween night. It was her first husband, before Wayne. Dot was just 17- 15 when they took her, but that’s another story.

“They” never hit her when things went their way. It’s just when they’re weak, and pretending to be strong. They just need something small to climb onto to feel big. Dot again asks the deputy if Scotty can stay, but Olmstead reminds Dot that she’s a wanted fugitive, Scotty is presumed kidnapped, and Olmstead is an officer of the law.

Lars enters and notices that there’s a lady in their kitchen. Very good, Lars. Going against her oath, Olmstead introduces Dot as her friend, Alice, who just pulled a double at the hospital. Indira also tells Lars that Scotty will be staying with them for awhile.

As the Fargo film theme kicks in, Dot heads off to take care of business as the episode comes to a close. Car she drives off in has DLR on the license plate. Better check to see if it gets any hits.

Interesting little game of cat and mouse this episode was. We’ve seen Dot fight her way when cornered, but we saw more of her survival skills on display here as she had to escape capture from multiple fronts.

Before getting into the weeds of the episode, it’s worth highlighting the man behind the camera: Mr. Dana Gonzales, who for awhile was the Director of Photography for Hawley’s work on both Legion and Fargo. He started stepping behind the camera with Legion, continued that with four episodes in Fargo’s fourth season, and now he’s directing again with Hawley writing.

My point is that these two always make a great tag-team and I hope they continue collaborating on projects.

Now, there have been two constants this season: debt, and the importance of family. Everyone owes a debt to someone or something, as someone like Olmstead understands plenty. Those who free you from said debt are liberators, in Lorraine’s own warped way of thinking. You want your freedom without the feeling of being shackled to someone you owe.

Lorraine gets the most focus she’s had all season so far to illustrate both of these themes. She said in the previous episode that people in debt are powerless and she wants to give them back their dignity. She calls the shot on acquiring Dugger’s bank because she’s aware of the financial situation his company faces. But this isn’t an empty promise, as she has the power to back up her words.

She’s not one to be messed with and has all of the leverage she needs. Not as much when it comes to Roy, and I’m glad that these two finally had a scene together. I’d happily watch more of Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jon Hamm have these back and forth talks. They’re two sides of the same coin, seeing family as important, but also seeing Dot more as property and less as a person.

Sure, Lorraine rightly calls out that freedom without responsibility is childish, but it’s not much different than Lorraine thinking she can tell police that they have no power when she has all the money she could ever want at her disposal. Lorraine is as much of an ass as Roy is, but now that she knows Dot isn’t out for money, and has an idea of who Roy is, she has reason to hold onto her tight, despite wanting her gone.

How’s the saying go? The enemy of my enemy is my friend? Both Dot and Lorraine are tigers, though Lorraine is a bit more up front about what she can do. Lorraine might not like Dot, but Wayne does, and that’s all that matters. Lorraine believes in the power of the family unit- this is the same woman that had her family pose with rifles for a Christmas photo as a show of strength.

So she’s not about to let some constitutional sheriff reclaim what he believes is his. Are she and Dot going to become friends overnight? Of course not, but Lorraine has a reason to fight for her family, even if she and Roy have similar views on power and authority. I imagine if it came down to it, she’d probably vote for Roy. But like any elected official, that doesn’t mean your views align with theirs.

Both Lorraine and Roy are predators out to pounce on one another. Both prefer to flaunt their authority, though Roy has faced more recent headaches than he’d care to admit. Gator has failed to capture Nadine, the feds are on his ass, and Ole Munch invaded his home. He’s having to put out multiple fires, but the race to retrieve Nadine will only become more challenging now that she’s on the offensive.

As the season’s antagonist, I do appreciate how proactive Roy and his clan are. They aren’t successful, yeah, but at least they’re not sitting around just thinking of ideas. Hell, Roy going straight to Lorraine was a ballsy move. Him knowing Vivian Dugger exemplifies his extensive reach in the community, and his brief run-in with Scotty lets Nadine know that, yes, Roy is also on the offensive.

Dot is the cornered, yet fierce tiger who manages to fight and elude everyone she comes across. While it was fun seeing Dot switch signs, swipe a coat, and even get a few bites on two orderlies, I have to wonder if some of this was too easy. Okay, the two hospital employees recognizing that Dot wasn’t Sarah? That I appreciate because it would have been so easy for them to just assume she always worked there.

But she manages to elude Roy’s men, avoid getting caught at a hospital that’s on high alert due to a patient escaping, and slips away from Agents Joaquin and Meyer. You would think that at least Agent Meyer would follow Dot into the bathroom to make sure she doesn’t pull a fast one. I get that the people in the Fargo world aren’t always the brightest, but either Dot is just that crafty, or everyone around her is just that stupid.

Still, I have to admire how resourceful Dot is. As the narrator tells us, she’ll do anything it takes to protect her family. Like she said to Scotty last time about the home invaders, she tells her that Roy is no one and they have to keep moving forward. Lorraine called Dot a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and that’s on full display here. She literally slips into a nurse’s clothing and actually attacks when forced to defend herself.

One of the few time she gets any peace is with Wayne who, again, is just the unwitting bystander in all of this. He’s still recovering, but I did like his brief scene with Dot. Sure, he has no idea what’s going on, but if anything, he understands that Dot cares for him.

All  that said, the last time a wife left their husband in a confined space in the Fargo world, the husband died. I don’t think anything bad will happen to Wayne, but he could be an accidental casualty. Well, a further one since he’s already been electrocuted thanks to Dot’s trap.

Side-note, I’m very happy that we got the classic Fargo theme from the film at the end of the episode. I don’t recall it appearing in Season 4, though some have said that it was indeed used in the episode “East/West.” It doesn’t ring a bell and maybe I missed it, but regardless, I always enjoy when the show calls back to the movie with this music.

Indira might not be as fierce a tiger as Lorraine and Dot, but she’s still a force, given her work in law enforcement. She’s drowning in debt, as Lorraine points out, but she put herself in that situation and worked her way up, even if she still has a mountain of debt. Much of that can be attributed to Lars, yes, and Indira probably agrees with Lorraine that when she dies, her debt will go onto her kids.

But she’s not going to give in and admit defeat. Lorraine uses Indira’s debt as leverage. She could probably wipe it away, but then Indira would owe her. I also don’t think Indira a. wants to owe anyone for debt that’s mostly of her husband’s doing, and b. wants to have any connection to a person like Lorraine. While Lorraine might think herself benevolent, there would be strings attached, I’m sure.

The question aside of how Dot knew where Indira lived, I did enjoy their scene together for a few reasons. At this point, Dot has few people she can turn to for help. She has Witt Farr, who I believe would gladly help because she saved his life. Really, Dot has no reason to trust anyone in law enforcement, as Roy himself is a sheriff, but Dot’s options are limited and the circle of people she turn to for help is shrinking.

The waiting period for those guns is still going, so she can’t pick those up. Escaping from a hospital probably wouldn’t help her case, but maybe Dot’s conversation with Indira in the premiere leaves her to believe that she can be trusted. Indira may be one step behind Dot, but in this quiet moment, she sees not an escaped tiger, but a person in need.

I stand by preferring to know as little of Dot’s past as possible, though the horrors Dot faced that shaped her into who she is today is given a glimpse. There’s a real vulnerability to Temple’s performance here in one of the few instances where Dot drops her guard. Taken and married at a young age is a hell of a way to live, but this is just the tip. We don’t know all of what Dot went through- only that Roy wants her back.

She’ll fight like hell to keep her current life, and Olmstead, against her oath, might just be one of the people to help her. Roy knows what Nadine can do, and Dot is fully aware that Roy is making a move for her. We’re at the halfway point of the season and things look like they’re only going to get more explosive from here.

Time for Dot to make her move.