Summary
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Fargo season 5 (up to episode 4).
Fargo season 5, episode 4, “Insolubilia,” is jam-packed with shocking revelations about the characters and major developments in the plot, like Deputy Indira Olmstead’s connection to Lorraine Lyon and the mysterious fate of Sheriff Roy Tillman’s other missing wife. This episode follows on from last week’s cliffhanger ending, in which Tillman’s loyal son Gator and his crew found Dot’s suburban home late on Halloween night and crept up to the front door. The action-packed opening of “Insolubilia” didn’t disappoint, as it continued to show off all the badass skills that Dot has been hiding in her double life as a mild-mannered housewife.
Gator and his crew’s attack on Dot’s house has given her a lot more to explain to the authorities (and to her ruthless, cold-hearted mother-in-law) – including a serious injury to her new husband, Wayne, who still has no idea what’s going on. Ole Munch is taking his time to pursue revenge against the Tillmans, leaving threats at their home to build suspense before he strikes. The reappearance of Agents Meyer and Joaquin has provided a ton of useful exposition about Tillman’s cult-like community and their investigation into his law-breaking law enforcement operation. Fargo season 5, episode 4 is a thrilling installment full of big reveals.
8 Dot Evades Capture (Again)
She Won’t Go Down Without A Fight
Once again, Tillman’s forces arrive at Dot’s house to abduct her in “Insolubilia,” and once again, she manages to evade capture. The booby traps she set around the house take care of most of them. Gator manages to escape and the last remaining guy is trapped under the attic staircase, where Dot knocks him unconscious with the toilet tank lid from the bathroom. It doesn’t seem to matter how many goons Sheriff Tillman sends to capture Dot; she won’t go without a fight, and she usually wins that fight. This scene demonstrates a familiarity between Dot and Gator; Gator switches between calling her “Nadine” (her real name) and “Mama.”
7 Wayne Is Electrocuted By One Of Dot’s Booby Traps
Another Strange Situation That Dot Has To Explain To The Cops
Throughout the season, Wayne has been gradually figuring out that his wife isn’t really who she says she is. He gets the clearest confirmation yet in episode 4 when a group of armed assailants break into the house and refer to Dot as “Nadine” before she beats the goons to death and sends their leader running scared. Dot’s booby traps prove to be fiercely effective against the bad guys, but there’s an unfortunate bit of friendly fire, too, as Wayne is electrocuted and hospitalized by one of Dot’s traps. In the hospital, when he calls her Nadine, Dot tries to convince Wayne that he’s deliriously imagining things.
6 Dot’s House Is Burnt To The Ground
Yet Another Strange Situation That Dot Has To Explain To The Cops
Wayne’s electrocution at the window starts a fire that ends up burning Dot’s house to the ground. This is yet another bizarre situation, much like the electrocution itself, that Dot has to explain to Lorraine and the cops. Dot keeps insisting that it was “bad wirin’” that caused Wayne’s shock and the ensuing house fire, but the cops aren’t buying it – and Lorraine certainly isn’t buying it, either. Indira mentions that the fire department is putting out the fire and will conduct a full investigation to figure out how the fire started, so Dot’s lies will start to unravel soon enough.
5 Indira Owes Money To Lorraine’s Debt Collection Agency
She Borrowed $2,671.43 To Pay Her Husband’s Medical Bills
Against Lorraine’s wishes, Indira is continuing her investigation into Dot’s kidnapping with Witt Farr, the state trooper whose life was saved by Dot during the showdown with the kidnappers at the gas station. Midway through the episode, as she gets in her car, Indira receives a call from Lorraine’s merciless debt collection agency to remind her that she owes them $2,671.43. She borrowed the money to pay medical bills for her husband Lars, who “degloved his ring finger” a few months earlier. Lorraine will surely use this debt, and her ability to raise the interest at will, to pressure Indira into dropping the case.
4 Sheriff Tillman Has A Second Missing Wife
Who Is She?
Agents Meyer and Joaquin reappear in episode 4 as they bring what they’ve learned about Sheriff Tillman to their superior at the FBI. They’re hoping to get approval for a deeper investigation, so they can bring more agents to Tillman’s community and bring him to justice, but their superior is frustratingly reluctant to give them that approval. During this conversation, the agents mention that people seem to disappear around Tillman all the time. They list some of the murders that Tillman has covered up and then say that “two of his wives” have gone missing, too. Obviously, Dot is one of those wives – but who’s the other one?
3 Tillman Has His Own Militia That The FBI Is Scared Of
The FBI Doesn’t Want To Bother A Man With His Own Militia
The FBI agents’ investigation into Tillman has uncovered a bunch of guns and tactical gear that have gone missing from the inventory. They believe that Tillman has stolen these weapons and gear to arm his own militia. However, when Agents Meyer and Joaquin mention this to their superior, he tells them to stop rocking the boat and leave Tillman alone, because they don’t want to rile up that militia and start a war with them. It must be quite a militia to have the FBI scared of them. The presence of this militia provides further proof of the theory that Tillman is a cult leader.
2 The FBI Agents Track Down Dot
Agents Meyer And Joaquin Know The Address Of Dot’s Burnt Home
After speaking with their useless superior and being told to stop investigating Tillman, Agents Meyer and Joaquin reveal that they know where one of Tillman’s missing wives, Nadine, is hiding. They’ve discovered that she’s hiding in plain sight under the name Dorothy Lyon, and they have her address in Scandia, Minnesota. They’re in for quite a surprise when they drive down to Scandia, head to the address, and find the house burnt to the ground. The agents already have plenty of questions for Dot, but they’ll have even more when they find her home to be a pile of ash and rubble.
1 Tillman Kills The Abusive Husband
The Same One He Spared In Episode 2
In season 5, episode 2, “Trials and Tribulations,” when Tillman was formally introduced, he was seen reprimanding a man for physically assaulting his wife. He ordered one of his goons to choke the abusive husband, but spared his life before he lost consciousness. In episode 4, Tillman pays this couple a visit to make sure they’re heeding his demands. During this visit, the husband pulls a gun on Tillman and makes an attempt on his life, but Tillman has a quicker draw, so he shoots the husband dead. As the plot continues to thicken, Tillman’s sharpshooting skills will surely come back in a later episode of Fargo.
