Scotty’s Real Father & 9 Other Reveals

Summary

• Sheriff Tillman captures Dot, despite her last-ditch attempt to escape, and forces her to sign her name as “Nadine Tillman.”
• Olmstead’s decision to leave her husband becomes easier after she catches him in bed with another woman.
• Danish Graves sabotages Tillman’s re-election campaign by recruiting three other men to legally change their names to Roy Tillman. Tillman’s furious reaction has a negative impact on his campaign.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Fargo season 5 (up to episode 8).

As Fargo season 5 heads toward its explosive ending, episode 8, “Blanket,” has delivered a bunch of big reveals, from Scotty’s real father to Olmstead’s answer to Lorraine to the fate of Danish Graves. Last week’s episode – episode 7, “Linda” – ended on the bombshell twist of Dot being hospitalized and Sheriff Tillman arriving to collect her. “Blanket” follows on from that shocking cliffhanger as Tillman brings Dot back to his ranch to face a cruel and unusual punishment for leaving him. The episode is directed by Sylvain White, who also helmed “Linda,” from a script co-written by series creator Noah Hawley in collaboration with Thomas Bezucha.

Tillman faces a major setback in his campaign to be re-elected as the constitutional sheriff of Stark County, which leads to bloody consequences. Witt Farr returns to the ensemble after being absent for a couple of episodes, just in time to see Dot in the clutches of her abusive ex-husband. All the drama surrounding Olmstead’s strained marriage to man-child Lars comes to a head with a surprising turn that makes her decision to leave a lot easier. With just two Fargo episodes left to go, “Blanket” has set the stage for a thrilling conclusion to this season.

10 Sheriff Tillman Finally Captures Dot

Dot makes a last-ditch attempt to escape his clutches, but it doesn’t work

Following on from last week’s shocking cliffhanger, Fargo season 5, episode 8 opens with Sheriff Tillman catching up with Dot at the hospital. When he signs her out at the front desk, he forces her to sign her name as “Nadine Tillman.” Dot makes a last-ditch attempt to escape Roy’s clutches as she writes down, “HELP ME,” on the dotted line for the patient’s name. This is a smart move, but it doesn’t work, because Roy knows the receptionist, so she simply gets him another form for Dot to fill out properly.

9 Witt Farr Catches Tillman Leaving The Hospital With Dot

Witt is in over his head, but refuses to back down

Just as Tillman is leaving the hospital with Dot, Witt Farr – the state trooper who’s been involved in this caper from the beginning – happens to arrive at the hospital with a drunken man in need of medical attention. Witt recognizes Dot and immediately knows something is fishy. Dot tells Witt everything is fine, but her eyes tell a different story. Gator intimidates Witt into letting them leave, but he doesn’t give up that easily. He promptly calls Olmstead to fill her in on the situation.

8 Dot Confirms Scotty Is Wayne’s Daughter

The theory that Roy is Scotty’s father goes out the window

When Roy gets Dot back to his ranch, he chains her up in a barn, which he insists is just a “temporary measure” until he can trust her not to run away again. During this confrontation, Dot confirms that Scotty is Wayne’s daughter. Tillman tells Dot that leaving him was a mistake and says that everything that happened after she left him was also a mistake. Dot snaps back, “My daughter was not a mistake,” confirming that she had her daughter after she left Tillman, so Wayne is Scotty’s father. Scotty’s age supported a theory that Tillman was her real father, but that theory is disproven in “Blanket.”

7 Olmstead’s Husband Is Having An Affair

Olmstead’s decision to leave her husband suddenly becomes a lot easier

When Deputy Olmstead goes home in the middle of the day to get changed, she catches her husband Lars in bed with another woman. Lars has been driving Olmstead up the wall throughout the whole season. He doesn’t have a job or do any housework, so she has to support him entirely. He keeps holding onto the pipe dream of becoming a professional golfer, sinking the couple further into debt with his thoughtless purchases of golfing equipment. And he left young Scotty home alone for hours. Olmstead has been slowly turning on her man-child husband throughout this season, and when she catches him having an affair, she finally leaves him.

6 Danish Graves Sabotages Tillman’s Re-Election Campaign

Graves recruits three Roy Tillmans to mess with the real Roy Tillman

In the opening scene of Fargo season 5, episode 8, Danish Graves takes Marlon Everett, John Sasquatch, and another one of Lorraine’s debtors to all legally change their names to Roy Tillman. When the real Roy Tillman shows up to a debate, he finds that three of the other candidates at the podium are all called Roy Tillman, are dressed exactly like him, and have been told to mockingly repeat whatever he says. This makes Tillman furious. He storms out of the room and punches a woman in his anger, which will surely have a negative impact on his campaign.

5 Dot Tells Gator About Linda

But Gator refuses to believe her

When Gator stops by the barn to check on Dot, she tells him that she visited his mother Linda. Dot tells Gator that Linda wants to see him, and that his loyalty towards his dad is misplaced. In an attempt to sway Gator’s loyalty away from his father, Dot tells Gator that he named him Gator and not Roy because when he was born, Roy thought his son seemed like a slimy, useless lizard. Gator refuses to listen to this, and refuses to believe what Dot says about Linda – but he’s clearly conflicted.

4 Witt Arrives At The Tillmans’ Ranch

Gator once again sends him away

Convinced that Dot has been kidnapped, Witt pays a visit to the Tillman’s ranch, where he’s once again confronted by Gator. Gator shoots at Witt’s car and tells him the next one’s going in his head, which forces Witt to get back in his car and leave. But before he goes, Witt cryptically tells Gator that he will soon face consequences. As he leaves town, Witt spots Graves at a gas station and tells him about the kidnapping, leading Graves back to the Tillmans’ ranch.

3 Olmstead Turns Down Lorraine’s Job Offer

Olmstead compares her job to putting on an oxygen mask in a plane crash

After being impressed by Olmstead’s moxie, Lorraine offered her a job as her head of security. It would pay better than her job on the police force, and Lorraine would help her start chipping away at her debt, but Olmstead said she needed time to think about it. In episode 8, Olmstead finally gives Lorraine an answer and turns down the offer. Olmstead compares her job to putting on an oxygen mask in a plane crash; she has to put on her own mask before she can help other people.

2 Dot Imagined Her Trip To Camp Utopia

Linda might not even be alive

Most of last week’s episode, “Linda,” revolved around Dot’s visit to Camp Utopia, where she reunited with Linda and convinced her to join her quest to bring Sheriff Tillman to justice. However, when Linda was supposed to go with Dot, the episode cut back to an early scene at a diner, suggesting that Dot’s entire trip to Camp Utopia was imagined. This week’s episode confirms that she did indeed imagine her reunion with Linda. Roy tells her it was a dream. He says that Linda is dead and threatens to bury Dot next to her.

1 Tillman Kills Graves

Roy doesn’t appreciate being blackmailed

At the end of Fargo season 5, episode 8, Graves pays Tillman a visit and tells him he’ll get rid of the other Roy Tillmans and allow him to win re-election if he simply returns Dot to Lorraine. However, Tillman doesn’t take too kindly to blackmail. He pulls out a comically large revolver and shoots Graves in the stomach, then delivers a killshot. As Dot is shouting out the barn window to try and get Graves’ attention, she sees Tillman dumping Graves’ body in a hidden compartment underneath his hot tub. She’ll have to think of another means of escape.