So what is Dot Lyon, in animal terms? Her surname suggests a lion, but it’s not the name she was given at birth. Neither, for that matter, is Tillman, the name she took when she married Roy all those regrettable years ago. Early on, Lorraine called her a wolf in sheep’s clothing, which is sort of right. But the wolf in such scenarios wants to prey on the sheep. Dot seemingly just wants to hide. Ole called her “for real, a tiger,†and that seemed to be the best label, even before “The Tiger,†an episode that makes the connection explicit via a voice-over that highlights a point-by-point comparison. It’s a little precious, if precious is the right word for the violence and mayhem the voice-over accompanies. But it also feels dead-on. Fierce, wily, and protective, Dot most resembles a tiger for real.
She’s a sleeping tiger as the episode begins, resting comfortably in the Lyons’ expansive home while Lorraine schemes against her. Tiger as she is, she ultimately succumbs to the muscular orderlies who are “just there to talk to her,†but only after administering some bites that leave blood on the floor and one nursing a wounded eye. Lorraine’s “concerned†about Dot’s behavior, which might actually make sense if we didn’t know she has an ulterior motive, one that leaves Dot strapped to a gurney and saying, “Shoot.†Shoot, indeed.
Drugged and committed to the Walter Mondale Care Center, she tries to sweet-talk Danish and the orderlies as they wheel her to her room. It doesn’t work, which she probably anticipates. But she’s not there for long before strapping an orderly to the gurney previously meant to hold her, then knocking out a nurse and taking her scrubs. Without much trouble, Dot makes her escape from her high-security floor, then starts performing nurse-ly duties. Advantage: Dot.
Will it last? Lorraine is fierce and relentless in her own way, so much so that they start to resemble each other by the episode’s end and maybe find a common enemy. But first, Lorraine has to take down some good-ol’-boy bankers who aren’t comfortable negotiating with a woman. “Let me guess,†she says, “the last time you negotiated with a woman it was over the price of a Tijuana blow job.†Then she gets even nastier. As a bargaining tactic, it works, but she also doesn’t really need it. She has these guys at a disadvantage before she even sits down. She wants to buy their bank. But, more urgently, they need to get rid of it. She wants to diversify, moving from debt into credit. And they’re going to help her, whether they like it or not.
Another meeting doesn’t go nearly as smoothly. When Roy shows up at Lorraine’s (impressive) doorstep, he lets her know the truth about Dot, that she’s really Nadine and also his wife. Lorraine tries to buy him off (it’s her way), but Roy has principles, if that’s the right word. He has the Bible on his side when it comes to matrimonial obligations. “Listen, Slick,†Lorraine replies, before noting that her son loves Dot, so that’s that. Also, there’s a granddaughter in the picture. There’s no deal to be made.
This is kind of a curious development and one that casts Lorraine in a different light. Sure, Dot’s a problem. But she’s Lorraine’s problem, not this North Dakota sheriff. What’s more, Lorraine might pose with assault weapons for her family Christmas card, but she’s not so into this constitutional sheriffs movement that Roy subscribes to, or libertarianism in general. “So, you want freedom with no responsibility. Son, there’s only one person on earth who gets that deal,†she tells him. Roy suggests it’s the president, before being told, “A baby. You’re fighting for your right to be a baby.†At this point, Roy vanishes into a cloud of dust in shame. Or should, if he had any sense. Instead, he tries to keep negotiating, then realizes there’s no deal to be struck.
Danish gives Roy his card and another chance shortly before Roy meets Scotty on her way in and leaves with a vague threat just as Indira shows up. Danish is not having a great day, and it gets worse when he learns Dot has escaped. But perhaps this makes Roy’s day a little better. He overhears this bit of intel and lets Gator and his Gator Gang know what’s going on so they can try to snatch her while she’s on the loose. Well, sort of: Not trusting his son, he tells Gator to sit this one out and leave the job to the grown-ups.
They’re an intimidating crew, this North Dakota bunch. Yet they might not have gotten in the way of Dot’s escape plans if she hadn’t felt the need to protect Wayne, who’s still recuperating at the Mondale Center. Meanwhile, Gator vapes and watches as FBI agents Joaquin and Meyer roll up to the hospital. It’s getting crowded inside Mondale.
Change of plans: Now Dot needs to knock out the obnoxious cancer patient we met last week, then swap his room with Wayne’s, who informs her that he just went to the bathroom and “poop came out.†It’s a sweet if heavily medicated reunion, but any relief Dot may feel after throwing Roy’s henchmen off the scene is short-lived. First, she runs into the FBI agents, who make a promise to protect her, then spots Gator, who recognizes her immediately. No worries, though. They don’t have to worry because they have Wayne. (They don’t.) After agreeing to go with the FBI, Dot makes yet another escape. (Is there a type of animal that’s really good at getting out of traps?)
Not content having verbally eviscerated both Roy and a pair of bankers, Lorraine turns her attention to Indira. Not only does Lorraine know Indira’s a debtor, but she knows exactly how deeply in debt Indira has gotten. It’s bad, too, and Lorraine explains the leverage she holds over Indira and others like her, likening herself to a “zookeeper, not some lemming or lemur.†(Everyone’s an animal in this episode, it seems.) Lorraine wants Indira to look for Dot. Everything else is a waste of time.
Although Lorraine thinks Dot is not at her house, she’s wrong. Dot sneaks onto the grounds of stately Lyon manor and reunites with Scotty, who tells her she met Roy. This makes her escape seem even more urgent and takes her to Indira’s. Counting on her help might seem like a Hail Mary, but it works. (Indira has a nice face, so Dot plays the hunch.) With Scotty distracted by a Little Mermaid DVD (the cable having been turned off), Dot and Indira discuss the matter at hand, Indira demanding she get the straight story in return for her help. “I was 17,†Dot tells Indira, referring to Roy, “Fifteen when they took me in. That’s a whole other story.â€
“They never hate you when it’s going their way, you know,†Dot tells her host. “It’s when they’re weak and just pretending to be strong. And they need something small to climb on to feel big.†Indira wants to know who “they†are. Though Dot doesn’t tell her, she seems to understand. Dot has a specific “they,†but there are a lot of “theys†in the world, and Indira’s met more than a few of them. To the befuddlement of her husband, Indira agrees to take Scotty in while Dot continues to lam it.
She’s lamming it as another tight, suspenseful, and, in many ways, unpredictable episode ends. There are a lot of parties at play as we head into the sixth episode, most of whom want Dot, some to protect her, some to harm her, and some with an agenda that’s not quite clear. But Dot has her own ideas and intends to slip away from all of them. That’s, apparently, something else tigers do.
Okay Then!
• “I’m more of a let-the-orphans-fight-each-other-for-sport kind of guy. Libertarian, so …†The rest kind of fills in itself, doesn’t it?
• No Ole this week. He’s presumably still eating pancakes.
• Roy refers to his marriage to Dot/Nadine as “my second, her first.†What became of the first Mrs. Tillman? (Probably nothing good.)
• “I’m not sure I can negotiate with a man named after a breakfast pastry.†Danish does not seem like someone it’s smart to underestimate. He certainly holds his own (for a while) against a much-larger security guard.
• When Lorraine refers to her place as the “one house in the state where I know that girl ain’t at,†is it for effect,or is her vague, Ivy League–educated accent slipping to reveal the way she grew up speaking?
• Dot is strong and brave, and her eyes fill with fear whenever the thought of Roy passes her mind. What happened?
• “Princesses are dumb.†You tell ’em, Scotty.