Fargo season 5 takes a strange journey to Camp Utopia to meet the Lindas.
Here’s what it all means.
This article contains spoilers forFargoseason 5 episode 7 Linda.
FXsFargois not shy about indulging one-off sojourns into the realm of the fantastical.
At first glance, the proceedings come across as reality albeit a strange reality.
But as the final act of Linda reveals, not everything is exactly what it seems.
So lets examine what happens in Linda and what it means forFargoseason 5.
And this episode doesnt make much of an attempt to hide that fact, honestly.
Watching Linda on a second viewing, you notice some telltale signs of artifice.
Viewers cant be blamed for initially thinking the events at Camp Utopia are real.
Hence: the puppets.
And Dot indeed has two versions of the truth rattling around in her head.
The other version is that Linda, herself, was a victim too.
Dot has never been able to reconcile this, so she makes her puppets and puts on a show.
The information gleaned from Dots puppet show is harrowing.
She begins: Before this.
Before I was a mother.
And a different wife.
I was a girl.
All skinned knees and make-believe.
Then I got my monthly and the wolves came.
Once I was running I ran away from everything home, boys, the future.
Then Linda welcomed Dot into her home alongside her husband Roy and her son Gator.
Nadine lived among them happily, enjoying family meals being taught math by Roy.
Soon, however, she would discover that Roy physically abused Linda.
And then Linda was gone.
Packed a bag and left in the wee hours.
Or at least thats how Dot remembers it.
What Happened to Saint Linda?
Of course, Linda probably didnt pack a bag and leave.
The end of Linda makes that much clear.
Its here, however, that Dots dream starts to wane and she begins to wake up.
Then Dot says the following:
I know, [Roy] would have killed you.
Tried to kill me.
Dot genuinely believes that Roy would have killed Linda if she stayed with him any longer.
She knows this because Roy ended up trying to kill her.
Tragically, Linda Tillman a.k.a.
Saint Linda might not have survived Roy Tillman.
But there is a small silver lining.
As things stand now, Dot is injured and back in Roys clutches.
If not for Linda though, her story might already be over.
New episodes ofFargoseason 5 premiere Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
ET on FX and stream on Hulu the next day.
