Warning: This article contains spoilers for Fargo season 5.
All the shocking revelations about Dot’s history in Fargo season 5 seem to support the surprising theory that Scotty is actually Sheriff Roy Tillman’s daughter, not Wayne’s. Fargo season 5 follows the plot of the original movie pretty closely (down to the name Scotty), with the wife of a Midwestern car salesman being abducted from her home by a pair of bumbling masked assailants as part of a complicated criminal scheme. The biggest difference here is that the housewife has a mysterious past, and the kidnapping sees that past coming back to haunt her. Her name isn’t even really Dot; it’s Nadine.
The early episodes of Fargo season 5 have revealed that Nadine was one of several wives of Sheriff Tillman, a corrupt preacher who serves as the Stark County constitutional sheriff. The sheriff’s polygamy, tyrannical rule, and refusal to follow U.S. laws all support the theory that Tillman is a cult leader. But thanks to the established timeline of the story, there’s a different theory about this strange character. Based on when Dot ran away from Tillman’s community and how old her daughter Scotty is, it’s entirely possible that Dot’s new husband Wayne isn’t really Scotty’s biological father; it could be Tillman instead.
Fargo Season 5 Theory: Scotty Is Roy’s Daughter, Not Wayne’s
There’s a lot of evidence to support the theory that Scotty is really Sheriff Tillman’s daughter, not Wayne’s. Scotty has been shown to have a lot in common with Dot – she’s tough, she’s individualistic, and she would rather listen to her own instincts than other people’s instructions – but she doesn’t have much in common with Wayne. Whereas Wayne is frightened by Dot’s gruesome booby traps, Scotty is fascinated by them and offers to help set them up. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Scotty turned out to have none of Wayne’s DNA, because they have no similarities in their personalities.
Tillman has demonstrated that he values family above all. From the other wives depicted in the series, it seems that the primary purpose of his marriages is to procreate and expand his family. It makes sense that, when he was married to Dot, they would’ve been trying for a baby. Wayne loves Scotty as his own daughter, so, if Tillman really is her father, Dot hasn’t told Wayne yet. So far, Wayne has been shocked by the revelations about his wife’s proclivity for violence, but learning that he’s not really Scotty’s father would be the most devastating emotional blow of them all.
How Dot’s Time Away From Roy Supports The Fargo Season 5 Theory
While her past was shrouded in mystery at the beginning of the season, Fargo season 5 has since established that Dot ran away from Tillman’s cult-like community nearly 10 years ago. Since Scotty is about 10 years old, it’s entirely possible that she was fathered by Tillman before Dot escaped to Minnesota to start a new life. Getting pregnant with Scotty might have been when Dot decided not to stay with Tillman and left for a fresh start, or she may have left with Scotty when she was a baby. Either way, the timeline syncs up perfectly for Tillman to be Scotty’s father.
Scotty Could Explain Why Sheriff Tillman Won’t Stop Looking For Dot
It’s been established that Dot isn’t the only one of Tillman’s wives to have disappeared from the community, but Dot is the one that Tillman is searching for the most relentlessly. When the initial abduction failed, Tillman sent his son with a team of goons to capture her. He’s expending a lot of time and resources to track down Dot, and it’s unclear exactly why he’s so determined to bring her back. But if he really is Scotty’s father, then that would explain why he refuses to let her go and is so desperate to get her back to the ranch.
Throughout the season, Tillman has been shown to care deeply for his other kids. His son Gator is his most trusted confidant and right-hand man. The children he shares with his other wife Karen are shown to be very important to him, and he’s very serious about protecting them from Ole Munch. Above all, Tillman is a family man. The realization that Scotty might be Tillman’s daughter would give him more motivation to find Dot and bring her back to his community. If it’s confirmed, this would be a startling revelation on par with some of the greatest twists from Fargo’s run.
