The Box Set: "Fargo: Season Five."

Deconstructing Ep. 9, "The Useless Hand."

Well, we knew there would be blood.

And there was. But not as much as there likely will be in the finale, if one had to guess about the amount of firepower locked and loaded.

As Roy so astutely understands — the tide, it has turned.

“The Useless Hand” in this episode was Gator, who continued his telegraphing to the audience that, no, he’s not actually a good person deep down inside (although, in a cruelly sad and effective scene later, writer and creator Noah Hawley makes sure we know that nothing is black and white).

We got a lot of answers in this episode — the (big) return of Ole, the reappearance of Lorraine and the new-style, new-side look at Indira, formerly Officer Olmstead of the Scandia Police. “I’m on a different side now,” she says at one point — though she still managed to help Dorothy out.

We also got maybe the first two notably dubious decisions in the storytelling, which we’ll get to. So, don’t get maudlin, just get ready.

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