How ‘Fargo’ uncages a tiger

The character arc of Dorothy “Dot” Lyon (Juno Temple) is the captivating anchor in Noah Hawley’s gripping fifth season of “Fargo.” The wife and protective mother finds her tumultuous past resurfacing in the form of a hard-nosed, misogynistic sheriff (Jon Hamm) hunting her down. In the episode “The Useless Hand,” Dot’s burgeoning bravery reaches a dramatic high point. “It’s the first time we show her as a really strong woman,” says cinematographer Daryl Hartwell, who lensed the final two episodes. Fleeing captivity, Dot takes refuge in a well from the gun-toting henchmen chasing her. Streaks of light cross her face, a visual metaphor akin to a trapped animal. Approaching footsteps stir the tension. “This was her tiger-in-a-cage moment, and that slash of light represented that arc to us,” Hartwell explains. “Our director, Thomas Bezucha, was very instrumental in telling us where he wanted the character and how he wanted to see a transition of her being scared to her being empowered.” As the well opens, the bloody hand of a riddled killer named Munch (Sam Spruell) reaches down. She ascends and the two adversaries share a deferential stare before he offers her a firearm saying, “The tiger is now free.”