Wow... honestly I thought this episode was dipping into cringe territory when Dot first arrived at Utopia, but that was quickly dispelled through her conversations with Linda and then the puppet story. It was quite emotional and resonated even though I had never dealt with abuse. You really felt this deep sympathy for Dot beyond what was already established, and then, once you had that "too good to be true" feeling established, she wakes up.
I usually don't like that trope, but it worked here and showed how grim her reality was. It was also realistic and juxtaposed her dream nicely, which was all the more sad and terrifying.
Juno Temple deserves her credit for this season, and Jon Hamm is absolutely terrifying as Roy Tillman. Also, Gator's character was given some nice depth, so I'm excited to see if that goes anywhere in terms of an arc. I'm still unsure of the whole Ole Munch character. He's definitely more intimidating and sharp in this episode compared to the first few, but he still feels a bit out of place. Hopefully his final confrontation with whoever (likely Gator) will be impactful and smart because that's what it seems to be building up to.
Overall, a very solid episode that is quietly establishing what should be an explosive ending.
I usually don't like that trope, but it worked here and showed how grim her reality was. It was also realistic and juxtaposed her dream nicely, which was all the more sad and terrifying.
Juno Temple deserves her credit for this season, and Jon Hamm is absolutely terrifying as Roy Tillman. Also, Gator's character was given some nice depth, so I'm excited to see if that goes anywhere in terms of an arc. I'm still unsure of the whole Ole Munch character. He's definitely more intimidating and sharp in this episode compared to the first few, but he still feels a bit out of place. Hopefully his final confrontation with whoever (likely Gator) will be impactful and smart because that's what it seems to be building up to.
Overall, a very solid episode that is quietly establishing what should be an explosive ending.