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“ | You say a woman is a woman, a... housewife. Never do you mention she is for real a tiger. | „ |
~ Munch chastising Roy for underestimating Dot, and his most famous quote. |
Ole Munch is a major character in the fifth season of the FX television series Fargo.
He is an enigmatic immortal sin-eater who has been alive for hundreds of years. Initially he serves as a threat to the season's protagonist Dorothy Lyon, after he is hired to kidnap her by her ex-husband Roy Tillman. However, after he fails his kidnapping mission, and Roy and his son Gator try to kill him for it, he becomes an anti-heroic ally in the fight against the Tillman family.
He was portrayed by Sam Spruell, who also portrayed Oleg Malankov in Taken 3, Finn in Snow White and the Huntsman, Oliver Graham in Liar, Aymer de Valence in Outlaw King and Swarm in Doctor Who.
Biography[]
Munch was born in a foreign land and traveled oversea via boat until he reached America. He witnessed the birth of the United States.
Due to his lack of wealth or resources he was forced to become a sin eater to get access to meals. This act made him an immortal, eternally carrying the burden of countless sins.
2019[]
Munch and his associate Donald Ireland were hired by Roy Tillman to kidnap his ex-wife Nadine, who was now living under the name Dorothy Lyon. Expecting the kidnapping of a simple housewife, they were unprepared as she ruthlessly fought back against them. Even after managing to successfully capture her the first time, she broke free and managed to escape. During his attempt to catch her Donald Ireland wound up being killed, alongside a police officer and bystander Munch gunned down during the pursuit.
Returning to Roy after his failure, Munch chastised him for failing to mention that his ex was a "tiger", as he would've gathered more men and been more cautious if he knew her true capabilities. Munch then demanded pay for his hard work, even though he failed the mission. Roy seemingly agreed to it, only to have his son Gator lead Munch to several gunmen waiting to execute him. Ironically, Roy underestimated Munch, as he manages to use a cigarette to temporarily blind Gator and take him hostage, and kill the other gunmen while Gator is in his grasp. By the time Roy arrives at the scene, Munch has vanished.
Shortly after Munch begins to threaten the Tillman family, demanding his payment. He kills one of Roy's officers while he's with Gator at a rest stop, and smears himself in mud and slathers pagan symbols in the bedroom of Roy's daughters (while killing one of his guards in the process). While he is doing this he lays low at the home of an elderly woman named Irma. At first his presence there is unwelcome, but it soon seems as if the woman has warmed up to Munch, and he grows quite fond of her. Munch even kills her abusive son after he witnesses him mistreating her.
After things begin to spiral out of Roy's control, he realizes he needs one less enemy, and agrees to pay Munch what he is owed. However, Gator still feels humiliated from their first encounter and places a tracker on Munch's car during the payment. Stalking Munch to his residence, Gator spots a figure in the window of his home and shoots them with a sniper rifle. However, this is merely a simple trick, as Munch is using the body of Irma's son as a decoy to fool his wannabee assassin. As Gator turns to leave, seeing his mission as a success, he spots the bag of money in a parked car and snatches it. Irma catches him in the act, and while trying to stop him winds up being flung onto the pavement and dying of her injuries. Gator flees the scene with the money and Munch finds Irma's body and is distraught over her death.
Munch returns to the Tillman residence and stalks Gator, waiting in the back of his vehicle and kidnapping him. Bringing Gator to a shack on an icy lake, he uses a hot knife to cut out his eyes in revenge, then returns him to his father maimed. During this exchange, Dorothy was fighting for her life, as she was successfully kidnapped by Roy days prior. Hiding in a secret pit underneath Roy's hot tub where he keeps his bodies, she was cornered by three of Roy's guards. Right before the guards catch her, they were killed by Munch in a brief skirmish. Afterward he tells her "the tiger can come out now" and offers Dorothy his hand. Handing her a gun, he says "now the tiger is free" and walks off into the misty horizon, allowing Dorothy to finish her fight.
2020[]
Dorothy arrives home to find Munch sitting in her living room with her husband Wayne. Munch reveals that while he wanted her to finish her fight, she still owed him a debt for taking his partner's life back in 2019. Dorothy remains calm, as her family is watching, and manages to subtly debate the subject of her debt with Munch. Dorothy offers to either finish their fight at another time, or to allow Munch to sit and enjoy dinner with them. While Munch does agree to partake in their meal, and even helps make the food, he still stubbornly refuses to back down. After hearing about Munch's past as a sin eater, Dorothy brings up an alternative to repaying debts: forgiving them. She offers Munch a biscuit made with love to counter the sin-infused food he consumed long ago. Munch takes a bite and a wide, happy grin crosses his face, as he finally experiences the power of forgiveness for the very first time.
Personality[]
While seemingly cold and detached at first, Munch is actually a very thoughtful person, often dwelling on philosophy and human nature in long monologues when he's not being dead-silent. Even though he took a kidnapping job and has no problem with being a criminal for hire, he also has a code of honor, being appreciative and kind towards the old woman who let him in. The honor extends to respecting worthy opponents, which is what he saw Dorothy as after she managed to catch him off guard and escape his grasp. Munch is also among the few Fargo villains who ends up redeemed by the end of the story, making all of his more heroic qualities genuine.
Trivia[]
- Munch is one of the few major Fargo villains to be redeemed (the other ironically being one of his victims: Gator Tillman).
- Munch could potentially be considered the overarching protagonist of the season, as his past as a sin eater ties directly into the season's themes of debt, he is Roy's most powerful enemy, he saves Dot at a pivotal moment, and the season ends on his smile symbolizing debt being forgiven.
- Munch is also not an antagonist long enough to be considered an antagonist (only in the first episode and briefly the finale) and his main enemies are also Dot's. However, even while fighting Roy, many of his actions are villainous (such as murdering Gator's potentially innocent partner, threatening Roy's innocent daughters, and brutally cutting out Gator's eyes (an act that makes Gator a scapegoat) making him an anti-hero.
- The quote about being "Minnesota nice" at the start of the season was a reference to how Dorothy would ultimately use that kindness to redeem Munch and free him of his debt, making the final scene of the season a bookend.
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