According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.311 million household viewers and gained a 0.08 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
In Stark County, North Dakota, Sheriff Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm) meets with a married couple after the husband abused his wife.
Roy is visited by FBI agents Joaquin (Nick Gomez) and Meyer (Jessica Pohly), who question his failure to enforce federal laws.
Gator returns to the car and is shocked to discover the corpse, with a note demanding payment impaled to his chest with a hunting knife.
In October 2023, it was reported that the second episode of the season would be titled "Trials and Tribulations", and was to be written and directed by series creator Noah Hawley.
"[3] In its original American broadcast, "Trials and Tribulations" was seen by an estimated 0.311 million household viewers and gained a 0.08 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Club gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "The walls are rapidly closing in on Dot, between Tillman's son Gator doing his best to disrupt Olmstead's investigation and her mother-in-law now understanding just what kind of adversary she's dealing with.
"[5] Keith Phipps of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Ole's acting as a wild card.
"[6] Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek wrote, "Fargo season 5 does indeed have a lot to say about spiritual liability and the concept of sin as a debt.
"[7] Scott Tobias of The New York Times wrote, "In its persistent engagement with the Coenverse so far, Fargo has done best when it tweaks our expectations rather than simply reward fans with references to different movies.
"[8] Sean T. Collins of Decider wrote, "Once again, writer-director Hawley displays his facility for building tension and dread; the long take that includes the stabbing murder of Gator's partner by Ole Munch feels endless, drawing out the sense that something terrible is going to happen before delivering on it.