Roy TillmanWell, old friend, it's the crossroads, no question. We know who's waiting there. The midnight man with his serpent tongue. I met him once. Old Baylor Maze cut his children to pieces and hung his wife with a curtain tie, and I was first through the door. And old Baylor was sitting there in his easy chair taking it easy. Behind him, I swear - and you know this 'cause you were there, too - Beelzebub himself, crouched low, whispering in that poor man's ear. You protected me then, old friend. Be with us again in our hour of need. Amen.
Roy Tillman
My great-grandfather's name was Roy. Indian killer. Fought in the Battle of Big Mound, Dead Buffalo Lake. Lost an ear in the Battle of the Badlands. He's the only American to earn four Medals of Honor. Now he was one of the good ones. Me, I try to be. You...not so much, I think. You're what we call a waste of skin. Defective. Eating our food, breathing our air, wasting precious resources.
Roy Tillman
Well, you don't get it, do you? This is the path I'm on. Starts at birth and it ends here. This isn't a trip to Starbucks on the way to the office. This isn't an idea. God cuts our names into bone and that's who we become. He blows His holy trumpet and the walls fall down. You all came here to find Lot's wife, but she's already a pillar of salt and she ain't turning back. So, go and live, or stay and die. It's up to you.
Roy Tillman
I was sheriff of this county when I was 25. Hard to believe. Grandfather was a sheriff. Father, too. Ranchers all. Working the land through times flush and fallow. There's a natural order of things. We know it in our bones. Jesus was a man, not some bearded lady. And just as water flows downhill, a husband is head of his household. Under him, the woman abides. She holds her virtue close until that matrimonial threshold is crossed, and then she opens to him, as the flower opens to the sun. And in exchange, the man shelters and protects his female, as the sword has its sheath.
JHJosh Hunk
...OK, but what I'm saying is, you-
Roy Tillman
No. He only raises his hand to her when she forgets her place and acts the man. And then only for instruction, never taking any pleasure or satisfaction from the task. Whereas you, son, seem to have played a Tommy Lee drum solo all over your missus's façade.
TJAgent Tony Joaquin
We're new in the Fargo office. We thought we'd come by and see why you aren't enforcing any of our laws.
Roy Tillman
What laws?
TJAgent Tony Joaquin
Oh, you know, gun laws, drug laws, any of the half-dozen other American laws passed and ratified by the United States government that you don't seem to recognize.
Roy Tillman
Well, Agent Ja-Queen, I think you'll find that there is no one on God's green earth who is a greater enforcer of the laws of this land than Roy Tillman.
MAgent Meyer
Why do I feel like there's a "but" here?"
Roy Tillman
But...what you need to know is that I am the law of the land. Elected by the residents of this county to interpret and enforce the Constitution given unto us by Almighty God.
Roy Tillman
Amen.
Roy Tillman
You don't talk much, I like that.
A man has only so many words in his lifetime. For us, there are very few left.
[Roy tosses Munch a duffel bag of money]
Roy Tillman
Plus interest 'cause we got sideways. Now I didn't make your deal, but if I had, I would've been clear: that woman's like a tick. Can't crush her, can't pull her out clean. Suffocation is the key, or fire. If I had a nickel for every time she found the daylight or when I thought I had her buried. Never had a problem before or since breaking a woman, but that one, she's...What'd you call her?
Roy Tillman
Right. You think you're hunting her, but all the while you're just a mouse and she's playing with her supper. Probably ought to let her be, but...
When a man digs a grave, he has to fill it. Otherwise, it's just a hole.
You don't even have a plan, do you?
Roy Tillman
God has a plan.
Roy Tillman
Must be cold living out there in the dark, so let me spell it out for you: you made a promise. To Him, to me. You broke your vow.
You broke my fingers, my collarbone, three ribs. You dislocated my jaw.
Roy Tillman
I was trying to fix you.
Like a window cleaner pissing on a window.
Please, I can't be here. I'm Scotty's mother. She said ice cream cake for her birthday and I forgot to order it and there's a three day minimum. She just started a new school and the girls are being mean. There's Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is probably the last year she's gonna believe in Santa Claus. And I can't unsee it, her sitting on Santa's lap at the mall and he's asking her, "What do you want for Christmas little girl?" And she's saying, "I want my mommy back." It's not just me. What you're doing, you're doing to them, too. And we're getting kittens next year we decided, and who's gonna be there to teach Scotty how to take care of them? Plus, I am den mother for the Girl Scouts, and I raise money for the library.
Roy Tillman
Enough.
No! I'm in love. True love. With the most wonderful man. He's my best friend. We went ice skating on our first date. And if you ask him, Wayne will tell you, shepherd's pie is still his favorite food. We just started watching Call the Midwife and there's, like, 13 seasons of that show! So if...if I don't come home...who's gonna remind him to take a Lactaid when he eats cheese?
Roy Tillman
You made a vow.
Roy Tillman
Oh, please. You had your hair, you had your menses...
And you had a wife and a son, almost my age, which was 15.
Roy Tillman
I don't care. You made a mistake when you left me. That means everything after that is a mistake, too.
My daughter is not a mistake.
Roy Tillman
Fruit of the poison tree. That's a legal way of saying "Two wrongs don't make a right." You belong to me.
Do you know how crazy you sound? The way you see things, your mind. But you believe it's the world that's gone mad. I have to go.
Roy Tillman
I tell you what, Nadine. I'll promise you - hand to God - I'll promise to let you go just as soon as you beg me to let you stay and mean it.
You want a promise? I'll make you a promise: I'm gonna kill you.
Roy Tillman
As sheriff, my first priority is the safety of the community. That means preparedness and defense.
RARoy Andrew Tillman
Safety of the community.
RCRoy Chester Tillman
That means preparedness and defense.
RFRoy Floyd Tillman
Preparedness and defense.
Roy Tillman
Uh, sorry, fellas, I'm still talking here.
RARoy Andrew Tillman
I'm still talking.
RCRoy Chester Tillman
I'm still talking.
RFRoy Floyd Tillman
I'm still talking.
Roy Tillman
Alright, that's a good joke.
RARoy Andrew Tillman
Good joke.
RCRoy Chester Tillman
Good joke.
RFRoy Floyd Tillman
Good joke.
Roy Tillman
Cut it out!
RARoy Andrew Tillman
Cut it out.
RCRoy Chester Tillman
Out.
Roy Tillman
Alright, you know what? This is bullshit.
RARoy Andrew Tillman
Bullshit.
RCRoy Chester Tillman
Bullshit.
RFRoy Floyd Tillman
Bullshit.
[Munch reveals a blinded Gator to Roy]
A son is unable to comply. He has sold his right to be a man. What disappointment the father must feel.
Roy Tillman
What's going on with his eyes?
Forfeit. It tells a lot about a man, the words he uses to describe a double cross. We have heard it all. To Welsh. To Gyp. To Jew. As if to steal is a man's lineage, what a man is.
Roy Tillman
What did you do?
[crying] I'm sorry. You said to let it go, but I couldn't.
When a man gives with one hand and takes with the other, he breaks his promise. He must be taught. The hand he steals with must be cleaved from him and returned. Still a hand, but now without function. Here is your hand.
[Munch pushes Gator into Roy then vanishes]
Roy Tillman
Quiet.
Roy Tillman
I said shut up. If there ever was a point to you, it's gone now.
I love that color on you.
Roy Tillman
You know what I'd love to see on you? A noose.
Hey! Watch your mouth, convict.
Roy Tillman
She wouldn't last five minutes in here, that one. Too many principles. But you? You'd be Queen Shit.
I saw you filed for an appeal. That was a mistake.
Roy Tillman
Please. That whole thing was rigged, your so-called trial.
You should know I'm the single largest donor to the Federalist Society.
Roy Tillman
Oh yeah? What do they do? Something with books?
They control the courts, selecting judges all the way up to the Supreme Court with the president's blessing. So, buy a throw pillow is my advice. You're gonna be here a while.
Roy Tillman
It's funny. Prison is the way the world should be. The natural order. No apology. Men separated by race, races stacked with the strong on top, you fuck the weak, you kill your rivals, sleep with one eye open.
Yes, well, I just came by to say I hope you're settled in because now your real punishment will begin.
Roy Tillman
My what?
[to Indira] Wait outside, please.
Oh, we'll be fine, won't we, Roy?
Roy Tillman
Peachy.
[Indira exits]
You're right. She does have principles. Where was I? Oh, yes, punishment. Did you know that 85% of all prisoners are in debt? Hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, interest accruing, their families put out on the street. Well, I've started a fund to help certain prisoners free themselves from this burden. A private fund. Plus a little fresh cash each month in their commissary accounts. Vaseline, Vienna sausages, that kind of thing.
Roy Tillman
Which prisoners?
Oh...that one, I think. And him over there with the scars. Oh, and all of the men in cell block D. And B. And A.
Roy Tillman
Well, that's mighty Christian of you.
Oh, no, this has nothing to do with that book. It's an older text, written on stone tablets in the Age of the Skull Fuckers.
Roy Tillman
Did Nadine put you up to this?
Please. She's a girl scout. I fight my own battles and you need to pay for what you've taken.
Roy Tillman
So you want me dead.
No, I want you alive for a very, very long time. But while you live, I want you to feel everything your wives felt. Every blow, each humiliation. Fear.
Roy Tillman
I'm not afraid of you.
It's not me you need to be afraid of. [Lorraine passes Roy a pack of cigarettes] These might come in handy.
Fargo · 240 quotes
