Olivia Sandoval’s new “Fargo” character, Winnie Lopez, helps lead the investigation into Maurice LeFay’s death.
We know that Eden Valley “police chief” Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) is heading the investigation into the murder of her stepfather, Ennis Stussy (formerly Thaddeus Mobley), but we’ve yet to meet her counterpart in St. Cloud where Maurice LeFay’s (Scoot McNairy) murder took place, though thus far his death has been ruled accidental.
That will change in episode 4 of season 3, entitled “The Narrow Escape Problem,” which introduces viewers to St. Cloud police officer Winnie Lopez, who’s played by Olivia Sandoval. Her casting was reported by Deadline back in March. The site described her character as being “blessed with the gift of gab,” and “not shy about sharing her feelings on everything from family planning to being a female on the force.”
We got our first glimpse of Winnie in the promo for the new episode where she’s briefly seen displaying a cheerful smile standing in full uniform while washing her hands in a public bathroom. “I already told the other girl everything,” Ray (Ewan McGregor) tells Gloria about Officer Lopez.
Credit: FX
It’ll be interesting to see what type of dynamic forms between the two female officers, who may be able to connect over what it’s like working in a male-dominated field. Conversely, there could be some competitiveness between the two given that St. Cloud (and therefore Maurice’s case) is outside of Gloria’s jurisdiction.
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It’s clear that the newly divorced mom is immediately suspicious about how Maurice met his demise. In the preview for this week’s episode, we see her stare at Ray Stussy’s desk nameplate during questioning regarding his now-deceased parolee, presumably wondering whether the fact that he has the same surname as the one adopted by her stepfather is more than just a coincidence.
Sandoval, the daughter of actor Miguel Sandoval, previously recurred on Medium and recently guest starred on ABC’s The Real O’Neals. IMDb suggests she’ll be sticking around Fargo through at least the sixth episode.
Fargo season 3, episode 4, “The Narrow Escape Problem,” airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FX.