DTF St. Louis episode 6 was the saddest one of the HBO original series so far.
In the episode, Carol Love-Smernitch (Linda Cardellini) told her husband, Floyd Smernitch (David Harbour), that she made him squirm. It was a disheartening moment for him, and it led to the first time Floyd didn’t have his normal positive demeanor. He was distraught in a way that even things like his daily routine at the park and signing couldn’t cheer him up. Thankfully, Floyd has a friend like Clark (Jason Bateman) to try to cheer him up.
Later in the episode, we also learned the mystery of why Clark became Tiger Tiger, and that was revealed. He created the profile, hoping to give his friend some confidence. Unfortunately, it backfired twice. The first was when Floyd decided he wanted to meet Tiger Tiger.
Clark tried his best to convince Floyd that he didn’t need to meet Tiger Tiger. But Clark, ever the optimist, wants to meet him because he looks at this as an opportunity to make a new friend. And, if they hug and Tiger Tiger happens to get aroused, then cool. Because, for Floyd, it’s all about making connections and making people happy. So, rather than let his friend down, Clark goes out of town and attempts to pay someone to be Tiger Tiger. And that’s where the second issue comes.
The person paid to be Tiger Tiger followed Clark and saw Floyd. Unfortunately, when he saw the updated Floyd, and not the pic Clark showed him from 10 years ago, he nixed the meeting. What’s worse is that Floyd sees them talking, and Clark tells him the truth about the situation. This destroyed what was left of Floyd’s confidence.
Back in the present, Detectives Jodie Plumb (Joy Sunday) and Donoghue Homer (Richard Jenkins) are interrogating Clark. They ask why Floyd would go to the pool for a meet-up if Tiger Tiger called it off. And that, everyone, is the million-dollar question.
DTF St. Louis episode 6 ending explained
Everyone watching wants to know who killed Floyd and who was the mysterious person riding the bicycle that showed up while he was at the pool? And, since the plan was nixed, why did Floyd show up, and who else knew he was there? And just when you think you’re going to get the answer to lead into the final episod, you get nothing! As mad as I’d like to be, this was brilliantly done.
Sometimes, a show like this will reveal the murderer in the penultimate episode. Not this time. The creative team behind DTF St. Louis wants their viewers keyed in until the finale. Now, all any of us can hope for is that the reveal of how Floyd Smernitch was killed is as good as the rest of the show has been.
Lastly, the DTF St. Louis series finale will reveal the killer. Did Carol or Clark kill Floyd? Did Clark’s wife find out about the affair and murder Floyd in a fit of rage? Or has this all been a fake-out, and someone else did the deed? We’ll have to wait until next week to find out.