Patrick Thomas
Dumplin'Patrick Thomas is a school bully who uses ridicule and nicknames to make classmates conspicuous targets. His behavior toward Millie Michalchuk and Amanda Lumbard helps establish the cruelty of the school’s social climate; his later confrontation with Willowdean Dickson turns that pattern against him. His history with Bo Larson also connects him to the hunting and masculine expectations that shape Bo’s childhood.
Identity and Bullying
Patrick is known for giving people nicknames that catch on. Willowdean describes this ability as a kind of social power: some names may be cool, but his more often turn a classmate’s appearance into a joke. He mocks Hannah Perez by stretching her name into a horse-like sound, targeting her teeth. The nickname is not merely an insult spoken once; its force lies in the way it can follow someone through school because other people repeat it.
At the school parking lot, Patrick and a group of friends gather around the driver’s-side door of Millie’s parents’ minivan. They make pig noises as she approaches. Willowdean knows Millie has to face the group and calls out to redirect her toward herself. While Millie chats about getting her license, changing the minivan’s radio presets, and pumping gas for the first time, Patrick makes a pig snout with his finger and watches from behind her. The exchange shows him using both a crowd and a gesture to humiliate someone, while Millie’s ordinary excitement about driving becomes the scene’s counterpoint to his harassment.
Patrick also ridicules Amanda Lumbard’s corrective shoes, comparing her to Frankenstein. His taunts reach beyond one target: Willowdean recalls them when she decides to approach him, and notes that even Hannah, whom she considers tough, does not stand up to him. Patrick’s influence rests not only on what he says but on the expectation that no one will challenge him and that the nickname will stick.
Childhood Friendship with Bo Larson
Patrick and Bo Larson grew up together, and Bo recalls having few friends as a child but having Patrick. Their fathers took them hunting on weekends. Bo’s account complicates the image of Patrick as only a school tormentor by placing him within a long-standing friendship, but it does not describe him intervening in or opposing the expectations of their community.
Bo says he had been hunting since childhood and would wait with his father for an animal to appear. He deliberately missed when it was time to shoot, though his father initially took this for poor aim and became angry. In seventh grade, during deer season, Patrick and his father were present when Bo accidentally hit a deer. Bo remembers his father responding with pride and a congratulatory slap on the back, while he felt distressed by what had happened. Patrick’s presence is part of the memory, but the account gives no indication of how he reacted.
Bo later explains that being good at something does not mean he has to do it, and that ease does not make an action right. His story sets Patrick within the childhood routines of hunting and male companionship that Bo ultimately questions. The evidence establishes Patrick as a witness to this formative event, not as its cause or as someone who shares Bo’s feelings about it.
Confrontation with Willowdean
Patrick’s bullying becomes a direct conflict with Willowdean after her mother calls her Dumplin’ in public while returning her forgotten phone. Willowdean stiffens at the sound, aware that a nickname she tolerates at home feels exposing in front of boys at school. When she turns toward Patrick, she remembers his treatment of Millie and Amanda and the way his nicknames take hold. She is determined not to let him make the name his weapon.
Instead of stopping at the verbal confrontation she had imagined, Willowdean’s body acts before she can carry out that plan: she knees Patrick and surprises both of them. Mitch Lewis pulls her back as teachers converge, and the two students are taken in opposite directions. The episode marks a break in Patrick’s usual social advantage. Willowdean’s response is impulsive, but it follows her recognition that ignoring him has not protected the students he targets or prevented him from continuing.
Later Taunts and Narrative Role
Patrick resurfaces in the lobby after the pageant, where Willowdean sees Mitch among a group of boys from the team. Patrick notices her first and mocks her by suggesting she could not handle being dumped. Mitch begins to respond, but Willowdean stops him and tells Patrick that neither he nor his friends are laughing. Patrick frowns, shrugs, and turns away. The exchange does not show him apologizing or changing; it shows Willowdean refusing to let his provocation dictate the moment.
Across these encounters, Patrick is a recurring measure of the social permission granted to ridicule: he singles out classmates’ bodies, teeth, and clothing, then relies on an audience and the persistence of a nickname. His childhood association with Bo gives that role a second context, linking him to a culture of hunting and prescribed male activities, though the story supplies no evidence that he shares Bo’s doubts. Patrick remains a bully rather than a character whose conduct is shown to transform. His significance lies in the pressure his mockery creates—and in the moments when Willowdean and others choose not to accept his terms.
