People who live in homes with lots of windows shouldn’t have to buy lamps.
But the Byrdes of “Ozark” are so shrouded in darkness, it’s often hard to see what they’re up to. In the first part of the last season, that is.
As soon as it became available on Netflix, we plowed through the first seven episodes and discovered it was even darker than before.
Up to their necks in drug cartel business, Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney) are willing to do just about anything to avoid what happened to a certain attorney at the end of last season.
They’ve still got the funeral home and floating casino, but now they’re brokering deals with the FBI, money launderers and politicians. Their children are conflicted, too, and that tough-as-nails associate Ruth (Julia Garner) is pulling the Byrdes’ son Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) so deep into her dealings it’s likely he could end up being this family’s pulled-back-in Michael.
People are also reading…
Because the fourth season has been divided into two parts, nothing wraps up neatly. Sure, there are deaths, threats and ultimatums, but Wendy and Marty are still juggling. The season’s opening scene suggests problems, then flashes back to where it left off.
Linney isn’t as skittish as she has been, bluffing frequently just to keep the game going as the stakes rise. Bateman is connecting dots. Garner, meanwhile, is positioning herself for a third Emmy. There’s a scene that practically guarantees it.
If you haven’t seen the first three seasons, you probably shouldn’t enter now when there’s more nuance than revelation. Just know the Byrdes have gotten so deep into the crime world it would take something remarkable to get them out. Beholden to drug lord Omar Navarro (Felix Solis), they’ve got to get to the FBI to strike a deal for immunity. Easier said than done. There’s a Navarro nephew to control and a former cop who could complicate matters.
Even worse? Darlene (Lisa Emery) isn’t out of their lives; Ruth’s cousin, Wyatt (Charlie Tahan) has been duped into believing she could be his way out.
The story’s unfinished plot twists are like tentacles on an octopus – slimy and always moving. But producers Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams make sure there are a few “I can’t believe that” moments to keep them coming back.
“Ozark,” more than most streaming series, proves why a series like this should be available all at once.
If you had to wait a week to get a new episode (sorry, “Impeachment”), “Ozark” wouldn’t have the same impact. Binged over a weekend, you become wrapped up in its web.
Because it’s one of those great ways to spend a pandemic, “Ozark” could be the ultimate series of our times. It shows how overwhelming life can be and what we might be driven to do to endure it.
