"Ozark" Year Three

Spoilers for the first two seasons ahead.

This is a lot sooner than when I expected to be posting about "Ozark" again, and I was originally expecting to write about the last two seasons together, but I've been binging this show like nothing else in ages, and I really want to get some thoughts down before I dive into the final stretch of episodes.  After enjoying the first season of "Ozark," and being unimpressed with the second, the third season mounted a comeback and turned out to be everything that I wanted from the show from the start.  

I thought that "Ozark" had a great beginning, setting up all these characters and relationships and opportunities for good melodrama.  However, the second season fell into a rut pretty quickly.  The stories got repetitive and the juicier character stuff  mostly went nowhere.  Two major villains pretty much followed the same path of going unhinged and being dispatched quickly - outmanipulated by the Byrdes, who were able to out-think everyone with what felt like little real effort.  The third season introduced some new villains - a new FBI investigator, Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes), prying into the Byrdes' finances, the head of the cartel, Omar Navarro (Felix Solis), and Frank Cosgrove Jr. (Jospeh Sikora), the arrogant son of the the Kansas City mob boss.  However, the Byrdes' worst antagonists this season are each other.

Since the beginning, Marty and Wendy's marriage has been on the rocks, but they were able to put the hostilities on hold while they sorted out all the other chaos in their lives.  In season three, disagreements over their business dealings turn the two against each other.  They don't communicate of course, as demonstrated by a comedic subplot with a marriage counselor, Sue (Marylouise Burke), but instead end up undermining each other until they're fully at war.  And the show was never better.    The conflict finally feels personal for everyone involved.  The deep imperfections in the characters are finally being explored.  The Byrdes are definitely up there with the Sopranos and the Jennings as one of the best TV drama couples because they're so well matched, and their fights reveal how deeply screwed up they are.  Bateman and Linney have been at the top of their game.

The other major newcomer is Wendy's unstable brother Ben (Tom Pelphrey), who ends up taking over the second half of the season.  It's a long, slow build to his unraveling, and handled very well.  Pelphrey's a great addition to the cast, initially presenting a very solid, likable presence.  Ben slides so neatly into the family dynamic and is such a good match for Ruth, the audience is tricked into letting down their guard.  Helen's arc functions in a similar way, with her briefly partnering up with Wendy for deals, and being very helpful in a crisis, but then things go sideways and we realize that her similarity to the Byrdes also makes her one of their most formidable enemies.  

All the stories and characters feel more balanced this year, with more emphasis on Marty and Wendy, but everyone else is getting the right amount of attention.  Ruth was put on a similar slow burn as Ben, which paid off beautifully.  The Charlotte problem was essentially solved by giving her and Jonah their own Charlotte to keep out of trouble, Helen's daughter Erin (Madison Thompson), and letting the kids stay mostly in the background.  Darlene regrouping in the shadows with Wyatt delivered some of the wildest twists this year, but it weirdly seems to have been the healthiest thing for everyone involved.  After the finale, I'm honestly tempted to root for them.    

I haven't said anything yet about the show's production values, which are great.  The gloomy cinematography isn't showy, but it's effective.  This year features a riverboat casino as a major location, an REO Speedwagon concert, and a few field trips outside of the Ozarks, which all look great.  This is one of those projects where Netflix spared no expense, and got their money's worth.  

I cannot promise I won't binge the rest of "Ozark" by next week, but I'll try my very best not to post about the show again until then.  

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