Ozark Season 1: A Twisted Crime Thriller
Ozark Season 1: A Twisted Crime Thriller
One of the most unique elements of streaming services is that they can get away with presenting darker, edgier stories to their audiences, creating fresh and unique series. Often these series invoke a level of stress in the viewer if presented in the right way. While dark, horrible, are unfolding onscreen, the level of stress in the viewer is heightened because the show is able to portray its characters so well in the dark world it’s created. A show that does this very well is Ozark, a series whose final season is set to go up on Netflix likely within the next year or so. In tandem with it soon ending, I’ve decided to sit down and watch its first three seasons to see what the show is about and how it holds up quality-wise alongside the dark atmosphere it’s known for.
Set in 2017, the story follows financial advisor Marty Byrde—played by Jason Bateman—and his family as Marty finds himself in trouble with a Mexican drug cartel. Marty works for this cartel laundering money through small businesses he puts investments into in Chicago, using them to hide his and his legal partner Bruce’s activities. Around the time the two of them are shopping around for a new office space, their contact in the cartel, Del, confronts them about $5 million in cash that is now missing, saying he suspects they’ve taken the money. Del’s appearance results in Bruce admitting to funneling money out of the cartel and into his own pocket. Del kills him and everyone else involved in the scheme save for Marty, who not only wasn’t involved but is also able to convince Del that he can get him his stolen money back by laundering in the Ozarks, a popular tourist spot in Missouri. While the first episode acts as setup for this and other side-plots involved in the show’s first season—which makes it necessary to spoil to talk about the show’s premise—the gist of it is that Marty is able to relocate him and his family to the Ozarks under two conditions: He has to double the money Bruce stole from Del by the end of the summer, and he has to launder $100 million over the span of five years. Though this first season is obviously more focused on the former goal.
The first necessary discussion when it comes to Ozark is just how dark the series is. It’s to the point where the term “edgy” is the best way to describe it, a harsh quality to a lot of what happens in the show. That’s not to say that it’s all doom and gloom the whole time, but it does rely on its dark atmosphere and the often-building anxiety of Marty and his family to tell its compelling story. While there are some things the show does that feel shocking for the sake of being shocking—including graphic depictions of gore that sometimes feel excessive and little quirks like pregnant strippers at a club Marty tries to invest in—for the most part these darker developments deepen the nature of the story and give us looks into the minds of every character involved. The development of Marty’s son Jonah, for instance, has some incredibly dark undertones to it that I can’t spoil here. And while at the start of the show his character arc may feel unnecessarily over-the-top, it circles back around on itself as the season progresses. I liked how Ozark was able to take even some of its more needlessly dark aspects and use it to craft a well-executed, engaging story with believable, multifaceted characters.
Because between the plot and the characters in this show, it’s Marty Byrde, his family, and all the people they interact with that stuck with me the most. It’s rare to find a show where every single actor in it, both in major roles and bit parts, is fantastic in the role they’re playing. And Ozark is one of those rarities. Jason Bateman does an incredible job as the middleman for a drug cartel, accentuated by his performance alongside his family. Him and the Byrde family feel like a real family, with even the subtle intonations in Bateman’s voice when he asks his kids questions feeling like those of someone talking to their 10-year-old son or 15-year-old daughter. The pressure he’s put under by the cartel also comes out in his conversations with Del, as well as when he’s finding businesses to invest in by using his silver tongue to get people to trust his plan. This coupled with the stress of other building extenuating factors over the course of 10 episodes makes just watching Marty do what he does engaging.
And he’s not the only actor to shine in this series. Every single person in every single role does phenomenally, bolstered by the writing and their character arcs. Standout actors include: Julie Garner as Ruth Langmore, a young woman whose role in a local crime family becomes paramount to Marty’s success in the Ozarks; Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde, Marty’s wife whose rocky relationship with her husband is put to the test, both by his actions and her own; Jason Butler Harner as Roy Petty, an FBI agent tasked with keeping tabs on Marty and his family after his sudden departure from Chicago; and Peter Mullan as Jacob Snell, a farmer in the Ozarks whose family heritage in the area stretches back over a hundred years. Each of these characters and more has their own unique part to play in the overarching tale, helped in their development by an interweaving story that never stops moving. Every episode feels important and like it’s building up to the finale, with nothing ever stagnating. It’s appreciative to see a television show with such a wide, expansive cast make use of every character. While there are some who stole the spotlight more than others, even the barebones establishment of some recurring faces is enough to make the world of Ozark feel real.
The plot of the show is also a very character-driven one. The domino effect is the driving force behind much of what happens, with decisions Marty and other characters make having far-reaching consequences for themselves and every other character in the show. Even characters who don’t directly interact with one another end up impacting each other’s storylines indirectly. It’s fascinating to see everything unfold from so many different angles. But what’s also impressive is how the show still has twists and turns in the plot despite such a wide scope of viewpoints. Episode 4 was especially good for throwing the audience a massive curveball, and it’s the first of many that slowly start to build over the course of the story. Each little twist also feels very well-planned, clarifying the showrunner’s intentions with the series and even building up a few mysteries for the second season. I’ll just say this: If you pay close attention in Episode 2, you might just catch something of importance for the future.
Ozark is an ambitious story that takes your typical crime thriller, amps it up to eleven, and never stops moving. The characters make the plot, and what happens in the plot makes the show. It’s a dark, anxious experience that gives you the feeling of being alongside Marty as he scrambles to turn millions of dollars into millions more. The first season of the show was incredibly edgy and exciting, and while I haven’t seen the second season yet, I’m more than excited to see just how much they’re going to push the envelope going forward. Though to be fair, they’re already teetering on pushing the envelope off a 50-foot cliff, so how it could get any crazier or darker is beyond me. It is Ozark, though, so they’ll probably find a way. Ozark is on Netflix if you’re interested, and since I am, I’ll be back with a review of Season 2 sometime next week.
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