Jason Bateman and Laura Linney in Ozark Photo: Netflix
Ozark’s final episodes are confusing. Not because they’re not doing exactly what Netflix’s ridiculous crime thriller has been doing since 2017, but because they’re doing it with a sentimentality that’s unusually cheesy. For a drama with multiple jumpscare executions and the unhinged depths of antagonists like Darlene Snell (RIP Queen), serious suspense plays an almost eerie second fiddle to the Byrde family’s swan song in season four. Sure there’s bloodshed; there is always bloodshed. But these seven episodes are more about goodbyes than farewells — a stunning tonal shift for a show so dark it once threatened to drown a baby.
Still, it’s a surprisingly effective choice for the finals. While it doesn’t even come close to delivering the best thrills Ozark has had overall, the rotation of wistful hugs, surprise appearances, and misty flashbacks in part two of season four delivers an almost Friday Night Lights-esque nostalgia that will make you miss those money-laundering maniacs , when they’re gone…however that happens.
B-
ozark
Created by
Bill Dubuque, Mark Williams
With
Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Julia Garner, Sofia Hublitz, and Skylar Gaertner
Premiered
April 29 on Netflix
format
Hours of drama; Watched all seven episodes for review
Shortly after Ruth’s (Julia Garner) infamous “If you’re going to stop me, you’re going to have to fucking kill me!” Tirade, Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney) face their last leg and struggle to contain their former protégé’s anger. Ruth seeks revenge after the murder of her cousin Wyatt (Charlie Tahan) by Javi (Alfonso Herrera), nephew of Mexican drug cartel leader Omar Navarro (Felix Solis). But of course, Ruth killing Javi is tantamount to a shitstorm, so the Bydres do what they can to protect him from her – and her from themselves. Meanwhile, Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz) and Jonah’s (Skylar Gaertner) alliance brings with them Ruth trouble as since season 2 Jonah is a walking, talking, adolescent curveball and loose lips are sinking ships.
These seven episodes are more about goodbyes than farewells.
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On the sidelines, FBI agent Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes) faces the consequences of arresting Navarro – just as private investigator Mel Sattem (Adam Rothenberg) and Wendy’s father Nathan (Richard Thomas) arrive in the Ozarks to search for the ” missing” to look for Ben (Tom Pelphrey). But Wendy can’t focus on possibly uncovering her brother’s murder because she’s still in trouble over the antitrust deal with pharmaceutical CEO Clare Shaw (Katrina Lenk).
Julia Garner in Ozark Photo: Netflix
Sounds like a lot to follow? It is. As in seasons past, the intertwining drama and stakes of these dueling storylines make for some decently juicy twists and turns around the chaos of the Byrde family and across their sphere of influence. But there is a sloppiness in the overall execution of these episodes – editing, cinematography, and most importantly writing – that severely undermines the more successful tension building of the rest of the series.
Plot holes abound, as established parts of Ozark’s ecosystem are inexplicably tossed aside for under-baked season 4 additions that feel out of place at best and take you out of the story at worst. For example, Frank Cosgrove (John Bedford Lloyd), leader of the Kansas City Mafia, gets little more than a cameo, while a relatively new character has a totally undeserved role in the final episode, one so pivotal that it left the show steals. Even when the main characters appear, the energy seems to drain as their motivations grow darker with each episode. There’s not much to get your heart pumping, if only because each narrative pull feels compelled by the need to have familiar characters interact one last time — even if the central storyline lacks proper justification.
Skylar Gaertner and Sofia Hublitz in Ozark Photo: Netflix
Still, it’s fun to see this cast — Linney and Garner in particular — chewing through their characters in a shared victory lap. Whether it’s marveling at Marty’s gravity-defying phone pose or deciphering cryptic symbols in the intro, season four part two offers plenty of reminders of why this show worked so well for a while. Ozark may not come out clean. But it doesn’t survive his welcome either.