OZARK - SEASON 3
Ozark created by Bill DuBuque and Mark Williams Starring Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Sofia Hublitz, Skylar Gaetner, Julia Garner, Lisa Emery, Janet McTeer
Season 3 released on Netflix March 27th 2020
“A financial advisor drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder money to appease a drug boss. ”
Filled with a number of exceptionally good performances by Laura Linney, Jason Bateman, Julia Garner and Tom Pelphrey, season 3 is easily the best season of Ozark yet. The tension is palpable as we see characters beginning to crack under pressure, as they descend deeper and deeper into treacherous terrain - and not always because of external forces.
When Ozark begins it’s unclear how Marty Byrde got involved in this world, but by the end of the first season we discover through flash-backs that he and his wife Wendy as well as Marty’s business partner willingly accepted to partake in the laundering, albeit a little naively and unaware of the danger attached should they make a mistake. When his business partner makes such a mistake, Marty is left no choice but to relocate to the Ozarks with his family and launder more money for the Mexican drug cartel than ever before.
In the Ozarks, the Byrde family begin anew by posing as angel investors, purchasing and investing into various companies in order to launder the drug money. They must navigate this new environment and confront its principal political and financial players, creating delicate business partnerships as they go. Both Marty and Wendy are undeniably experts in their respective fields, a fact that the crime lords are soon to realise: as the seasons progress, the Byrde family get more and more involved with the cartel as their businesses expand. Victims of their own success, where they had first hoped to accomplish their initial task and cut ties with the cartel, by season 3 the Byrdes are now irrevocably entangled in their business.
Season 3: ambition, survival and family feuds
Ozark is a prime example of thrilling, engaging and astute storytelling with complex characters beautifully brought to life by its strong ensemble cast. Season 3 is a gripping blend of ambition and survival, with the greatest threat coming from within the Byrde’s very own household. Aptly paced, this season’s narrative shines a spotlight on Wendy as she unapologetically pursues her own ambitions (supported by lawyer Helen Pierce) following the success of their casino operation. Her ambitious plans stand in stark contrast to Martys, which is ensuring their own survival by avoiding any new business ventures with the cartel. A more personal conflict ensues, as the Byrde family grapples with incompatible outlooks which unsurprisingly have dire consequences on their marriage and family life, consequences which eventually bleed into their professional lives. Laura Linney gives another incredible performance as Wendy, and despite her overreaching this season after developing a false sense of security following their past success with cartel leader Navarro, Wendy is still very much a true MVP of their operation.
Every character has a satisfying arc this season. The narrative expertly balances each character’s personal conflicts and resulting consequences on their businesses and vice-versa: this applies to lawyer Helen Pierce (wonderfully played by Janet McTeer) who relocates to the Ozarks with her daughter, thus promoting her to a supporting character. Her increased presence allows for some entertaining and disquieting story-lines to unfold (specifically between herself and Wendy) as personal lives and business lives collide. Season 3 illustrates how corrosive each work-related decision and action can be on relationships, slowly but surely each thread unravels in the most tense and unnerving way. It’s a testament to the astute script: eventually we will see the result of a character’s action, no matter how big or small.
New characters are introduced in season 3, including Tom Pelphrey who makes a very welcome addition as Wendy’s brother Ben. Showing up unannounced, it isn’t long before Ben realises that something isn’t quite right in the Byrde household. Sure enough, he soon witnesses a worrisome event which results in a rather tragic domino effect. An unexpected comedic addition to the cast takes shape as Marty & Wendy’s therapist (a request made by their daughter Charlotte) and a new, rather nice FBI agent Maya Miller arrives to stir things up at the new Casino.
The majority of the action takes place at the new Casino, which proves to be an entertaining new playground for the script and cinematography. The production feels elevated this season, smoothly edited and scored to near-perfection. Once again, the Ozark landscape provides the perfect eerie setting, a picturesque location hiding more and more sinister truths as time goes by.