After ending the third season with a bang, "Ozark" begins its fourth and final arc with a nail-biting sense of purpose, as the Byrds continue their dangerous dance with the people you really get. Don't want to do their bad side. Elevating the role of children without losing any of its power, this Netflix drama is one of TV's best, unfolding with a state of perpetual dread.
As for its origins, a strand of "Breaking Bad" DNA runs through the story that the first commoners are entering the world of drugs and money laundering, only here it is turned into a family affair. This is especially true now that the Byrde kids are growing up and their parents, Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney), have come to terms with what they're doing.
Most importantly, the bifurcated final season (seven episodes premiering now, with more to come) focuses on the Byrdes' relationship with Omar Navarro (Felix Solis), the drug kingpin who speaks softly but is already on his own terms. Has demonstrated cruelty.
Still, even Navarro has to deal with internal politics and American drug-enforcement agencies, which further complicates Marty and Wendy's lives and significantly adds to the dangerousness of their high-wire act.
Closer to home, the Byrds still face issues involving psychologist and business Darlene (Lisa Emery), whose commitment to a home drug operation fuels the anger of Navarro and his men and leads to Marty and Wendy being caught in the middle. takes the risk of.
Showrunner Chris Mundy navigates the story effectively from one inevitable corner to another, with the (mostly) ineffectual Marty repeatedly both his financial savvy and ability to talk swiftly about how to get caught or killed. has tested. It's a performance that earned Bateman a trio of Emmy nominations, though his only win came for directing the show.
Once again, the Byrdes continue to tap into reservoirs of grit that weren't immediately apparent, as they searched perhaps naively to find a means to return to Chicago, where it all began. That resilience is equally evident in Ruth (Julia Garner), whose alliance with the Byrds has been strained by the events of the third season.
"Ozark" isn't really a particularly novel concept, which makes its appeal a function of the qualities that typically define top shows: perfect casting, great writing, and keeping the audience off balance. With enough unpredictability, cleverly built into each season, the one before it.
The second half of season four will determine whether the series and the Byrds can keep it up to the end and give the series a worthy send-off. Time will tell, but how well, so far, in terms of a takeoff that sets up such a landing.