Ozark - Season 4 (1 Viewer)

[SamT]

It's out!

 

[Brett_B]

I watched the final episodes over the weekend, and enjoyed how it finished up. I did have some issues with this final half.

Spoiler

Throughout the entire season 4, I kept waiting to see how the car crash was going to impact the Byrde family which ended up harming the whole season. With the knowledge that the entire Byrde family being in the vehicle, it lessened the dramatic impact of events leading up to it. For example, when Marty was sent to govern the cartel you know that nothing was going to happen to him. The story line involving Wendy's father trying to take the kids away was also affected because we know that Charlotte and Jonah were in the car with them.

The only real suspense came after that accident which ended up being at the end of the next to last episode. So, we only had one episode that "all bets were off" for the Byrde family.

One thing that bothers me now (I just now thought of this), is that it was Wendy who made the call to Javi to set him up for Ruth. I am sure that his mother would be able to get Javi's phone records.

 

[Josh Dial]

I agree with Brett both on his review (I thought the final episodes were good, and that the ending was solid), as well as the issues he identified in the spoiler.

Overall, though, a very very solid series.

 

[John Dirk]

Spoiler: Potentially Revealing Overview

I found the entire show increasingly disturbing and sad after perhaps the first couple of seasons, with the final episodes only multiplying my disgust. In the tradition of shows like Weeds and OITNB, how many times do we need to see (invariably White) people completely out of their depth somehow out maneuver seasoned, ruthless criminals. Forgive me for interjecting race but I do believe it is relevant with these types of shows as I cannot think of a single example of a Black, Asian or Hispanic show with a similar premise.

That said, I still watched the entire series as I am a huge fan of Jason Bateman.

 

[Tommy R]

This whole second half of the final season has felt very underwhelming. Boring stuff.

 

[SamT]

Man you guys are so fast in watching. Hopefully I will start it tomorow and finish it in a week or two!

 

[SamT]

4x08 The Cousin of Death

One of my pet peeves is when they use hallucination or nightmares. When it's in a way to trick you to think it is real life. It's not clever. Yes, you get shocked for few seconds, but they break everything afterward. Later you don't care if anything happens because you don't know if it's real. And when you realize that it was real, it's too late to feel shocked or anything.

So, when they did that twice in this episode, when the real thing arrived, I didn't care.

The rest of the episode was great especially the music.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

This whole second half of the final season has felt very underwhelming. Boring stuff.

I am 5 episodes in and I couldn't agree with you more. These final episodes have been a real downturn when compared to the rest of the series. I am hoping these final 2 episodes rebound somewhat.

 

[Tommy R]

I am 5 episodes in and I couldn't agree with you more. These final episodes have been a real downturn when compared to the rest of the series. I am hoping these final 2 episodes rebound somewhat.

I genuinely hope that you enjoy it! I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was “let down” or it “ended differently as I would have preferred” as I feel I am pretty good at going with the narrative as long as what they do is done well. But my feelings are just simply and firmly underwhelmed by the journey.

 

[SamT]

4x11 Pound of Flesh and Still Kickin

I dont understand the Mafia story very well, the stakes and why they have to do this or that. The dealings and stuff all is a mishmash to me. So there is no high tension for me when things happen or change.

 

[Greg.K]

I was rooting all season for the private eye to expose everything and everybody.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I was rooting all season for the private eye to expose everything and everybody.

I am with you. After all these seasons, there should have been no winners here.

Maybe I am wrong as I am trying to compile years of this show into my mind at the moment, but I suppose at first you feel sorry and root for the Byrde family for the unfortunate circumstances they found themselves in (even though it was of their own choices).

However, by the time this series hit its final season, it was easy to become sickened by Marty and Wendy.

The final shot was a disappointing one. It only showed that the sickness that had plagued the adult Byrdes were handed down to their children. The story continues, leaving us in the dark.

 

[David Deeb]

The past decade has seen a lot of series about unlikeable, bad and unredeemable characters. There's really only one outcome all of these horrible characters deserve. I think the ending of Ozark was a way to differentiate this from the way many of these other series ended. Perhaps its time we moved away from these kind of series / shows for a while.

 

[John Dirk]

The past decade has seen a lot of series about unlikeable, bad and unredeemable characters. There's really only one outcome all of these horrible characters deserve. I think the ending of Ozark was a way to differentiate this from the way many of these other series ended. Perhaps its time we moved away from these kind of series / shows for a while.

Not following you logic here. The ending here seemed par for the course compared to a lot of contemporary series I've viewed.

 

[Josh Dial]

Not following you logic here. The ending here seemed par for the course compared to a lot of contemporary series I've viewed.

Not to put words into David's mouth/post, but I think he's saying many shows about anti-heroes/bad guys (e.g. The Sopranos, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Dexter) end with the bad guys dying/getting their comeuppance. And Ozark ends with the antiheroes sort of moving on up in the world, such as it is.

 

[SamT]

4x12 Trouble The Water

This episode was so painful to watch and not in a good way! The drama over the kids going to live with the grandpa was a non-issue and they played it like a big life and death situation.

First, they are big, close to being adults, they can come and go. It’s not a big deal, they are not going to war.

Second, wouldn’t the parents be happy that they are away from trouble? They can be away in a safe place until they can deal with their current troubles. Nothing made sense in this.

 

[Josh Dial]

Nothing made sense in this.

The issue is that their grandfather is physically and emotionally abusive. Of course their current situation in extremely dangerous (risk of death by cartel at all times). Marty and Wendy simply think the kids are better off in one dangerous situation than the other.