Photo courtesy of Netflix.com | Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) are the central figures of the Netflix orignial series Ozark. The show chronicles their struggle to be good parents and money launderers at the same time.
Hear the sound of the crickets chirping? It’s the unmistakable ringtone of Marty Byrdes cell phone — the main character of the Netflix original show Ozark that recently returned for a second season.
It’s safe to say that the show continued on its dark and twisted path and it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. Get ready for a lot of death and destruction, which is very fitting against the eerie and ominous backdrop of the Lake of the Ozarks.
The new season was even more ruthless than the first, which was unfathomable and disturbing at the same time. However, in my estimation, this helped capture the essence of the show and aided in the advancement of the plot.
In season two, we start to see characters become more dynamic. Evidently, the events that transpire throughout the season begin to take both a mental and emotional toll on the characters, most notably Marty, who is typically quite stoic and uninterested in sharing his feelings. He becomes overcome with fear and anxiety as one false move could land him six feet under.
The pressure seems to reach a boiling point. The Byrde family is put into even graver danger as Marty struggles to keep his shell companies (and illicit business transactions) afloat without detection from federal agencies. He simultaneously has to confront the unrelenting demands made by the menacing Navarro cartel.
By the time I finished the second season, I felt like the best way to encapsulate what occurred in the 10-episode saga was to expect the unexpected. While there were some predictable moments because of the brutal nature of the show, there were some shocking instances as well.
As twisted as the show could be, I enjoyed the suspense. I definitely concur that season two outperformed the first, but the ending of the season is what really made me second-guess myself.
The end sequence of the final episodes resulted from a sort of snowball effect of the prior events. I felt like it not only went way too fast but also the last scene before the screen rolled into the closing credits made it seem like the show could be done for good. Or could it?
Either way, I didn’t feel like the ending set up a bridge into a possible new season all that well. In other words, I felt like there was a bit of closure with the way things ended in that some characters will likely take on new roles. While this may signal the show’s end, it could also blossom into a whole new beginning that could, in turn, spark a completely unique plotline.
The wide success of Ozark’s first two seasons leaves speculation of a third season to be officially announced soon.
While season two may have had a more abrupt ending than anticipated, there is definitely room for an intriguing continuation that will have you constantly on the edge of your seat. Perhaps consider yourself lucky that you aren’t involved in the operations of any dangerous foreign drug lords.
By: Luke Feliciano | Sports Editor