Ozark Season 4, Part 1 Review
Netflix’s Emmy-award-winning drama Ozark premiered part one of its season four series finale just a couple of weeks ago and fans are already ready for what’s next.
The series follows the Byrde family, consisting of wicked smart and level-headed Marty(Jason Bateman), cunning and manipulative Wendy (Laura Linney), emotionally driven and meticulous Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) and structured but passive Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz).
The Byrde’s who’ve previously been laundering money for the Navarro drug cartel are now tasked with freeing their ruthless leader from intense repercussions as he wishes to step down and live the remainder of his life free of fear and reprimand.
In addition to this daunting challenge, Darlene Snell (Lisa Emery) is now geared up to start producing and disturbing heroin again with the help of her strange intimate relationship with Wyatt (Charlie Tahan) and his cousin fan-favorite Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner).
The first part of the season deals with the aftermath of season 3 in many ways from multiple characters grappling with the polarizing deaths that occurred last season. While this serves as an emotional undertone for this season, overlapping character arcs and plot points keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
Some new faces have also entered the Ozark line-up from blood-thirsty nephew of Omar Navarro (Felix Solis) Javier Elizonndro (Alfonso Herrera), to persistent, observant P.I. Mel Sattam (Adam Rothenberg).
The season followed bubbling family tensions from the Byrdes to the Langmores. Wendy’s downward spiral into a true sociopathic criminal and Ruth’s relationship to the devastating loss she experienced in the previous season were particularly very interesting to watch.
Ruth’s actor Julia Garner is receiving relentless praise for her performance in the season finale involving her character again dealing with grief and anger that culminates into a fiery rage that she takes out on the Byrde family. The vocalization of her animosity was portrayed wonderfully by Garner and definitely sets up Ruth for a whole new self-discovery in the next part of the season.
While no official release date has been set for season 4 part 2, fans and critics are speculating sometime in the Spring of 2022, so this nail-biting finale can’t be too far away.
Compared to other seasons particularly season 3, this season was tricky with certain character choices and developments but still served shocking twists and additions to the show that are waiting to pay off in the final next half of the season.