Ozark 4.1-7: Hold On Tight

Just binged the first half of the final (fourth) season of Ozark, some seven episodes of pure adrenalin, propelled by powerful plots with memorable characters and all kinds of stunning surprises, including deaths.

[Tell you what -- for this review, no specific spoilers, you can read ahead with confidence.]

In fact, all the ingredients that made the previous three seasons so good, including the Ozark countryside, are here in abundance.  Making these seven episodes, in sum, right up there with the best of the previous seasons.

Marty, Wendy, and Ruth in all in top form.  Jonah, who has been developing into a brilliant, tough-minded teenager, has his biggest role yet.  Darlene, Wyatt, and Charlotte are in true, strong, form as well.  The complexities of Mexican drug cartels and criminals and police of various ranks in the U. S. are given satisfying and sometimes unpredictable workouts.

Ozark is often compared to Breaking Bad.  A fair enough comparison, though Breaking Bad was more of a one to two man show, and Ozark has always been more about family.  For that reason, I'd also say that The Mosquito Coast, which had one season last year on Apple TV+ ,with a second coming up, is even more like Ozark, and indeed can be clearly seen as inspired by it.

The acting of all the characters in Ozark is great, with special applause for Jason Bateman as Marty, Laura Linney as Wendy, and Julia Garner as Ruth.  My favorite new character is former cop now private detective Mel Sattem, given an unshakeable, moody, noir performance by Adam Rothenberg, which reminded me of some of those hardboiled detectives in the movies from the 1930s through the 1950s.  The seventh episode ends with a cliffhanger as sharp as you'll find, setting up the finale episodes as immediate, must-see viewing, whenever they reach the Netflix screen.

See also Ozark 3: Breakups ... Ozark 2: Against All Odds and More ... Ozark 1: Frying Pan Into the Fire

Ozark 3: Breakups

A superb third season of Ozark now on Netflix, which I'll try to review without any specific spoilers.  The theme of the ten episodes was breakup - of alliances, families, loyalties - final and temporary.

The basis for Marty and Wendy at odds  was set in the second season.  Wendy clearly has strategic smarts which not only complement Marty's, but offer alternate pathways.   Navarro, the Mexican head of the drug cartel that Marty is dealing with - laundering its money in Marty's casino - is impressed with Wendy's plans and instincts.

Ben, Wendy's brother, is the best new character introduced in the third season, and, indeed, right up there was Marty and Wendy, their kids, and Ruth.   Ben is charming, lovable, but can be violent.  Marty and Wendy are not happy when Ben shows up at their door, but he easily connects with Jonah, and, for other reasons, Ruth.   Tom Pelphrey's portrayal of Ben is definitely Emmy worthy.

Back to Jonah, the children - Jonah and Charlotte, and add in Helen's daughter Erin - were especially important this season.   Jonah is growing up, and we see the first time he's kissed by a girl, and his going after a perceived enemy with a point-blank shotgun.  Women play a prominent in the interweaving stories, including Helen, FBI agent Maya Miller, Darlene, and the ever-redoubtable Ruth, with a heart of gold not too far from her sleeve.

All of these characters are put to the test, in every episode, and the resolution of their profound conflicts are both surprising and thoroughly believable in retrospect.   In addition to Pelphrey, Julia Garner was just outstanding again as Ruth, and deserves another Emmy.   Laura Linney as Wendy outdid herself in season 3, and deserves not only the nominations she's received for previous seasons, but winning an award or two herself this season.  And, as always, you couldn't ask for a better performance than Jason Bateman as Marty.

From the beginning of the first season, enjoyment of Ozark required a big suspension of disbelief.  Season 3 requires more of that.  But the dividends are very much worth it.

See also Ozark: Frying Pan into the Fire ... Ozark 2: Against All Odds and More

Ozark 2: Against All Odds and More

Tina and I binge-watched Ozark 2 on Netflix, about a year after we did the same for the first season.  The second season is at least as good, which is to say, excellent indeed, in many ways a unique piece of television narrative.

As in the first season, the Byrde family is against all odds in their (Marty and Wendy's) attempt to set up a casino or at very least survive in the Ozarks.  Their in-and-out enemies include not only the cartel and the FBI, but a variety of psychos, miscreants, and killers including the Snells (or at least, Darlene Snell), the preacher Mason, Ruth's father Cade, and just for good measure the Kansas City mob.  Some of these characters don't survive the season, but I won't tell you who.

I will say that Wendy has a more prominent and crucial role than in the first season, and Laura Linney gives this a tour-de-force performance, one of her best in any role in her long and storied career.  We see her delivering every conceivable emotion, ranging from rage to tenderness, balancing her maternal instincts with an iron will to survive.

Indeed, for a variety of reasons, women play a more decisive role in this second season than in the first, with not only Wendy, Darlene, and Ruth on center stage, but Helen the cartel lawyer in some critical scenes delivering memorable lines.   The Byrde children - Charlotte and Jonah - are also more central to the story, and it's great to see Harris Yulin as Buddy back in action (it is only me, or does Yulin look like at least two or three other actors).

Ozark has carved out an original and compelling niche for itself, and I'm looking forward to more.

See also Ozark: Frying Pan into the Fire

Ozark: Frying Pan into the Fire

Netflix checked in with another unusual, noteworthy binge-watchable original series last month - Ozark, the story of how a brilliant high-finance money-launderer in Chicago escapes with his family to the Ozarks, and goes from the frying pan into the fire.

Among the many highlights are memorable performances by even the supporting characters, to the point where just about everyone has a crucial role, and a plot full of twists and turns that surprise from the first episode to the end of the last.

Like just about all of Netflix's original series, and Amazon's too, Ozark tells a story which on first glance is familiar - the city slicker in the hicks - but on second and third glances and every glance thereafter is rich with original detail.  Marty Byrde, superbly played by Jason Bateman, finds himself beset not only by the "second biggest" drug cartel in Mexico (whose murderous rep in the U. S. sarcastically notes Byrde with his precision can't help but mention) and the FBI, but by two hillbilly or redneck families (and I'm glad I'm not a character on the show because mis-identifying one as the other could easily get me killed).

Byrde's family plays a major role - Laura Linney puts in a great performance as Marty's wife, who was having an affair in Chicago before the family was forced to leave - and the two kids have quirky, unpredictable and powerful stories, too.

There's a lot of time spent in or near and around the water, which also plays a crucial part in the story. And though the characters remark that it's a little too cold for swimming, it feels like summer - I don't recall seeing any snow, even in Chicago - which makes Ozark especially good viewing for anyone now in the Northern Hemisphere.   But, hey, the Southern Hemisphere will find lots to be glued to screen about in this one, too.

Mad Men Wins Emmy for Best Series! And a Great Night for Democracy on the Emmy Show!

AMC's Mad Men won the Emmy for Best Dramatic Television Series tonight - a first for a basic cable television show, and more proof that the New Golden Age of Television is flying high. Matthew Weiner also won for best writer for Mad Men, and it was great to see the show's cast up there on stage as the end of the telecast. As fine as they are on the show and its early 60s ambiance, they really shine in their 2008 clothes and faces.

FX's Damages, another superb basic cable drama show, also came through with Glenn Close as best actress and Zeljko Ivanek as best supporting actor (his performance was unforgettable - one of the best in the history of television). I missed Showtime's Dexter not getting any awards. From what I've seen of the new third season, to debut next week, its time will come.

Tonight's Emmy show was also a great evening for democracy and freedom of expression. Tom Smothers received a special award, and spoke eloquently of freedom of speech. HBO's Recount, about the 2000 theft of an election, won two Emmys. And even though John Adams the real President was no friend at all of the First Amendment, it felt good to see HBO's mini-series about him win five well deserved awards - not to mention that it let Laura Linney, who won a best actress Emmy for her portrayal of Abigail Adams, get in a good supportive line about "community organizers". (Stephen Colbert also had an excellent riff in his routine with John Stewart about liking McCain-esque shriveled prunes.)

And speaking of the freedom to be downright hilarious, I've never seen Don Rickles more funny than up on the stage, introducing and later receiving an Emmy, tonight.

Yes, I think we live an age in which television exceeds motion pictures and novels in providing the best dramatic entertainment. I said a few years ago that, far from being an idiot box, only idiots don't watch television. That's more true today than ever.




My 20-minute interview last Fall with Rich Sommer (Harry Crane) at Light On Light Through

and The Flouting of the First Amendment

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The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

John Adams on HBO: 3 and 4: Jefferson and Space Travel of the Soul

A powerful, beautiful Episode 4 of John Adams on HBO tonight - after last week's somewhat lackluster Episode 3, in which the highpoint of the tension was Adams getting sick of and in Europe.

But let's look at Episode 4, bursting with brilliant scenes:

.John and Abigail reuniting Paris - handled with sensitivity and passion, as Abigail forgives John for his years of absence.

.Adams and Jefferson in Paris (1) - Adams chastising Jefferson for the high opinion he has of human nature, at the same time that Jefferson chastises Adams for his low opinion of same. This difference of opinion is crucial, and will set the stage forever more in American history between those who want strong central authority to show the people the best way (Adams) vs. those who want to protect the people, capable of governing themselves, for the tyrannies of government (Jefferson).

.Adams and Jefferson in Paris (2) - at the launch of the first hot-air dirigible. Adams doubts that it will fly; Jefferson (a Renaissance man and inventor) believes it will. Guess who is right ... Another reason I always liked Jefferson - I bet he'd would have been a great advocate of the space program today and in the 20th century... he was always an advocate of space travel of the soul, of human beings breaking beyond their confines. (Obama is not a big fan of space travel, but his vision of the human spirit reminds me of Jefferson.)

.John and Abigail Adams, and Jefferson: Abigail is somewhat taken by Jefferson's charm...

.Adams meeting King George III ... the King is willing to give Adams a chance, for now, because he heard that Adams was not too fond of the French ... England, however, won't really get over losing American until at least the War of 1812.

.Washington takes office as the first President, and Adams as the first VP. Brilliantly acted and perfectly staged. Once again, I had tear in my eye during this vivid American history.

And there was more. But I'll stop here, and just add that the acting was outstanding.

Stephen Dillane is perfect as Jefferson. Paul Giamatti as John and Laura Linney as Abigail are excellent. David Morse looks like he came right off the dollar bill as George Washington. Tom Hollander even puts in a memorable performance as King George III (I say "even," because the time on the screen was short, the rendition understated, and the effect therefore all the more impressive).

I loved the music, too - kudos to Rob Lane and Joseph Vitarelli.

This is the best American history I've ever seen on television.

See also: John Adams on HBO: Good Founding Father, Bad President ... John Adams 5: Jousting of Ideas ... 6. President and Father ... John Adams Concludes ...

Further reading ...

The Flouting of the First Amendment - my 2005 Keynote Address at Fordham University, in which I talk about the vying opinions of John Adams v. Thomas Jefferson on human nature...

The Soft Edge: A Natural History and the Future of the Information Revolution - my 1998 book, with more details on this time in history, and the roles of Adams and Jefferson

And ...