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Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
Ozark has finally returned for its fourth and final season! The season opener is directed by Andrew Bernstein and is written by Chris Mundy.
In “The Beginning of the End”, Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) prepare to start ending their cartel partnership, while Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner) makes moves of her own.
The Cast of Ozark
The first episode is a great return to the world of Ozark and the craziness the family deals with daily. The cast is the best part of the episode, which in turn makes them the focal point of the episode. Bateman and Linney continue to have excellent chemistry on screen, albeit that Martin “Marty” and Wendy Byrde both have parenting issues to work out.
Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) is the one character still reeling the most from the events of Season Three. It is perhaps the one annoyance about him as the season moves along. While he has the right to continue to mourn, he needs to realize what his family is in and recognize the moves Marty and Wendy are trying to make for the family. This first episode is awfully slow, so the dynamic between the parents and children of the Byrde family keeps the episode moving.
Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz) is welcoming this season and seems to be all in for the family. A private investigator (Adam Rothenberg) also shows up in town, making things much more complicated for the Byrdes.
The weird relationship between Wyatt Langmore (Charlie Tahan) and Darlene Snell (Lisa Emery) continues to be explored. The latter is ramping up to be a bigger headache for the Byrdes than they probably expected. Navarro’s nephew Javi (Alfonso Herrera) also shows up, which turns out to be more trouble for them too.
Family Is Everything in Ozark
It seems that a core theme of this season will be family, and in the Byrdes’ case, they seem to be more intent than ever at staying together, no matter what. Marty seems to have finally decided that it’s really his family against almost everyone; as it has been the whole show, but he was a bit too preoccupied every day to notice. Wendy has also made a better attempt at being a real mother for Charlotte and Jonah, albeit that Jonah isn’t over Season Three’s events. However, the family dynamic is better than ever this time around and the development is great.
The characters that return from last season are great, and also the central theme of family remains in the episode as well, albeit that their family is almost constantly working through issues too.
The cinematography is very nice as well, which always feels as if we’re in the center of the tension. There’s a few moments of shaky cam in the episode but otherwise, it isn’t too bad. There is also a moment right at the end of the episode — you’ll know it — that will shake things up between Javi, the Byrdes, and the local town.
It’s going to be interesting where the introduction of Javi takes Marty and Wendy, as well as the competition from Darlene and Wyatt. Jonah also begins to make moves of his own, which will probably send him running back to his parents, as the Byrde children usually do after a dumb mistake.
Final Thoughts on the Ozark Final Season Premiere
Overall, this season’s premiere is worthwhile and enticing for what is to come for the Byrde family. It’s great that last season’s chaos is still being felt through every character, in their own right and Season Four is promising.
What were your thoughts about the season opener? Keep it right here with TCS for the review of Episode 2 of Ozark‘s final season!
Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
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