Ozark - Season 1 Review
This review of Season 1 of Ozark has minor spoilers!
Netflix seems to be in a pattern of throwing a thousand darts at the target and hoping that some of them hit. Well, being that I'm an avid TV fan I go through all different shows on the regular and currently have over 16 gigs worth of television on my phone alone. Ozark stood out to me because of the obvious: Jason Bateman. I had no idea what to expect going in, and I'm glad I didn't. If I knew too in depth what was to be expected I may have stayed away off of past reflections of this material, but Ozark does just enough different to stand out in a crowded genre.
So, Ozark isn't exactly the most different show out there. The pilot manages to throw the viewer for a loop though, making you think the show is about something completely different than it really is and that is what makes it such a solid hook for the show. You're not necessarily sure if you're interested in the plot because it's just about Jason Bateman's character Marty Byrde and his partners antics as financial managers. Then, as the episodes third act comes you are thrown a twist that while I'm sure many can predict, sets the course for the entire season. This is a definitive instance where I highly recommend you follow my strategy for watching new television: watch 3 episodes and if you're not invested get out. Most shows take a few episodes to get going so it's worth getting through three hours (or in some shows cases even less time).
So, for anyone who really wants to know what the show is about without looking into it, stop here. You really won't be saving yourself from much because as I said it's telegraphed from the beginning what the show will truly be about. Money laundering. Marty Byrde is not a good person, and it turns out that he is on the hook for A LOT of money that was stolen from his bosses by his partner. This results in him having to change his area of attack for laundering to somewhere new: Ozark. The entire of season of the show is about him attempting to re-coup the money lost. This is where I hit my first problem with the show. It really doesn't go anywhere. It's all about the story in the Ozarks but the over-arching story kind of gets left behind in the waters of Ozark. Sure there's some interesting character arcs but it really just was a 10 episode show about the daily stresses of Marty Byrde and his family.
Speaking of Marty Byrde, lets talk about Jason Bateman's portrayal. It's been a long time since I've watched anything from Bateman. Fortunately, Ozark is some of his better work in recent memory. Marty is a rather forgotten man who struggles with putting his family in the line of danger but also with keeping his promise to those above him. He rides a fine line on who he should focus on and Bateman portrays that well. There's sequences of constant stress and that's when he's at his best. If a different lesser experienced actor was put in his place the show may not have done nearly as well. Also, his issues with his family while being the rather stronger pieces of the story, sometimes feel like they are forced beginnings even though their endings are great.
In the end when I think back on Ozark I don't have fantastic memories of what I saw. With that said though, nothing of what I saw was truly bad or awful. It's a good show with a great group of characters who really make or break the show for the viewer. Like I said, if you're interested in this show in any capacity, make sure you're coming for the characters and not the story. In all honesty, I can't remember most of the major story beats but more of the secondary stories involving characters outside of the Byrde family. This show's audience is a fairly large range so anyone who wants a new show to watch that doesn't really involve in depth combat sequences may enjoy it. Check out Ozark on Netflix next time you're looking for a show but don't put it at the top of your list.
