Ozark season 4 Part 1 review: The slow-paced, drama fraught season is compelling, nonetheless

3/5

Story:

After the Byrdes prove themselves to be invaluable assets to their employer, drug kingpin Omar Navarro, they earn an unshakeable position in the cartel as Navarro’s trusted and loyal workers. Navarro spares no time in shouldering them with some important responsibilities, which include giving a threatening message to Darlene about her heroin trade and cutting a deal with the FBI in Navarro’s name.

The Byrde’s family life also gets more complicated in the wake of Jonah’s discovery about what happened to his uncle, and Ruth’s new partnership with Darlene just adds to the complications. Can the power couple hold their own in their dangerous business while making sure their family doesn’t fall apart?

Review:

If there was one thing Ozark had going for it, it was the series’ fast pace and genuine high tension moments in almost every episode that left you holding your breath. The latest season seems to falter when it comes to these two very important aspects that made the show such a thrilling watch. After the explosive and emotionally volatile final season, which ended with one of the most unexpected deaths in the entire series, Ozark had set very high expectations for fans indeed. So its failure to catch up with the finesse of the last season, let alone surpass it, can be understood.

Ozark’s fourth season sees Wendy (Laura Linney) and Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) having to solve one of their trickiest crises yet: convincing the FBI to make a deal with one of the most ruthless drug lords in recent history, Omar Navarro (Felix Solis), and that too, one that leaves the latter with little to no repercussions for his crimes. The Byrde’s shrewdness in handling the crisis in their usual cunning and the diplomatic way seems to have not dulled in the slightest in the current season. Wendy still proves to be the most skilled when it comes to that, as we see her channel her political savviness yet again to make sure even the direst circumstances eventually turn in her favour, including an almost impossible task of convincing a pharmaceutical company to be an active part of the drug trade. But we see the emotional toll of her brother’s death start to gnaw at her in a way that starts affecting her usually calm disposition.

The only time we see Wendy Byrde lose her cool is when it comes to her family, and this season treats us to a much more emotionally volatile Wendy than all the other seasons put together. The driving factor in her emotional turmoil becomes her son Jonah's (Skylar Gaertner) distant demeanour and his newfound business, which ironically is money laundering, something his father taught him. Wendy’s recklessness, which some might even call sure-fire signs of a descent into insanity, leads to some truly gut-wrenching moments in the show, and chips away at her ice-cold and powerful persona established earlier in the show. Linney’s performance as Wendy is a joy to watch.

The rest of the Byrdes figure more or less unremarkably throughout the season, which saw more of the supporting characters get well-deserved screen space. Darlene's (Lisa Emery) trigger-happy and unstable personality and her shoot first, think later strategy leaves the new people in her life having to clean up after her messes-namely her new domestic and business partners, Wyatt (Charlie Tahan) and Ruth (Julia Garner). Garner continues her consistently stellar performance as Ruth, as the character has to navigate the new path she chooses for herself.

Following its tradition, the new season does not hesitate to kill off some of its important supporting characters, and instantly, I might add. The season also saw some new critical characters being introduced as well, in the form of Navarro’s nephew Javier "Javi" Elizonndro (Alfonso Herrera) and Mel Sattem (a private investigator tasked with uncovering the "disappearance" of Helen Pierce).

The latest season moves at a leisurely pace, bordering on painfully slow when compared to its predecessors, and there simply seems to not be enough in terms of story to properly fill out the entire seven episodes of its first part. But in the end, it all seems forgivable, with the final episodes dropping one of the most unpredictable moments in the entire show, featuring an unassuming party you wouldn’t think would have it in them to cause it. And it sets up enough anticipation to see what the Byrdes will do next.

Verdict:

Ozark Season 4 moves at a pace far slower than the previous seasons but still delivers in terms of unpredictable moments and an unexpected climax that will have you tuning in as soon as part two drops.

Ozark can be streamed on Netflix.