@Daddie0 said:

This series, while formulaic, as been pretty fun to watch due to it's unique settings and characters (and at times caricatures). From the beginning, Jason Bateman and Laura Linney have carried the show with their performances, and they still do. That said, I have found the season 3 episodes 1-3 painful to watch--which I'm sure is the point. The problem is, that at some point the show becomes unwatchable because of the abject and evil pain the characters cause one another.

I've said before, that this show reminds me of Breaking Bad, only here the female lead (and the male to a lesser extent...almost an inverted scenario from BB), is the one being corrupted. But with that said, BB seemed to maintain the innocence despite the horror in the characters lives. I'm really struggling to understand if this is just the way I view male/female roles or if it's an intentional choice in the writing. To me, this series (unless things change as the season advances) is following a trajectory much more like Marriage Story than Breaking Bad, making the characters far less likable in the process and the whole experience devoid of hope. I think this more violent treatment of the loss of innocence will cause this to stack up well below the cultural impact of BB. Anyone else having a similar experience?

I don't watch BB, so I can only comment on Ozark within itself but, before I do, you'll want to see all of season 3 so we're both on the same page. Enjoy!

@DRDMovieMusings I finished the season and...well...meh. Honestly, I rated every episode and it was only in the final episode that I saw fit to rate it over a 5. This series seems to be taking the path of nearly every other...flog the material with useless contrivances only to end up nearly where you started. I would say more but honestly, I've already forgotten. Maybe it's the material, maybe it's me. Maybe it's both. Anyway, thanks for the reply!

@Daddie0 said:

@DRDMovieMusings I finished the season and...well...meh. Honestly, I rated every episode and it was only in the final episode that I saw fit to rate it over a 5. This series seems to be taking the path of nearly every other...flog the material with useless contrivances only to end up nearly where you started. I would say more but honestly, I've already forgotten. Maybe it's the material, maybe it's me. Maybe it's both. Anyway, thanks for the reply!

Fair enough. It's clear you put in work to get to this point, so your opinion is not without merit.

Believe it or not, I don't believe Marty has lost his innocence yet. Nor Wendy. They really are a yin-yang team with one who does not want to be a part of the mess, but has wrapped his head around the stakes and can handle it; vs. one who thinks she can run with sharks but, when it comes down to it, hasn't the stomach for it. Whether looking to get out while being good at it vs. being beguiled by it yet without the consternation to hang, they are both absolutely not like Darlene, or Helen, or any of the cartel bosses/personnel... I don't believe the Byrds are evil. What's funny is, everyone around them who are, think the Byrds are the problem. The Langmores and Snells and Helens of the world are evil, but these two, Marty and Wendy, are better than all of them, and they don't even want to be. Even the local police and FBI are full of dubious characters with personal demons and other issues compromising their integrity in a way the Byrds do not. It's tough being misunderstood, and I'm rooting for the Byrds to get out of this mess - they're the one group of people in all of this who really don't want to be there.

How does this stack up to BB? I've no idea, I've never watched an episode. The notion of it turned me off from jump although, admittedly, one can argue that the concept between BB and Ozark are not dissimilar. I've always been a fan of Jason Bateman, and that's likely what tipped me to give Ozark a watch in the first place. Hardly objective, I know. I'm just a human, too.

@DRDMovieMusings said:

I've always been a fan of Jason Bateman, and that's likely what tipped me to give Ozark a watch in the first place. Hardly objective, I know. I'm just a human, too.

Same here on Bateman...that and the setting (I happen to be familiar with the real Lake of the Ozarks, Party Cove, Missouri culture, etc.). I'm not sure I agree with you on the innocence of the Byrds--I actually think that is the main plot-line: folks who tell themselves they are the good guy even though they clearly are not. (Spoiler: Murder anyone?) As far as Breaking Bad, it's probably unfair to compare the two because BB was exceptional in just about every way. And as far as not getting into BB, I didn't try to...it sucked me in from the very first episode! (I still remember the experience of watching it...crazy!)

I'll likely continue watching future seasons of Ozark, I probably just need to lower my expectations. :)

I've seen Breaking Bad and I've just watched all three seasons of Ozark over about a week.

Personally I think BB is better, but the one aspect of Ozark where I think it beats BB in is that the entire family is in on the secret and working to protect each other. The reason people hated Skylar White so much was because she was actively working against Walter, whereas in Ozark Marty and Wendy both working towards the same goal is easily the best part of the show, especially when they go about it by plotting behind each other's backs.

I've never liked Jason Bateman, I've always found him to play these smarmy uptight jerk characters but he's really good here mostly because he doesn't overreact to everything, Marty's all business and little to no emotion except for those rare moments that give you insight into who he is and I give Bateman credit for that. Wendy's such a Karen throughout most of the show but she gets better. It's hilarious how Jonah is ready to kill someone, then doesn't, then someone else kills the person he was going to kill. And Charlotte's dead weight, my least favorite of the bunch.

There was also some gender politicing going on that stood out like a sore thumb in season 1, but they seemed to even it out a little over the seasons and sort of acknowledge it in season 3 where there were multiple instances of the wives being overbearing and exercising power over their weaker submissive husbands. Darlene killed her husband who loved her dearly and she got a baby and young lover out of the deal with no consequences. She kills a top cartel lieutenant and shoots the son of a mob boss in the dick and suffers no consequences. But she's such a cartoon character I just laugh.

Ozarks and BB are comparable allegories of the ineffable hypocrisy of petty bourgeois life. The characters are educated, respectable, suburban, hard-working (dare I say it? Yeah 'course I do, white) people in contemporary America. As we see more of their lives, we find that they are about as moral as the people on the SS barracks' side of the electric fence, turning a blind eye to the chimney stacks. PS what's a Karen?

@Keith-264 said:

PS what's a Karen?

Wikipedia has the best definition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(slang)

Karen is an ethnic slur that is used to typify a white person perceived to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is considered appropriate or necessary. One of the most common Karen stereotypes is that of a white American middle-aged woman who displays aggressive behavior when she is obstructed from getting her way; such women are often depicted as demanding to "speak to the manager".

@cswood said:

@Keith-264 said:

PS what's a Karen?

Wikipedia has the best definition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(slang)

Karen is an ethnic slur that is used to typify a white person perceived to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is considered appropriate or necessary. One of the most common Karen stereotypes is that of a white American middle-aged woman who displays aggressive behavior when she is obstructed from getting her way; such women are often depicted as demanding to "speak to the manager".

Fnar!

@mechajutaro said:

Sounds like Karen has replaced Becky as everyone's favorite derogation

I preferred Becky, but the masses have spoken. Either way, it's too bad such a thing is a thing at all.

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@mechajutaro said:

Sounds like Karen has replaced Becky as everyone's favorite derogation

I preferred Becky, but the masses have spoken. Either way, it's too bad such a thing is a thing at all.

I agree, but as long as there are untitled demanding women acting a fool in public we will always need a funny name to call them.

@cswood said:

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@mechajutaro said:

Sounds like Karen has replaced Becky as everyone's favorite derogation

I preferred Becky, but the masses have spoken. Either way, it's too bad such a thing is a thing at all.

I agree, but as long as there are untitled demanding women acting a fool in public we will always need a funny name to call them.

There is too long a history of "women acting a fool" that cost human beings their lives. From the Tulsa Massacre to Emmitt Till, all fabricated, they KNOW false accusations are a licence to lynch and kill black people and destabilize black communities. It's about a lot more than "a funny name."