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Portrait of an American Family
This is how, in the most dry, cynical, and consistent way, one of the greatest series of the last decade comes to an end.
Three long months of waiting, after the end of the first part of the final season; and after some unfairness (such as showing a serious car accident involving the Byrde family at the beginning that later turned out to be totally and strangely innocuous, thus retracing the entire final season in flashback form), finally Ozark has a conclusion.
Ozark: the origin of a television phenomenon
When, almost five years ago, Ozark appeared on Netflix's streaming screens, perhaps few could have bet on the success of a series that was immediately - hastily as well as very superficially, as we shall see - rebranded as a clone of Breaking Bad. It was the summer of 2017: on air was that epochal masterpiece Twin Peaks: The Return, which along with the seventh season of Game of Thrones, had monopolized the debate among fans of the small (now just a figure of speech) screen.
Ozark came quietly, but immediately showed its enormous dramatic, psychological, and visual potential.
The dynamics, certainly similar to those of the aforementioned Vince Gilligan series, though decoded (the white middle-class man who must protect his family from a criminal-themed external threat), were only the banal premise for the creation of the Ozark universe. Which over the seasons, has managed to elevate itself to become one of the flagship products of the American giant. And one of the most important and discussed series of recent years, naturally. Reviving the talent of an actor like Jason Bateman, more accustomed to light and comedic roles; just like Bryan Cranston himself, who before becoming the iconic antihero/villain Walter White, had been one of the stars of the legendary Malcolm in the Middle, the sitcom symbol of early 2000s America.
Ozark and Breaking Bad: why the comparison and why it is wrong
The relative simplicity of the themes depicted did not prevent Ozark from creating moments of pure tension and enormous emotional involvement. The icy, cold aesthetic, besides being visually striking, best represents the mood of a series where, unlike the New Mexico of Breaking Bad, there is no marked division between good and evil even at the start. In fact, at least initially the extraordinary series with Bryan Cranston showed a middle-class family microcosm completely unaware of Mr. White's impromptu and unforeseen illegal activities, dismantling and destroying the myth of family from within, here criminality is accompanied by full sharing and awareness. Consequently, Ozark, if it must be compared to Breaking Bad, is an even darker and more somber evolution. Almost nihilistic. Without situations of a normal family, without big small-bourgeois appearances to save, reassuring characters within it; nor tragic heroes like the unforgettable Hank Schrader. The differences between the two series are in the nuances and the many variations on the theme.
Land and the search for the paternal figure
In Ozark the contrast between attachment to roots and to a land often despised, yet always defended, and the desire to emerge and escape, is a focal point of the narrative; but especially of the psychology of one of the most representative characters, certainly the most beloved, that is, Ruth. Whose search for a paternal figure will mark her relationship with the main character of the story, Marty Byrde. With whom she will establish a platonic relationship, destined to be frustrated, but that will never be severed throughout the four seasons.
And this is precisely one of the focal points of the series: the study of the paternal figure. The protagonist, after all, is a family man, and his declared goal is, as mentioned, to protect his loved ones. Marty is the pivot, the central figure of Ozark, and it is important to carefully study his psychology.
Both by nature and for survival reasons - as well as profession - , Marty is a detached man, apparently emotionless and nonetheless obliged to calculation. Unable to be swept away by any kind of emotion. Towards Ruth, he sometimes shows protectiveness (but with poor results), gratitude, and a sincere - though relative - attachment/affection is still present, but this aspect will nonetheless remain, even tragically, lateral to the girl's fate. The only character who will manage, for a moment, to bring out something more passionate (at least until certain, always isolated, moments in the final episodes) will be Rachel alone. The latter character will only reappear towards the end.
Besides Marty, two other strong paternal figures are confirmed as extremely negative, violent, and deceitful. Ruth's real father and Wendy's father. Thus closing the circle on a story compromised by the absence/search for a relationship with the father figure.
Wendy Byrde: the real villain of Ozark
A whole chapter deserves Wendy without a doubt. From the start, she is presented as an unfaithful wife and especially, her complicity with her husband is immediately made clear. Marty and Wendy are together in crime, and they accept its risks and privileges. They have been from the start what Walter and Skyler only became at a certain point and for a brief time in Breaking Bad. Wendy is a complex character, the most interesting and layered overall, and Laura Linney is probably facing the role of a lifetime. Machiavellian, competitive, ambitious, endowed with intelligence, malice, and an enormous capacity for persuasion. In such a framework of corruption and abjection on multiple levels, it is she who stands out at many moments. A sometimes chilling figure.
Conclusion and legacy of Ozark
The recurring, cyclical, and hypocritical typically American obsession with family, used as a balm and excuse to justify all sorts of misdeeds. This, more than anything, will remain of Ozark. One of the most disturbing portrayals of an American family ever seen on the small screen.
Over four seasons, thus followed stories of blood, men and women lost their lives, providing even poignant parables, like that of Ben, Wendy's brother. And one should not forget to mention the Snell couple, two of the most beautiful characters in the series. There were improbable couples, as in the case of Darlene and Wyatt. Cartel bosses, hitmen, crooked cops, private investigators, Southern rednecks. Rednecks, hillbillies, and hicks. Priests, opium fields, bodies buried under concrete. Psychiatric hospitals, sawed-off shotguns, low blows, heads blown up. Hundreds of millions of dollars laundered, hidden, vanished.
Ozark was an immense series. A masterpiece that will remain over time.
Unforgettable.
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