Thursday, May 5, 2022

What I’m Watching: Ozark (Mid-Season Premiere)

Ozark: Season 4, Episode 8 “The Cousin of Death” (B+)

When it was first announced that this show was going to have a split fourth season, I expected something more along the lines of “The Sopranos” and “Breaking Bad,” which essentially just had two shortened seasons spaced far apart rather than one than should technically be considered a two-parter. But there was only a four-month gap between the first seven and final seven of these episodes, and, in traditional Netflix fashion, they’re all dropping on one day. This episode was all about Ruth and the devastation she felt in the wake of Wyatt’s death, and we saw some informative and endearing flashbacks that made it clear how special their relationship was. Jonah wanted to protect Ruth while Wendy was considerably colder and Marty tried to figure out the best way to do it, and it was ultimately Charlotte and Jonah who sent her in the right direction. Ruth going to Frank Jr. to get a gun was an interesting turn of events, and she even brought Claire into everything by threatening to shoot her in the head in the restaurant if they didn’t go back to her office right away. I was startled by the fact that, once Wendy finally relented and called Javi, Ruth shot him without any warning, though it was fitting considering how little thought Javi put into killing Wyatt as a bystander to his intended victim. Claire knowing more about what Marty and Wendy are really up to shouldn’t be all consequential since she has no way out, but I am intrigued to see what happens with Javi’s newly introduced mother, played by Veronica Falcón, an actress who impressed me greatly in season two of “Why Women Kill.”

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