Ozark- Netflix

[nycHorn 2998]

New to the series. Probably done with it.

Ben was awful. Painful that half of the season revolves around his entirely predictable un-predictable actions. Lame plot device, his only purpose was to mess things up to add plot and give Wendy more emotion.

Theres plenty to work with using Helen, Snells, Cosgrove, FBI, Cartel. Didn’t need to pull in a mentally unstable person just to shake things up.

This. I have one more episode in season 3 and it’s a beating. Too much time on Ben that goes nowhere. I hope he’s fucking dead. Hell I hope they all die.

[Lurch 5922]

This. I have one more episode in season 3 and it’s a beating. Too much time on Ben that goes nowhere. I hope he’s fucking dead. Hell I hope they all die.

 

See you back here in one episode.

[Spankytoes 1739]

Binged the entire series this weekend.

Some of you must have a thing for bad, predictable writing and Jason Bateman. I won’t remember what happened in the series tomorrow, much less another year. 

[Vic Mackey 47012]

This series started off great. And has gotten worse with each season. Now it's just fucking goofy and predictable. 

[nycHorn 2998]

 
See you back here in one episode.

Jesus. This show is laughably bad. The writing is simply terrible. There is not one person I care about in this show.

[Pescado_Rojo 19416]

Season 4: Snells/Langmores vs Byrds. Ruth plays the middle most of the season until the final episode...which way will she go? 

[Goo Punch 4275]

after reading the last few pages this morning it appears that everyone now thinks this is a dumb show with terrible writing. been that way since season one, btw, and only got worse. the show had promise, but the writing (and lighting) are terrible. i'd like to see Ruth and Bateman worming together again on a different show with better writing. 

Edited April 20, 2020 by Goo Punch

[HoffaJimmy 316]

On 4/16/2020 at 6:09 PM, UpperWestside said:

 I was not really that familiar with Tom Pelphrey before this, but I am going to check him out to see what else he has done. 

 

Banshee. He has a supporting role but the series is fucking great if you haven't seen it. fights, women, non stop action what's not to love. 

As long as you aren't a "there is no way that could happen in real life so this show sucks" guy. 

 

 

Edited April 20, 2020 by HoffaJimmy

[Prepuce of Doom 21054]

2 hours ago, Goo Punch said:

after reading the last few pages this morning it appears that everyone now thinks this is a dumb show with terrible writing. been that way since season one, btw, and only got worse. the show had promise, but the writing (and lighting) are terrible. i'd like to see Ruth and Bateman worming together again on a different show with better writing. 

It's dumb but mostly enjoyable. 

It's junk food masquerading as fine dining. 

Edited April 20, 2020 by Prepuce of Doom
Enjoyable except for Ben - fuck him in the goatass.

[bschoolprof 6252]

2 hours ago, Goo Punch said:

after reading the last few pages this morning it appears that everyone now thinks this is a dumb show with terrible writing. been that way since season one, btw, and only got worse. the show had promise, but the writing (and lighting) are terrible. i'd like to see Ruth and Bateman worming together again on a different show with better writing. 

But the lighting was better this season!!!

[Kyle 207]

57 minutes ago, HoffaJimmy said:

 

Banshee. He has a supporting role but the series is fucking great if you haven't seen it. fights, women, non stop action what's not to love. 

As long as you aren't a "there is no way that could happen in real life so this show sucks" guy. 

 

 

Thanks. I loved Banshee and completely missed the connection - Kurt was a great character.

[HoustonFrog 368]

It's dumb but mostly enjoyable. 
It's junk food masquerading as fine dining. 

Perfect summary

[Spankytoes 1739]

4 hours ago, Goo Punch said:

after reading the last few pages this morning it appears that everyone now thinks this is a dumb show with terrible writing. been that way since season one, btw, and only got worse. the show had promise, but the writing (and lighting) are terrible. i'd like to see Ruth and Bateman worming together again on a different show with better writing. 

My opinion of it changed drastically since Friday morning, when I watched my first episode ever.

[ATLLonghorn 848]

This show is like if Breaking Bad met Justified but did none of the things that those shows did well.

I started to binge it last week and if I literally had any motivation to do anything with my life right now I wouldn't have made it past season one. I won't watch season 4 unless it's just a one hour episode where the cartel shows up and kills Darlene, Ruth and Wyatt.

[Lurch 5922]

We’ve heard it all before in this very thread.

See you next season

[Lurch 5922]

 
Are you just going to keep posting this until someone either agrees with you or acknowledges your opinion?

well i didn't even remember making the first two posts, but jesus, it's true. every time i try to watch i can't get over how ridiculous the lighting is. people sitting around in dark rooms with the lights turned off and half of their face covered in darkness just having a regular old conversation in the middle of the day. 
 
no no worries though, i'm not watching it anymore so no more complaining about the lighting. 

Bump

[TexArcher 37770]

On 4/13/2020 at 10:16 AM, HoffaJimmy said:

As I said earlier in this thread the show is what it is. They are so far past believable they can't really go back now. It is what it is. I choose to look past the obvious plot holes and just enjoy the ride and great acting.  

I put this show in the same category with Billions.  If you can suspend disbelief about some ridiculous shit and overlook the fact that the writers phone it in at certain points, you can watch some truly remarkable actors.  Bateman, Linney, Garner, and Janet McTeer (Helen) are all outstanding.

And lol at people bitching that it's not Breaking Bad.  That's like bitching at every other novelist for not being Tolstoy.

[HoffaJimmy 316]

8 hours ago, TexArcher said:

I put this show in the same category with Billions.  If you can suspend disbelief about some ridiculous shit and overlook the fact that the writers phone it in at certain points, you can watch some truly remarkable actors.  Bateman, Linney, Garner, and Janet McTeer (Helen) are all outstanding.

And lol at people bitching that it's not Breaking Bad.  That's like bitching at every other novelist for not being Tolstoy.

 

100%. 

[Born to Run 6569]

Season 4: Snells/Langmores vs Byrds. Ruth plays the middle most of the season until the final episode...which way will she go? 

In the Bible she is loyal to her mother in law...

[Sbbruin 21830]

On 4/21/2020 at 9:54 PM, TexArcher said:

I put this show in the same category with Billions.  If you can suspend disbelief about some ridiculous shit and overlook the fact that the writers phone it in at certain points, you can watch some truly remarkable actors.  Bateman, Linney, Garner, and Janet McTeer (Helen) are all outstanding.

And lol at people bitching that it's not Breaking Bad.  That's like bitching at every other novelist for not being Tolstoy.

Just finished it.  Certainly finished with a bang.

The above is accurate.

[Buzzrock 14903]

['stache 21799]

Meh, I've invested three seasons into this show so I'll watch the 4th when it comes out. It's just not all that great to me any more. The brother was a beating. Great acting, but fitting within the story was annoying. Literally everything he did seemed intentional to get his sister and her family killed. I get it, mental illness, but come on, I almost wanted him to get whacked after a while. And if Wendy really is all in on this shit, she would have taken care of it right off the bat (off him or stick him in a facility). A Mice and Men scenario would have also been better, more believable, and more dramatic. And the general suspension of belief is just getting harder and harder. As soon as his fuckery reached the lawyer, he would have been whacked, like within an hour. This cartel is weak as shit. No wonder he's in a war with other cartels. 

Edit: I also wanted to add how annoying it is that they didn't show him dying or who they cremated. It's so obvious he's either still alive, or the writers wanted that option since the story is just getting made up from episode to episode.

Edited May 1, 2020 by 'stache

[RamjetFDO 10575]

On 4/20/2020 at 12:58 PM, Prepuce of Doom said:

It's dumb but mostly enjoyable. 

It's junk food masquerading as fine dining. 

aka "everything about the Ozarks in real life".

[Steamboat1874 4050]

My favorite line from the series...

Ruth "I don't know fuck about shit".

[BevoSwag 272]

I haven't watch the last episode of S3 but will tonight.  I was curious how many on here actually believed of mob violence in middle America and of the history of the KC Mob?  Back in the 50's my family took us to visit relatives in KC and we would go to a club where we were told it was owned by the mob.  All of that got its roots in Prohibition.  This show got me thinking about the mob connections and sure enough suspicions were probably true.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Pendergast

LOL at the mention of Truman.

 

 

[Guest Lobo]

Kansas City still has a  robust organized crime presence particularly because trucking/teamsters/union labor are still a very prominent fixtures of the city and the economy.  And probably because of the river gambling in/around the area as well.  I had no issue believing most of those storylines having seen a bit of it myself.  But there's no way the old lady could shoot the son's dick off and get away with it.  Maybe next season I suppose, somebody is gonna wait until the ink is dry on those construction/shipping contracts and then go to war with the Snell/Langmore Alliance from KC.  Gonna be a shitshow.  And of course, caught in the middle will be the Byrde Family avoiding one near-death experience after another.  And some other rebooted cliche of a federal law enforcement official.  

What I think may happen, or this is me projecting my desire for the show.  There is no shortage of mob shows on TV and no shortage of cartel shows on TV.  What I haven't seen done in depth, or done well at all, is a cartel "going to war" with a mob.  There's the financial war (that's already sorta begun on Ozark), the intimidation/shakedown/racket/turf war, and then the actual war of violence and destruction (that detonated truck was just an overture).  I'd like to see that dynamic.  Sure KC has home-field advantage plus deep relationships with law enforcement (maybe all the way up to state level)_.  But the cartel has much longer tentacles, much more cash, and in an actual war---KC Mob has a 100 slow white guys, one of whom was in the National Guard, and the Navarro Cartel has a few thousand men who were former Commandos Anfibios and GAFE veterans.  

The cartel also has the final advantage.  They invented an economy, and control it with almost total impunity.  They provide a constant flow of all manner of drugs to a large population with deep demand.  The mob/mafia takes a very different approach.  Their primary income sources are waiting until legitimate enterprises and organizations take root in a given economy (labor unions, trucking companies, small businesses, factories, etc.).  They simply shake those groups down for cash and offer bullshit like strike busting, help with suppliers, political connections, and "protection").  They're just add-on leeches which makes them much more vulnerable to being discarded.  Anyway, I'd like to see a showdown between KC Mob v. Navarro Cartel.  

[Steamboat1874 4050]

First of all it is a "fictional" series.

That means they can do whatever they want.

Why do people think everything has to be perfectly true to be entertainment?

[Native Horn 3499]

45 minutes ago, Steamboat1874 said:

First of all it is a "fictional" series.

That means they can do whatever they want.

Why do people think everything has to be perfectly true to be entertainment?

I have this argument constantly with a co-worker.  I recommend a show to her (no pics) and tell her that it is a fictional show, and to try and enjoy it.  Inevitably, her response after watching will be "I mean I guess it was ok, but there is no way that any sane person would think a Baby Ruth in a swimming pool was dookie."  But she also thinks the Earth is 6,000 years old, so there's that...

[Red Five 40846]

Did we just find our new Dirt Bike?

[Kyle 207]

20 hours ago, Lobo said:

Kansas City still has a  robust organized crime presence particularly because trucking/teamsters/union labor are still a very prominent fixtures of the city and the economy.  And probably because of the river gambling in/around the area as well.  I had no issue believing most of those storylines having seen a bit of it myself.  But there's no way the old lady could shoot the son's dick off and get away with it.  Maybe next season I suppose, somebody is gonna wait until the ink is dry on those construction/shipping contracts and then go to war with the Snell/Langmore Alliance from KC.  Gonna be a shitshow.  And of course, caught in the middle will be the Byrde Family avoiding one near-death experience after another.  And some other rebooted cliche of a federal law enforcement official.  

What I think may happen, or this is me projecting my desire for the show.  There is no shortage of mob shows on TV and no shortage of cartel shows on TV.  What I haven't seen done in depth, or done well at all, is a cartel "going to war" with a mob.  There's the financial war (that's already sorta begun on Ozark), the intimidation/shakedown/racket/turf war, and then the actual war of violence and destruction (that detonated truck was just an overture).  I'd like to see that dynamic.  Sure KC has home-field advantage plus deep relationships with law enforcement (maybe all the way up to state level)_.  But the cartel has much longer tentacles, much more cash, and in an actual war---KC Mob has a 100 slow white guys, one of whom was in the National Guard, and the Navarro Cartel has a few thousand men who were former Commandos Anfibios and GAFE veterans.  

The cartel also has the final advantage.  They invented an economy, and control it with almost total impunity.  They provide a constant flow of all manner of drugs to a large population with deep demand.  The mob/mafia takes a very different approach.  Their primary income sources are waiting until legitimate enterprises and organizations take root in a given economy (labor unions, trucking companies, small businesses, factories, etc.).  They simply shake those groups down for cash and offer bullshit like strike busting, help with suppliers, political connections, and "protection").  They're just add-on leeches which makes them much more vulnerable to being discarded.  Anyway, I'd like to see a showdown between KC Mob v. Navarro Cartel.  

Having lived in Kansas City and been a long-time mob history dork, Kansas City arguably has maybe the biggest mob history outside of New York and Chicago. Much of Las Vegas was built with help of the KC Mob, and Tom Pendergast's Democratic Machine would make Boss Tweed or Richard Daley blush - it just doesn't get the press because, well it's not New York.

[Guest Lobo]

^
Yep, well put.  Obviously New York is 1, Chicago is 2, probably if you had to say it---Philly as a distant 3.  But you could easily and pragmatically state that K.C., Detroit, Cleveland in some sort of 3a/3b/3c.  For the 37th largest city in the nation (probably ranked a bit higher in its heyday)...Kansas City outpunches many larger cities, again because of its labor force and its position as a major trucking hub.  It's got jackshit to do with much else but, to be blunt, geographic placement in the country's highway system... and a naive workforce.   But damn if some great stories didn't come out of there when I was a kid in a trucking family.  

Edited May 20, 2020 by Lobo

[lateshow 1304]

1 hour ago, Kyle said:

Having lived in Kansas City and been a long-time mob history dork, Kansas City arguably has maybe the biggest mob history outside of New York and Chicago. Much of Las Vegas was built with help of the KC Mob, and Tom Pendergast's Democratic Machine would make Boss Tweed or Richard Daley blush - it just doesn't get the press because, well it's not New York.

Do you even Casino?

[lateshow 1304]

58 minutes ago, Lobo said:

^
Yep, well put.  Obviously New York is 1, Chicago is 2, probably if you had to say it---Philly as a distant 3.  But you could easily and pragmatically state that K.C., Detroit, Cleveland in some sort of 3a/3b/3c.  For the 37th largest city in the nation (probably ranked a bit higher in its heyday)...Kansas City outpunches many larger cities, again because of its labor force and its position as a major trucking hub.  It's got jackshit to do with much else but, to be blunt, geographic placement in the country's highway system... and a naive workforce.   But damn if some great stories didn't come out of there when I was a kid in a trucking family.  

I think you're leaving out New Orleans, which had a huge mob presence back in the day with Carlos Marcello. 

[bullzak 417]

21 hours ago, Lobo said:

Anyway, I'd like to see a showdown between KC Mob v. Navarro Cartel.  

In that episode the KC Mob is George Mikan and the Cartel is Hakeem Olajuwon. 

[Guest Lobo]

7 minutes ago, lateshow said:

I think you're leaving out New Orleans, which had a huge mob presence back in the day with Carlos Marcello. 

You are correct, New Orleans had/has an oversized organized crime presence.  I just don't know much about it, and what we did hear up in Chicago trucking was nothing like what we associate with the stereotypical mob organization.  And to boot, their local/state government is much more involved in it.  and coming from an Illinois kid, that's saying something.  Theirs is a completely different animal that is not really associated with other mob/mafia outfits.  But yes, very entrenched and far-reaching to be sure. 

[Kyle 207]

7 hours ago, Lobo said:

You are correct, New Orleans had/has an oversized organized crime presence.  I just don't know much about it, and what we did hear up in Chicago trucking was nothing like what we associate with the stereotypical mob organization.  And to boot, their local/state government is much more involved in it.  and coming from an Illinois kid, that's saying something.  Theirs is a completely different animal that is not really associated with other mob/mafia outfits.  But yes, very entrenched and far-reaching to be sure. 

It is a little different when Edwin Edwards is the capo di tutti i capi.

[Kyle 207]

7 hours ago, lateshow said:

Do you even Casino?

Re-watch it ... it's there.

[henrygandorf 29189]

8 hours ago, lateshow said:

Do you even Casino?

one of my favorite lines that i use in real life refers to the kc mob.  when pesci is like, "what did they know, they're 1500 miles away and i don't know anybody who can see that far."

[htown85 159]

It’s hard to get invested in the intense scenes when everything is predictable and you don’t care if any of the characters die because they have done so much selfish/stupid shit.

 

[wild_turkey 3159]

On 2/7/2019 at 12:03 PM, wild_turkey said:

I’m finally trying to finish off season 2, currently on episode 8. I don’t see myself watching season 3 because I just don’t find it that enjoyable.

I didn't like season 2 and was content not watching season 3. Then COVID hit and I exhausted most of the other good shows on my list and some coworkers said Ozark season 3 was better than season 2, so I reluctantly gave it a shot.

This show is still terrible for all of the same reasons:

I hate most of the characters. There isn't really a protagonist or an underdog for me to root for. Maybe Ruth is supposed to be the Jesse Pinkman character here? I really don't care if they all die, starting with Wendy.

The writing is horribly inconsistent:

-In season 2 Charlotte was fighting for emancipation and now she is magically back in the family business without much of an explanation.

-Wendy made a big fuss about getting a 2nd casino and hotel at the expense of getting an FBI investigation brought upon them, only to never mention that 2nd casino in the last 5 episodes of the season.

-Wendy made a push to win Zeke back from Darlene, only to suddenly drop it when court didn't go their way.

-Marty says he's gonna flip and FBI agent, then he just kinda strings her along and does basically nothing of value.

There's always a new big problem every 1-2 episodes, then instead of actually resolving it or incorporating it into the overall plot, they just cast it aside and move onto a new problem.

Aside from the inconsistent writing, the large scale plot requires too much suspension of disbelief. You can't convince me that the head of a Mexican drug cartel would want a partial share of a Missouri riverboat casino for relatively small scale money laundering operation, and that he would then spend his time chatting on the phone with Wendy of all people. And that somehow Marty and Wendy Byrde can end a cartel war remotely by providing a single FBI agent with some dirt on a single hit and then the U.S. military sweeps in and eliminates Navarro's rivals, all in one episode and all off screen. Yeah because the U.S. military has a long history of quickly and efficiently ending drug wars. That's the biggest plot issue currently, but the writers wanted to raise the stakes and this is where it took them. 

I don't even need to complain about Ben. As bad as he was, he would be tolerable if the above 3 complaints were 50% better. If this show was a shitty BBQ joint, Ben would be the bad potato salad. Hardly worth mentioning when the brisket and sausage are poorly cooked.

I'm out for season 4. Or maybe I'll write a similar rant in a year if we are still living in a pandemic and I still need ways to waste my abundant spare time.

[Lat22 4010]

I agree with every single thing you posted. When does season 4 start?

[smoky 840]

9 minutes ago, Lat22 said:

I agree with every single thing you posted. When does season 4 start?

Not been renewed yet.  Not sure if that's because of the rona or because the show kinda sucks (yet I've still watched all of it)

Edited June 30, 2020 by smoky

[bschoolprof 6252]

The show is terrible, but my wife loves it (and Jason Bateman) so I watch. I’ll bitch my way through season 4 if there is one. 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4975]

It's popular enough that it will get renewed unless some of the key players have lost interest.

[HoffaJimmy 316]

It's rumored to have been renewed for a 4th season just not made official by Netflix yet. 

[ChickenSandwich 9829]

Finally finished. Brother still a beating. Marty-Beta sucks. Everything means nothing. 
 

See you all in season 4

[Hozz 1017]

I think its a great show.  That said I can't dispute a lot of the criticisms over the past 4 pages of this thread.  I guess they just bother me a lot less.

I wanted to re-watch S1/2 before watching S3 and had put it off, but I watched all 30 over the past month or so including about the last 15 in just two days.    I thought S3 was the weakest of the three seasons but I still enjoyed it to the point where I could not help myself from starting the next episode.

For some specific criticism, I think they tried to do way too much in the 10 episodes they had to work with.  Highlighting this was the last episode which felt ridiculously rushed.  Like Marty got some stills to an FBI agent that resulted in US interdiction in Mexico against the rival cartel in a matter of hours?  The worst written plot, to me, was by far the Darlene-Ruth-KC Mob triangle.  Nonsensical.  The show runners could have crowdsourced a more sensible plot from Reddit.  I found that one GoT S8 levels of bad.  Navarro's character didn't work for me at all.  What was the point of rendering Marty and torturing him for a week?  lol because he had spyware on his wife's phone?  And how can you drop him back down a hole after he fixes your flagged offshore account in seconds?  He's clearly worth keeping around just for that.  

Finally, I don't get all the Ben hate.  That actor is going to win every award a TV show supporting actor can win.

[Prepuce of Doom 21054]

Just saw that it was renewed for a fourth and final season to be released in two seven-episode batches. Dates TBD. 

Also, #TeamFuckBenInTheGoatass

Edited June 30, 2020 by Prepuce of Doom
Seriously, fuck Ben.

[Juicy 725]

2 hours ago, Hozz said:

 

Finally, I don't get all the Ben hate.  That actor is going to win every award a TV show supporting actor can win.

Yeah, I know people rave about the portrayal of the Joker, but to me the scene where he was in the cab talking to the driver was one of the most uncomfortable yet perfect scenes of someone just completely out of it. 

[RamjetFDO 10575]

‘Ozark’ Renewed For Supersized Fourth & Final Season By Netflix

 

...renewed for 14 final episodes with the season split into two seven-episode parts.

...The streaming platform did not reveal when it plans to air the final run of Ozark but it will likely not be until 2021 at the earliest, depending on how long the COVID-19 production shutdown lasts.