By JASON MARTIN (@JMartZone – September 8, 2018)

Oh. Charlotte’s lunchbox. I forgot about that. The jig is up for her at least with her own parents, who now know she hid a little of the money for a rainy day. And her brother, he never forgot how uncomfortable he felt after killing the deer, so here comes Jacob Snell with the head so he can mount it on his bedroom wall.

Read the room, pal.

Also, read the truth that Helen and the Navarro Cartel are not playing around, and they have no problem executing dozens if they have to in order to make sure the agreement goes as they want. She does drop the funniest line of the season, though, as she talks of how she hates the Ozark mountains and is incredible distressed by the sheets at the Ramada. That made me laugh. Maybe she has a piece of a soul in there somewhere.

While Ruth is pulling a knife on one of her employees and threatening to ruin thousands of dollars worth of silicone, Marty is dealing with Roy Petty telling him he “lacks people skills.” Imagine Roy saying that about anybody else, but that’s part of the dark humor that occasionally seeps into the Ozark series fabric. Our least favorite FBI agent shows off a bunch of photos of dead people that all have Marty in their lives, an unfortunate coincidence to be certain.

Once Marty was taken in, we knew Helen wouldn’t be far behind, and if there’s to be a war of wits between Roy Petty and the cartel’s cold blooded assassin of an attorney, we’re all taking the latter. “I’m happy with my representation” may be the smartest sentence ever to come out of Marty Byrde’s mouth. Even as Roy tries to scare him using his children’s complicity as a bullying tactic, the attempt largely falls flat.

However, one story development comes from this sit down before Marty clams up and leaves the table, because before Roy mentioned it, he had no clue Ruth tried to kill him on the dock after the boat trip. “I saved your life, Marty.” Sadly, that’s more true than Byrde would want to admit, although you know there’s a part of him that loves hearing his son pulled a rifle on Petty for trespassing on his family’s property. However, the initial reaction from Marty is “shook.” He doesn’t want to see Jonah end up like him, end up trapped and morally ruined. It’s a complicated revelation, even if it doesn’t immediately change anything.

Worse, and something that shook me is Helen’s interest in Ruth, especially after Roy confronts her outside the strip club and gives all the indications necessary for the cartel to believe she’s working with the FBI. That puts her life in immediate danger, and Marty knows it. When he and Wendy get home, only to find Petty waiting for them, he puts the screws to the couple in a different way. He points to the affair, tries to show off the video we’ve all (including Marty) already seen, mentions “Charlie,” and basically commits multiple ethics violations. That said, after he leaves, Wendy is incensed that Marty would keep the video in the first place.

But, Marty snaps into action and begs Ruth to get out of the area, to pack a bag quickly and go. “I got a bad feeling about this, daddy.” Cade gives his trademark terrible advice, saying Langmores don’t run and they don’t rat, because the first makes you look guilty and the second…well the second is ratting. But he doesn’t understand that if the cartel believes, even erroneously that she’s flipped on Marty, she’s done for, and Wyatt, Remember, the only acceptable risk here is zero. Three, Cade, and everybody else might be in danger as well.

She doesn’t get away in time, and that means it’s time to…wait seriously?…it’s time to WATERBOARD this girl to try and get her to spill information. “She’s a tough kid.” Good lord that’s ugly. Marty finds himself zip tied on his knees with a gun to his head and Cade is also neutralized and unable to do anything. That was a difficult scene to listen to, as much of it happens with the screams and noises rather than actual camera work.

“Tough kid,” maybe, but when she’s alone, Ruth is hurting badly and she’s scared. When she closes the door to her office, you see Julia Garner’s emotion begin to power through her thick exterior. She’s still a very young woman, even if she’s been forced to grow up too quickly. She was right to be afraid after Roy’s stunt, because she was treated like an Al Qaeda member before the episode came to a close.

Jonah remains disturbed and troubled by his first animal kill and Charlotte remains perturbed her money is gone. But, the younger Byrde sibling opened up not one, but two shell companies. Back to the earlier point about Marty not wanting Jonah to end up like him, as of right now, the son is emulating the father at a very early age. That has to be frightening, but more so than anything sobering for his dad, because it’s a pathway that leads away from everything Marty originally worked so hard to acquire for his wife and children.

Jacob thinks Wally will be enough to stymie his wife’s desire for a baby, but the poor boy only lasts long enough to be taken away by Sheriff Nix, who doesn’t love the FBI being all over the area. The feds aren’t much interested in what the locals have to say, so he’s hamstrung and can’t either help or manipulate anything at present. Wendy uses the adoption agency info to distract Darlene long enough for Buddy to ignite the poppy field, which he (and I) get a lot of joy out of, even if it’s a nasty thing to do to a nasty woman. As he coughs and wheezes, Harris Yulin continues to do great work, even though it sure SEEMS like his remaining days are short.

But Darlene desperately wants a kid. Her husband doesn’t and now this from Wendy Byrde. Rough. Hopefully she doesn’t become unstable because of this maneuver. Nah. That could never happen.

I’m @JMartZone. You hesitated. Why did you hesitate?