Big6 Blog: Ozark: S2E8 “The Big Sleep” Review

By JASON MARTIN (@JMartZone – September 18, 2018)


Darlene Snell man, this woman is diabolical when she feels disrespected, isn’t she?

She leads to Rachel’s overdose, Amos the friendly heroin supplier’s death, and all sorts of other health issues and other deaths in multiple areas. She decided what she needed to do to teach the Navarro Cartel a lesson was to spike the Snell heroin with fentanyl. Good gracious.

Rachel couldn’t die, because we needed her to be the bargaining chip between Marty and Roy Petty in the two most uncomfortable and unfriendly diner lunches of all time. These two men despise each other, and even as Marty is moving hell and earth (no way am I saying heaven in regards to Ozark) to try and get her out from underneath the mountain of dung, Petty is being…petty. He wants the cartel, but now he really wants Jacob and Darlene Snell. He tries to strong-arm Marty, and like I suspected, when it came down to it, Marty Byrde played dirty with Roy’s mother.

He was willing to do that to free Rachel and give her that second chance, but he was far more reticent in the previous episode to keep up the necessary facade that would enable the casino to actually happen. He appears to care more about her than his wife, and that’s because even though she wore a wire, Wendy cheated on him in the past and has been making major decisions without including him in the process. He doesn’t know if he can trust her. And, he may well be attracted to Rachel. She certainly is attracted to him, but you can see actual sadness in Marty when he walks in that hospital room and feels the responsibility for putting her in that bed.

Rachel and Mason are the two pieces that have gotten to him most and are the threads that continue to tie themselves around his neck like a noose. He can’t shake that gun shot and he can’t shake her drug problem and the overall state of her life since he entered (and ruined) it. When the veil comes off, it’s a tough pill to swallow, whether it’s Oxy or not. The easiest person to lie to is yourself. At some point, he’s figured out how much he’s to blame for his family’s predicament, as well as a few innocent bystanders that got caught up in the dumpster alongside them.

Wendy and the 1.8 million was bad enough, especially when Helen Pierce and the cartel have no time for questionable scenarios surrounding “our money,” but putting Jonah in the middle of it shows just how desperate she’s become. He’s now part of it, even if it’s “just this once,” as she claims. He’s brilliant, just like his father, but to make that kid go to that place to commit a crime and create an offshore account is cringeworthy from the mom. She’s gone. She’s at this point in full survival mode, but there’s a part of me that also believes she’s starting to like it, because this is who she is. We’re seeing Wendy become Walter White, while Marty is debating which version of himself is real.

Meanwhile, Charlotte is stealing limited edition Thomas Wolfe books to give to Wyatt, who is on his way back to school as Marty’s crisis of conscience leads him to try and fix that issue for Ruth. As that’s happening, Ruth is set to steal his money alongside her father. That plan looks phenomenal until the money isn’t in the casket room, instead housed in Buddy’s mausoleum, which leads to Cade’s backhand to Ruth and some truly disgusting language towards his daughter. She’s on the edge, and she and Marty have both become infinitely more rootable over the past few episodes. If she kills her dad, I might even clap. No kidding. He’s the “piece of sh–,” not her.

Both Marty and Wendy are still inherently bad at this point. It’s too late. But she’s far more nefarious at this stage, even after that play on Petty with the video. “Check your inbox” meant Helen sent her cartel fixer to shoot up Roy’s addict mom, which also serves as a threat. We can give her fentanyl. We can OD her. We know where she is and we have access to her. If you don’t do as Marty says, do what he asks, she’s done for. And what he wants is Rachel to be able to leave and not fear any reprisal from the FBI or other law enforcement. It’s nasty, but he cares that much, because he knows he’s to blame for most of her problems.

However, remember when Petty asks him if he’s proud of himself for threatening a sick woman. “No. Not for a second.” That’s one of the most honest statements Marty Byrde has ever made on Ozark. He’s no longer proud of anything in his life. He’s repulsed by himself, by his wife, by his actions, by his decisions, and by his very existence. It’s why he wants to go to the police about Mason, just to end it. He doesn’t necessarily want to pay for it, but he wants to be done with the lies and the fear. He would be on suicide watch, but there’s no future for Ozark without Jason Bateman on BOTH sides of the camera.

Charlotte wants to get emancipated. That’s hilarious, but more funny in the darkest of senses is when Wendy tries to shut it down by talking about how they’re a family. “What does that even mean.” She tells them she loves them but can’t do it anymore. She hopes they won’t fight her on it. I doubt it’s going to be that easy, because why would Helen allow it, even if Marty and Wendy understood and permitted it?

“I’ve made up my mind. I want out.” Those are Charlotte’s words and the ones that end the episode. Stop for just a second and apply them to just about every character still alive on the show. It’s the essence of Ozark, in two brief sentences.

But, after considering that truth, realize that, except for Rachel (maybe, possibly, we don’t know for sure), almost nobody’s getting out unless they end up in Harry’s funeral home. Wilkes tried. You see how that went?

There’s really only one way out that works every time. It’s the way Mason got out. It’s the way Buddy got out. It’s the big sleep.

I’m @JMartZone. Church supper fried chicken is good.

 

 

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