Big6 Blog: Ozark: S2E9 “The Badger” Review

By JASON MARTIN (@JMartZone – September 20, 2018)


Here’s a little story about a pair of hopeless, adventurous romantics named Jacob and Darlene Snell. From the moment Ozark showed us the day they met, and especially once Darlene talked Jacob into leaving his girlfriend at the table and going with the gal that “will at least make it interesting,” we knew where this might be headed. It’s funny how the second season has played out, because as it’s gone along, it’s the women that have been the most dominant figures.

Wendy Byrde has been far more proactive and ruthless than has Marty, who is on the verge of becoming a half-decent person, despite being a criminal and now a murderer. Ruth Langmore is the only adult in her entire family, including her own father, who I can’t wait to see get his at some point in this show. It’s a great character because of how reprehensible he is, but it’s tough to watch Cade succeed in anything whatsoever. Helen Pierce has been responsible for more bloodshed this season than anyone else, and while there is a cartel behind her, she’s the face of the operation.

And then there’s Darlene Snell, who doesn’t care about rules, about agreements, about safety, about anything other than respect and getting what she wants. Thus, when Jacob meets with Marty and Helen and realizes he’s now fighting on the side of a lost cause, he gives in and makes the deal to keep him and his wife safe. Darlene doesn’t want that casino, she’s still angry over Ash’s death, and she’s irritated at her own lack of a child. When it comes down to it in the woods, she moved before he could.

He was set to stab her with the knife he used to slice the fruit, but she had already poisoned his coffee. When Lisa Emery was out of focus, walking a few steps behind Peter Mullan, you could see her throw the liquid out of that yellow mug. As soon as that happened, it was obvious she had done to the java something akin to what she did to the smack. This time it was cyanide. She loved her husband, which you could see as she told him it would be quick and just to rest, but when the moment of truth came, it was Darlene that made the choice best.

One wonders if Wendy is on the same pathway, because we see as Marty inquires about the one-way trip to Little Rock that he’s ready to get his family the heck out of town at the first clear second. He tells Ruth she’ll be taking control of the entire operation, and that no one could know but the two of them. Have you gotten the feeling that Wendy Byrde has somehow grown comfortable with the life? It’s not that she loves being a criminal, but once the casino opens, she could see a future…and a lucrative one at that.

The Charlotte emancipation storyline is more comedic than anything else, even though it’s exposing the BS of that family to each member of said family better than virtually anything else could. We know it’s not going to happen, because the cartel or SOMEONE would murder her immediately, if not all of them. They’ve come too far and they’re in too deep. It’s also why Marty’s plan can’t succeed, unless Ozark as a series is done. Even if it is, I can’t imagine it would be that pristine a level of escape.

Also, there’s a new complication in the form of the KC mob. Commissioner Hodges was going to have an ask. That’s what Wilkes told Wendy, and he made it clear that when that ask came, they’d have to acquiesce to it. Also, it would be a substantial ask. Well, the ask was simple. There’s a casino, but there’s not one if it’s a union shop. That means reneging on the deal with Frank Cosgrove that Buddy helped secure just before his death. Remember Jimmy Small telling Marty that the guy was certifiably crazy and wildly dangerous. Yeah, this is Ozark. It’s not going to go well, like at all.

“Did we just betray the Kansas City mafia?” That’s Wendy’s rhetorical question to Marty. I’m not sure why she’s worried anymore, considering she’s threatening attorneys, manipulating industrialists, and doing basically whatever she wants. It’s definitely interesting that Charlotte has told the lawyer something, even though it sounded like there wasn’t anything specific in the conversation, just something that makes her think she’s going to fall apart if she stays there. She’s probably right, but she’s also not flying the coop. We’ll find out soon enough how the idea dissolves, but it’s going to dissolve.

And while I’m overusing that word, how about Charlotte saying she’s good with her parents both dissolving in a vat of acid. Holy Vince Gilligan, Batman!

Roy Petty showed real humanity in this episode, at least in the scene with his mother. He loves her, more than anything, and he’s ready to be back in Chicago full time to take care of her and keep her clean. Unfortunately, he also felt the need to take one last fishing trip to the spot he and Russ hung out, and there he encounters Cade Langmore. Cade is ready to hand over every bit of info he can on Marty Byrde. Roy takes his hat off, but we’ll see that talk in the finale I’m sure. Hopefully, he sticks by the plan and heads home. He’s doing himself and no one else any favors continuing to obsess over the Byrdes, the Snells (now the Snell), or anything in the Ozarks or the state of Missouri.

Congratulations to Wyatt Langmore, University of Missouri Class of 2022! Well, if he goes. Ruth is starting to believe she’s probably going to have to admit how his father died first, which she’s done everything she can to avoid. Eventually, one has to face the music…in this instance, it’s Russ Langmore’s guitar. If only she had shot her dad when she demanded he give back the money he stole from the strip club. She had him dead to rights. The best thing that could have happened to the entire area is to wipe that guy off the map.

The penultimate always brings drama, and “The Badger” was certainly no exception. It was also one of the series’ best installments thus far, even though we said goodbye to Jacob Snell, which means we said goodbye to Peter Mullan, which stinks. Before he left us though, he had one more great piece of backwoods Jacob wisdom to impart:

“What do you do, Marty, when the bride that took your breath away becomes the wife that makes you hold your breath in terror.” Prophetically, even if unknowingly, he was right to fear Darlene. But, was this also foreshadowing for Marty and HIS wife? That was the question I was left with as Glen Campbell once again started belting out “Wichita Lineman” at the conclusion of the hour.

I’m @JMartZone. Just rest.

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