S04.E07: Sanctified

[TexasGal]

Quote

The FBI's long-awaited meeting with Omar takes place.  Wyatt shares some news with Ruth.  Feeling betrayed, Javi gets aggressive.

Airdate: 01.21.2022

[Kiddvideo]

I’m over “Where are Helen and Ben.” I’m glad everyone got dicked over by the FBI (including Myra) and I really hate Wendy. Everything and everyone she touches she fucks-up. Any theories about the car crash at the start of Episode 1? Was that supposed to be before Navarro met with the supervisors and everything was a coma/fever dream? A flash to the future when they were getting out from under Javi?

Poor Wyatt. What a hard life. Everyone else deserved it, but he was there when the Byrdes warned Ruth and Darlene that Mexico wanted them out, and he didn’t listen. How Darlene survived this long amazed me.

So now Ruth’s supposed to go scorched Earth? How many times have we seen characters threaten to destroy everyone and everything? I’ll believe it when I see it. Whenever Part II come out in 2023.

 

[Chaos Theory]

Heh the FBI dicks  everyone over because of course they do.

it’s a simple story but the PI pulling  the “where is Helen and Ben” strings ends up causing a shitload of trouble.

i love the scenes where it is just Charlotte and Jonah.  There big scene was really well done.  
 

“me not being there is the least weird thing about this wedding.”   

Damn Javi has really got to go.   Killing Darlene and Wyatt on their wedding day.   Three better watch his back because the show really is banging through the Langmore family. 

I think The Byrds have finally made an enemy  out of Ruth and if the 2nd half of the season is a full out shitstorm between Marty & Wendy vs Ruth I will be here for it.   

 

Edited January 22, 2022 by Chaos Theory

[AZChristian]

I know this is fiction . . . but I can't figure out how Wendy and Marty fall asleep at night!  LOL.

[Penman61]

Having seen all 7 eps, I went back and watched the ep 1 opening. Pre-crash dialogue will probably be significant:

[Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me” plays on car radio]

Wendy: God, I love his voice.

[Marty turns up the volume. They exchange a smile.]

Marty: We’re all set for the FBI tomorrow.

Wendy: Oh, joy. [pause] What’s their temperature?

Marty: Does it get above chilly?

Wendy: Well, they’ll be there, anyway.

Marty: Mm-hmm, that is true.

Wendy: Forty-eight more hours. [to kids] I’m calling the moving company this afternoon.

Charlotte: Whenever. Jonah and I are packed.

Charlotte [smiling, to Marty]: Too soon?

Marty: Yeah, much.

Charlotte: Okay.

Charlotte: Well, um, we found an old stack of hundreds from the Blue Cat wall.

Marty: Really?

Charlotte: We just decided to leave it for someone to find one day.

Jonah: We put it in the Bible.

Wendy: Well, that will go unfound for a long time.

Wendy: How’s the top of the Belle looking?

Marty: Incredible, and we’ve doubled our table space to handle all the RSVPs

Wendy (to Jonah): Don’t worry, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.

 

Edited January 22, 2022 by Penman61

[EllaWycliffe]

13 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

Damn Javi has really got to go.   Killing Darlene and Wyatt on their wedding day.

I hate to say "I was kind of cheering him on" but... there we are. It was a gratuitous killing but Darlene needed to be taken care of and after pissing off the KC Mob and the Cartel, it was really hard to believe she was still breathing. 

Plus Wyatt had turned from interesting into a useless character.  

I begin to think this show ends with Ruth, and Jonah as the last ones standing, raising Zeke in the trailer compound with Three's assistance.

I will confess, I wasn't feeling well during episodes 6 and 7 and wasn't following some of the twists. Why did the FBI reneg on their deal with Navarro? And why was it Javi and not the KC Mob that took out Darlene, when Darlene killed the head of the KC Mob?

I overall had a really hard time believing that a) Frank Jr survived a shotgun blast to the crotch and b) Frank Jr and his dad were so ok with Frank Jr. being a crippled dickless wonder that Darlene wasn't killed in the first episode vs making it to the last. 

The wandering private detective needed a better explanation - yes Helen is "missing" but I can't see the divorce being that hot of an issue.

While I think Wendy was totally unhinged over the Ben thing with Jonah - I think she had some valid points about Marty being overly amused by Jonah's career in money laundering. I also think she made a fair point to Ruth that Ben would have moved on in months the way he always did. That said - Jonah was probably the only one having a normal reaction to "mom had our uncle killed"

I'm intensely curious how they dig out of this. 

 

[Chaos Theory]

40 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I hate to say "I was kind of cheering him on" but... there we are. It was a gratuitous killing but Darlene needed to be taken care of and after pissing off the KC Mob and the Cartel, it was really hard to believe she was still breathing. 

Plus Wyatt had turned from interesting into a useless character.  

I begin to think this show ends with Ruth, and Jonah as the last ones standing, raising Zeke in the trailer compound with Three's assistance.

I will confess, I wasn't feeling well during episodes 6 and 7 and wasn't following some of the twists. Why did the FBI reneg on their deal with Navarro? And why was it Javi and not the KC Mob that took out Darlene, when Darlene killed the head of the KC Mob?

I overall had a really hard time believing that a) Frank Jr survived a shotgun blast to the crotch and b) Frank Jr and his dad were so ok with Frank Jr. being a crippled dickless wonder that Darlene wasn't killed in the first episode vs making it to the last. 

The wandering private detective needed a better explanation - yes Helen is "missing" but I can't see the divorce being that hot of an issue.

While I think Hwas totally unhinged over the Ben thing with Jonah - I think she had some valid points about Marty being overly amused by Jonah's career in money laundering. I also think she made a fair point to Ruth that Ben would have moved on in months the way he always did. That said - Jonah was probably the only one having a normal reaction to "mom had our uncle killed"

I'm intensely curious how they dig out of this. 

 

A lot of this is season 3 stuff but after Ruth through Frank Jr off the boat Marty made a deal with Frank that was supposed to make sure Ruth was untouchable.  So when Frank Jr beat the crap out  of her Ruth expected Marty to go after Frank Jr but he didn’t which is why she eventually went in with Darlene who did.   After Darlene took her along and(for Darlene anyway) calmly explained to Frank that Ruth was in her rights to kill Frank Jr but that maybe shooting off his Dick was a bridge too far so she was willing to make him a deal and give him a better percentage then she had to.     

The interesting thing about both Marty and Wendy is how neither of them have done their own dirty work but people die around them.    They are very good at convincing people to go against their own morality but when it comes down to their end if the deal Marty and Wendy rarely follow through.   They were never going to protect Ruth,    They let Ben get killed. So I don’t think Jonah is really wrong when he keeps telling Charlotte that she needs to get out.   One huge mistake (and we all make them) could get her killed and we see Wendy turning on Jonah pretty quick when he rebels.   What do you think she will do if Charlotte decides to go to college in California?  

Edited January 22, 2022 by Chaos Theory
I have no idea who I keep calling Wendy “Helen”

[AZChristian]

26 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I begin to think this show ends with Ruth, and Jonah as the last ones standing, raising Zeke in the trailer compound with Three's assistance.

I agree, but . . . I would hope they'd use some of the money that Jonah has accumulated to move to the Gold Coast of Australia and live high on the hog. 

During one of the later episodes in Season 4 yesterday, I wondered why Ruth was still living in that trailer.  Don't most people improve their living situation as a first step when they start earning more money?  She talked about a house before her father died, but never followed through.

@Chaos Theory

It think you mean "Wendy" above . . . not "Helen."  

[EllaWycliffe]

4 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

During one of the later episodes in Season 4 yesterday, I wondered why Ruth was still living in that trailer.  Don't most people improve their living situation as a first step when they start earning more money?  She talked about a house before her father died, but never followed through.

I think Ruth has an inferiority complex rolling around being a "Langmore". Her dad, asshole that he was, was someone she was really devoted to and he totally shit on the idea of her buying a house and living better. Without getting too deep into psychology, I think Ruth would have a hard time lifting herself out of a poverty lifestyle because its been beat into her head that she's a Langmore and born to be bottom of the heap.

Which is somewhat exemplified by Wyatt's failure to launch himself out of the poverty despite having the smarts and the financial option to go to college.

[Pike Ludwell]

When Wyatt agreed to move away with Ruth, I was thinking "Good!! He's finally come to his senses. So this string of episodes with him acting insane is finally over!!" Then he totally flakes out and decides to marry Darlene! I was not bothered at all with either him or Darlene being shot. They were both sorts that world could do without just fine. 

(I'm aware of Wyatt's concern that Zeke would go to foster care. But Zeke was not a blood relative of Wyatt, so his falling for Zeke to the extent he did was part of his overall messed up thinking. And foster care would be fine for the child. Foster parents can be outstanding and as Wyatt should have realized -- much better than growing up with Darlene. And the new, big reason for disliking Darlene now was still there. So I reject making his concern for Zeke into an understandable excuse for Wyatt's changing his mind and deciding to marry Darlene. Wyatt was simply a guy stubbornly, stupidly persisting with very annoying and very messed up thinking, so I wasn't sad at all to see him go.)

When Marty went to that attorney's house and was surprised by Javi, I was hoping that attorney had an ounce of fight and preparation in him. There was plenty of opportunity to bang something over the head of Javi, or, even better, since he knew he was in danger from this guy, have several guns hidden around the house and he could get to one while Javi's back was turned. But instead Javi was allowed to do whatever he wanted there. That scene was more upsetting to me than when he killed unliked characters like Darlene and Wyatt.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Pike Ludwell

[Artsda]

Poor Wyatt he came so close to leaving. The reason why he stayed back to marry Darlene was Zeke and Wendy calling child service. Wendy ruins and messes up everyone's lives, she better not end the show alive.   She should be with Darlene/Helen. Kill her Javi! 

I like Jonah wanting nothing to do with his mother and outing her lies. Now her using Ben's name to press, media and anyone who will feel sorry for her over her missing addict brother. She's a low low person.

I felt bad for Ruth walking in seeing Wyatt like that. Her reaction was justified. She's as unstable as Javi now.

 

[Chicago Redshirt]

16 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I will confess, I wasn't feeling well during episodes 6 and 7 and wasn't following some of the twists. Why did the FBI reneg on their deal with Navarro? And why was it Javi and not the KC Mob that took out Darlene, when Darlene killed the head of the KC Mob?

I overall had a really hard time believing that a) Frank Jr survived a shotgun blast to the crotch and b) Frank Jr and his dad were so ok with Frank Jr. being a crippled dickless wonder that Darlene wasn't killed in the first episode vs making it to the last. 

The wandering private detective needed a better explanation - yes Helen is "missing" but I can't see the divorce being that hot of an issue.

Agent Miller had the integrity to not want to acquiesce to a deal in which the FBI profited by making regular cash seizures in the millions off of Navarro's tips and basically allow him to continue trafficking basically unchecked. So she arranged for a group of agents to arrest Navarro very publicly so that her bosses could no longer go through with an under-the-table deal with Navarro or presumably punish her for scuttling the deal.

Frank Jr. had motive to kill Darlene for killing his dad and shotgunning his crotch. But a) he's not (as far as we know) a killer or even much of a tough guy b) he promised Ruth to give her a little time before acting on the news that Darlene killed his father. Javi had wanted to kill Darlene from the beginning of the season because she had disrespected the cartel last season and on top of that, her growing heroin again in defiance of the cartel's wishes was intolerable disrespect in general and also threatened to implicate the Byrd's casino which is nearby.

It makes sense to me that Frank Sr. wanted to focus on business first before violence. He is pragmatic enough to overlook stuff when there is money to be made. Also, he could have been scared of retaliation from either Darlene's people or the cartel (not being aware that there was a rift between Darlene and the cartel).

Helen's daughter confirmed that her husband hired a private eye, so presumably he has just gone above and beyond in his job. As a high-powered cartel attorney, Helen presumably had millions at her disposal. So between the assets and the ex getting to marry his new girlfriend, I could see him wanting to put some pressure on the PI for the search. Also, given the background of the PI that he was a very good Chicago PD homicide detective who became an addict, it's possible that he thinks that if he solves the murder of a prominent Chicago attorney that might reverse his fall from grace.

[Blue Plastic]

Wow, that was crazy!  I was not expecting Wyatt to be killed off. Guess I was still hoping he’d come to his senses, but no.  I would have liked to see a happy or at least promising ending for him even though he became such a limp rag after Darlene got hold of him. I’d like to imagine he and Ruth got out of town together.

At least Darlene is finally dead. Thought the earlier heart attack was going to kill her.

So we still didn’t get any more information on the supposed car crash.

Should be an action-packed final set of episodes with this setup and Ruth running around in a blind rage.  I’d like to see her get a decent ending.  I hope not dead or in jail.

Does anyone else think Charlotte would kill Jonah if it came to that?  I kind of do!  He’s being difficult, but Wendy and Marty are not normal.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Blue Plastic
Add

[BeatrixK]

So Wyatt getting a lead headache was Ozark's version of The Red Wedding?

Damn! Poor Wyatt.

 

 

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

As Darlene's sister-in-law, does Ruth now inherit the Snell farm, assuming Darlene died without a will? Remember that Darlene hadn't had Zeke anywhere near long enough to formally adopt him and never had children of her own.

What was the point of the flashback sequences?

Ruth Langmore, completely unhinged and feeling like she has nothing left to lose, will be a waaaay more dangerous adversary than Javi thinks. He's not in Mexico anymore. He's in HER world, and she knows it much better than he ever will.

[margol29]

Not sure if it was ep. 6 or 7, as I binge watched all in one day, but I didn't get the scene with Ruth going to the lady in the wheelchair's house. Who was she to Ruth? She seemed to know her mom really well. Why was she giving Ruth all those seed packets? Ruth was still planning to leave at that time. She would not be planting any gardens. Just seemed like a weird scene thrown in.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

33 minutes ago, margol29 said:

Not sure if it was ep. 6 or 7, as I binge watched all in one day, but I didn't get the scene with Ruth going to the lady in the wheelchair's house. Who was she to Ruth? She seemed to know her mom really well. Why was she giving Ruth all those seed packets? Ruth was still planning to leave at that time. She would not be planting any gardens. Just seemed like a weird scene thrown in.

Ruth mentioned that her mother died in a car accident. Maybe that lady was her mom's friend who was also in the same accident?

[EllaWycliffe]

30 minutes ago, margol29 said:

Who was she to Ruth? She seemed to know her mom really well.

I assumed an old friend of her mom's.

30 minutes ago, margol29 said:

Why was she giving Ruth all those seed packets? Ruth was still planning to leave at that time. She would not be planting any gardens.

No one here is smart enough to make ricin in their home but I suspect the woman in a wheelchair was sharing some "medicinal" knowledge of the local fauna that Ruth might end up putting to good use later, keeping in the traditional of Appalachian "wise women".

Or it was just a scene to suggest Ruth might have been different if her mom had lived and she hadn't been raised by three drunk violent guys. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

2 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

As Darlene's sister-in-law, does Ruth now inherit the Snell farm, assuming Darlene died without a will? Remember that Darlene hadn't had Zeke anywhere near long enough to formally adopt him and never had children of her own.

What was the point of the flashback sequences?

Ruth Langmore, completely unhinged and feeling like she has nothing left to lose, will be a waaaay more dangerous adversary than Javi thinks. He's not in Mexico anymore. He's in HER world, and she knows it much better than he ever will.

We don't know for sure that Darlene does not have siblings or other relatives who would be entitled to take from her estate. Assuming that Zeke is not entitled to take because he currently (I believe) is a foster child and that Darlene has no other potential heirs, my rough recollection of Wills and Trusts (so this isn't gospel and Missouri law may be different from the general rule) is that everything Wyatt and Darlene had would go to Wyatt's heirs. The general rule would be first to parents/children. Wyatt's dad is dead; I don't know if the show ever established about his mom. We can presume she's dead and that Wyatt doesn't have any kids. Then the next level of heirs are siblings. Only if there were no siblings would we branch out to uncles/aunts/cousins for potential heirs. So Three would get everything from the Wyatt/Darlene estate, and Ruth would get nothing.

I think the flashback sequences were meant to draw a parallel between when Marty was last talking about Chicago office space and innocently thinking that everything was going to be great and they were going to expand before they found out the cartel was onto them and he had to engage in the series of crazy maneuvers to stay alive. I see it as TPTB basically telegraphing that the current bid to get office space with north-facing windows in nice Chicago neighborhoods is probably not going to end well either. 

Well, Javi doesn't even know who Ruth is at this point. He was told by the pharma CEO that Marty has a partner and she gave a physical description of Ruth so when he actually sees her, he might put two and two together. But I see him as very cocky and very sexist, so it is likely that he will underestimate her. At the same time, Ruth only knows Javi's name, that he's working with the FBI...essentially nothing else that would help her find him or kill him. I mean, she can drive all around the Ozarks looking for rich-looking Latino dudes, but that's not going to yield much. And there's the flipside -- that she's too blinded by grief and anger to bring her A-game. Plus, that this puts her on a collision course with the Byrdes, who have somewhat of an incentive to keep Javi alive since dead Javi means that the cartel will kill anyone they think is responsible and it would likely scuttle any deal with the FBI and the chance for the Byrdes to stop looking over their shoulders. And yes, they are caught in a Catch-22 because Javi alive has a massive hate boner for the Byrdes that goes beyond "Hey, I thought Wendy should have been kept on."

[AZChristian]

2 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

We don't know for sure that Darlene does not have siblings or other relatives who would be entitled to take from her estate. Assuming that Zeke is not entitled to take because he currently (I believe) is a foster child and that Darlene has no other potential heirs, my rough recollection of Wills and Trusts (so this isn't gospel and Missouri law may be different from the general rule) is that everything Wyatt and Darlene had would go to Wyatt's heirs. The general rule would be first to parents/children. Wyatt's dad is dead; I don't know if the show ever established about his mom. We can presume she's dead and that Wyatt doesn't have any kids. Then the next level of heirs are siblings. Only if there were no siblings would we branch out to uncles/aunts/cousins for potential heirs. So Three would get everything from the Wyatt/Darlene estate, and Ruth would get nothing.

Pretty sure Darlene would have killed any relatives already, so I assume there were no children or siblings.  Since she pre-deceased Wyatt (if they can figure that out from the crime scene), he inherited everything upon her death.  Since he was a "widower" with only one brother - yep - Three probably gets it all.  He can move from the cabin to the big house as soon as they clean up all the blood.

[PsychoDrone]

Mya is an idiot.  How was she even able to coordinate that action with Navarro and none of her superiors know about it?  Regardless, she wrecked her career, and any future federal positions in law enforcement, and Navarro still gets away AND the FBI gets a deal for twice as long.  Of course, she probably doesn't know that, but I'm sure her superior will tell her just before she is fired and walked out of the building.  Her ego didn't like being called righteous and will soon to be unemployed.  Well, guess she and the PI can go into business together.

Darlene had long outlived her 'sell-by' date.  She should have been killed couple of seasons ago.  Poor Wyatt.  Simping should not have cost him his life.  He and Darlene can go on those walks in the afterlife now.

Javier is not long for this world.  Navarro is much more calculating and has his henchman do the wet work.  Javier kills people and thinks he is untouchable.  He doesn't even have backup when he travels around town.  Ruth will be his downfall and it shouldn't happen any other way.

Good seven episodes.  Hopefully, Jonah will move past his petulance.  I'm tired of seeing it.  The close call of possibly going to jail, even if orchestrated by Wendy, should have shaken some sense into him, but he's still acting stupid.

 

Edited January 23, 2022 by PsychoDrone

[EllaWycliffe]

1 hour ago, PsychoDrone said:

Mya is an idiot.  How was she even able to coordinate that action with Navarro and none of her superiors know about it?  Regardless, she wrecked her career, and any future federal positions in law enforcement, and Navarro still gets away AND the FBI gets a deal for twice as long.  Of course, she probably doesn't know that, but I'm sure her superior will tell her just before she is fired and walked out of the building.  Her ego didn't like being called righteous and will soon to be unemployed.  Well, guess she and the PI can go into business together.

Agree in that her career is toast. While I get the cynical money reasons in play for the deal with Navarro, the actual argument that controlling the cartel for five years gathering info and airtight evidence doesn't actually sound bad, now does it? Now, she's got Navarro publicly busted with her in the forefront and yay for her but she's done as an agent on high profile stuff. They won't *fire* her.... right away. They WILL reassign her to some place where she can't do any damage and will never be trusted with any significant cases again. She's not going any further with the FBI. 

 

1 hour ago, PsychoDrone said:

Darlene had long outlived her 'sell-by' date.  She should have been killed couple of seasons ago.  Poor Wyatt.  Simping should not have cost him his life.  He and Darlene can go on those walks in the afterlife now.

Can't believe the KC Mob didn't hit her for shooting off the dick of the boss's loved son. 

On a complete aside, am I the only one who doesn't think the "Lets get married, that way they won't take away Zeke" would work? Darlene was already an exception, being normally too old to foster. Marrying an 18-19 year old after having a heart attack doesn't scream "stable home" to me. 

Edited January 23, 2022 by EllaWycliffe

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, PsychoDrone said:

Darlene had long outlived her 'sell-by' date.  She should have been killed couple of seasons ago. 

Yep.  It's a shame that the cyanide she gave Jacob on their morning walk made him too weak to follow through with his plan to stab her and kill her during that same walk.

[Chicago Redshirt]

2 hours ago, PsychoDrone said:

Mya is an idiot.  How was she even able to coordinate that action with Navarro and none of her superiors know about it?  Regardless, she wrecked her career, and any future federal positions in law enforcement, and Navarro still gets away AND the FBI gets a deal for twice as long.  Of course, she probably doesn't know that, but I'm sure her superior will tell her just before she is fired and walked out of the building.  Her ego didn't like being called righteous and will soon to be unemployed.  Well, guess she and the PI can go into business together.

It wouldn't surprise me if she knew of a dozen or so like-minded agents who she could persuade to join her to get an internationally wanted criminal and she could come up with some cover story about how they needed to do it on the downlow because a leak led to four agents having been injured.

Navarro doesn't get away this way. He's in custody and the higher-ups don't want (apparently) to make a catch-and-release deal publicly.

I don't think that they can move against Maya publicly. Arresting Navarro in such a fashion means that the Bureau has to act like it is a huge win, even if secretly they would have preferred to have Navarro running things and feeding them cash and intel. If her superiors try to fire her, she whistleblows that the reason was that they were going to give Navarro a sweetheart deal. 

The other thing is -- and it's hard to tell because we really didn't get much depth on Maya this season beyond her being a new mom -- it is perfectly possible that she has become very disillusioned about law enforcement after learning that the FBI was willing to cut a guy behind huge drug traffic and multiple murders a huge break. Maybe she would be willing to take Marty's offer of a job with the Byrde Foundation seriously.

[Blue Plastic]

6 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

On a complete aside, am I the only one who doesn't think the "Lets get married, that way they won't take away Zeke" would work? Darlene was already an exception, being normally too old to foster. Marrying an 18-19 year old after having a heart attack doesn't scream "stable home" to me. 

IANAL but can't imagine an old lady who grows poppies for heroin and a young man with no job, skills, or income would be considered as foster or adoptive parent material just because they got married, even putting aside the very illegal line of business that they are in.  How would Wyatt support the baby when Darlene died?  Made no sense at all and kind of took me out of the show, but I loved the episode anyway.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Blue Plastic
Add a phrase

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, Blue Plastic said:

IANAL but can't imagine an old lady who grows poppies for heroin and a young man with no job, skills, or income would be considered as foster or adoptive parent material just because they got married, even putting aside the very illegal line of business that they are in.  How would Wyatt support the baby when Darlene died?  Made no sense at all and kind of took me out of the show, but I loved the episode anyway.

On the surface, Darlene owns a fairly large farm that is (probably) more than enough to support her, Wyatt and Zeke with her legitimate products. She also has some level of ownership of the land adjacent to the casino; I forget the exact arrangement with that, but she probably either has some money banked from a one-time deal and/or gets some sort of rent/ongoing payment from the Byrdes. 

I have no idea if it would have worked, but by getting married, she and Wyatt would be able to say "There's some continuity here in case something should happen with Darlene down the road, and it's not just a cardiac patient who's caring for this baby's needs, but also Wyatt. We've bonded as a family, so please don't take him away just because Darlene had a health setback." 

But at the end of the day, it's not as much about whether getting married would have convinced the CPS worker that they should let Zeke stay with the Langmore-Snells. It's about that the characters think that it would, or at least might. Wyatt's a teenager who was trying to work out breaking up with Darlene before he got the news that Zeke was at risk. And Darlene is crazy-pants and particularly desperate to not lose Zeke. If you had told her pretty much anything might result in her keeping Zeke, she would have given it a try.

If Wyatt had survived Darlene, he would have gotten all her property and her legitimate business. In a worst case scenario, Wyatt sell the land for several hundreds of thousands of dollars, which would be enough to sustain him and Zeke for several years..

[DrSpaceman73]

On 1/23/2022 at 10:28 AM, margol29 said:

Not sure if it was ep. 6 or 7, as I binge watched all in one day, but I didn't get the scene with Ruth going to the lady in the wheelchair's house. Who was she to Ruth? She seemed to know her mom really well. Why was she giving Ruth all those seed packets? Ruth was still planning to leave at that time. She would not be planting any gardens. Just seemed like a weird scene thrown in.

I didn't get that either. No idea.  

Thank god Darlene is gone. Sort of feel for Wyatt but.....god he was stupid.  

Yeah mayas career if not job is just done once she pulls that stunt with the arrest.  Even her mom seem to think it was very dumb.  Granted her superiors screwed her at the meeting but that was not the best way to retaliate.  

There is a whole lot of mini-partnerships of two and three people that are constantly shifting this season which is what has made in interesting to me. You never know what action is going to shift the balance between all of them one way or another.  

[Armchair Critic]

Wendy is brittle and barely contains her bitchiness yet people fall for her. I guess she knows how to appeal to people’s greed. Omar was attracted to her? 

I figured Wyatt would get killed because of Darlene, didn’t expect it to be Javi but sadly wasn’t surprised he ended up dead.

Charlotte is turning into her mother. As a parent it is hard to see Jonah treat his Mom and Dad that way but I understand it. If he ends up with Ruth it may not be an easy life either as she also seems to find trouble.

The actress who plays Ruth is really good.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Armchair Critic
fixed for formatting

[Mr. R0b0t]

Hope the series ends with Ruth and the Byrd kids with changed names living in the Pacific Northwest.

[Armchair Critic]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZFbV4MOxMX/?utm_medium=copy_link

[PrincessPurrsALot]

On 1/24/2022 at 2:35 PM, Armchair Critic said:

Wendy is brittle and barely contains her bitchiness yet people fall for her. I guess she knows how to appeal to people’s greed. Omar was attracted to her? 

I would say that Omar was attracted to her ruthless nature.  He saw quickly that between Wendy and Marty, she is stronger and more cutthroat.  They are kindred spirits. 

[EllaWycliffe]

1 hour ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

I would say that Omar was attracted to her ruthless nature.  He saw quickly that between Wendy and Marty, she is stronger and more cutthroat.  They are kindred spirits. 

I also found it curious that he pointedly asked her if she would be around for him "after" he was free to go about where ever with the deal. Particularly since his girlfriend was killed and all that- I wondered at a few points if Omar had his own plan for Wendy's place in the business.

I just saw this on a different board but had to share - you know how the Langmore curse is real? Darlene became a Langmore and in less than a day she was dead.

Edited January 26, 2022 by EllaWycliffe

[Anela]

I was spoiled on Wyatt’s death, but it was still a shock seeing it happen.  I hadn’t seen that Darlene was killed, too.  Wendy and Marty ordering Ruth to not do anything, to protect themselves… ugh. 

[Anela]

On 1/21/2022 at 10:46 PM, AZChristian said:

I know this is fiction . . . but I can't figure out how Wendy and Marty fall asleep at night!  LOL.

I was thinking that I can’t imagine living in a world where people think it’s fine to kill someone they disagree with.  “You pissed me off, prepare to die” and they really mean it.  I know that does actually happen, just not in my life.  
 

[Paloma]

On 1/24/2022 at 5:00 PM, DrSpaceman73 said:

On 1/23/2022 at 10:28 AM, margol29 said:

Not sure if it was ep. 6 or 7, as I binge watched all in one day, but I didn't get the scene with Ruth going to the lady in the wheelchair's house. Who was she to Ruth? She seemed to know her mom really well. Why was she giving Ruth all those seed packets? Ruth was still planning to leave at that time. She would not be planting any gardens. Just seemed like a weird scene thrown in.

I didn't get that either. No idea.  

It didn't make sense to me unless it was a setup for a something Ruth is going to do in the second part of the season. But even if that's the case, it's annoying because the second part is (I think) several months away and I probably won't remember the details of the scene (though I'm sure the writers are counting on people to rewatch the first part before the second part). The placement here seemed random, and it interrupted the flow of the plot without any justification.

[Chaos Theory]

Maya is a true believer.   She is the one who keeps coming up with these “you  do the crime you do the time”  deals that sound weird on paper but are ultimately there to put a felony on Marty so he can’t run a casino and make it so Navarro can’t easily travel across the border without putting up a flag.   What she doesn’t getting is that her superiors are more interested in having someone in Mexico who is willing to provide them with intelligence and monthly drug seizures that they can televise.   Maya’s big problem is that she doesn’t see the big picture or just  outright refuses to play the game.  

Edited January 26, 2022 by Chaos Theory

[Chicago Redshirt]

14 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

Maya us a true believer.   She is the one who keeps coming up with these “you  do the crime you do the time”  deals that sound weird on paper but are ultimately there to put a felony on Marty so he can’t run a casino and make it so Navarro can’t easily travel across the border with putting up a flag.   What she doesn’t getting is that her superiors are more interested in having someone in Mexico who is willing to provide them with intelligence and monthly drug seizures that they can televise.   Maya’s big problem is that she doesn’t see the big picture it just outright refuses to play the game.  

I think we are supposed to see that quality as a feature of Maya rather than a bug. Holding a ruthless and unrepentant mass murderer to account is morally better than getting millions in cash. photo ops and attaboys. I suppose the rationalization for the FBI bigwigs is that you will never eliminate drug cartels so it's probably better to channel one in certain directions. But the counterargument is that even if would be more successful in limiting the carnage the cartels bring, it still would be repugnant to be that much more complicit. 

[Paloma]

I am confused about what these shifting deals meant for Marty and Wendy. The deal that Navarro wanted--and that he thought the FBI had agreed to--seemed to include freedom for both him and the Byrdes. Then when he turned himself him at the empty mall, the FBI changed the terms to say he had to remain as cartel head for 5 years (or was it 1 year? I can't remember), giving them intel and money. Would that deal have meant that the Byrdes had to keep laundering his money, or would they be free of both Navarro and the FBI if that deal went through? 

But then the deal changed again, with Navarro in prison and Javi offered the same deal as Navarro had been initially offered. Since Javi accepted, did that mean the Byrdes were free of any obligation to Javi or the FBI and that they could return to their pre-crime lives without any consequences? It seems hard to believe they could just walk away from either one. And even if they could walk away, it's unclear what they would be doing. Would they give up the casino and leave the Ozarks for good? They are apparently planning to return to Chicago, but is the plan to just run the charitable foundation--in other words, to be completely legit?

I'm assuming some of this will be addressed in the second part of the season, but the details of the various deals shown here were confusing.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Paloma
typo

[AZChristian]

15 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I also found it curious that he pointedly asked her if she would be around for him "after" he was free to go about where ever with the deal. Particularly since his girlfriend was killed and all that- I wondered at a few points if Omar had his own plan for Wendy's place in the business.

If I were Marty, I'd find Omar's affinity for Wendy very troubling.  People who Omar wants out of the way end up with their brains splattered.  

[marcee]

42 minutes ago, Paloma said:

I am confused about what these shifting deals meant for Marty and Wendy. The deal that Navarro wanted--and that he thought the FBI had agreed to--seemed to include freedom for both him and the Byrdes. Then when he turned himself him at the empty mall, the FBI changed the terms to say he had to remain as cartel head for 5 years (or was it 1 year? I can't remember), giving them intel and money. Would that deal have meant that the Byrdes had to keep laundering his money, or would they be free of both Navarro and the FBI if that deal went through? 

But then the deal changed again, with Navarro in prison and Javi offered the same deal as Navarro had been initially offered. Since Javi accepted, did that mean the Byrdes were free of any obligation to Javi or the FBI and that they could return to their pre-crime lives without any consequences? It seems hard to believe they could just walk away from either one. And even if they could walk away, it's unclear what they would be doing. Would they give up the casino and leave the Ozarks for good? They are apparently planning to return to Chicago, but is the plan to just run the charitable foundation--in other words, to be completely legit?

It was 5 years. Now, with Javi, it's 10. I'm pretty sure the FBI said they would be taking over the laundering part of the Navarro's business, so that would've meant that the Byrds were free to go once the deal was done. I believe this would be the same deal with Javi and that is why the Byrds are expecting to be free to move back to Chicago.

Also, I got the impression that the woman Ruth went to visit might have been her mom's sister or best friend? Ruth went there to get seeds to give to Darlene & Wyatt as a wedding gift - as a way to make amends.

[Jackie14]

Ruth gave the seeds to Charlene and Wyatt as a wedding gift. In the card she wrote some type of symbolism of planting the seeds for their future or something to that effect. 

[iMonrey]

I'm confused about the FBI deal with Javi because Wendy told Navarro that once they had Javi in a room they would arrest him. Instead, they just gave him the same deal they offered Navarro. Does Navarro still get extradited back to Mexico? Is he still expected to take out Javi?

One of the most compelling things about this show is the way people are killed so matter-of-factly. It happened when Javi killed the Sheriff, it happened when Darlene killed Frank Sr., and again when Javi killed Darlene and Wyatt. Just boom! Dead. No fuss, no muss, no long soliloquies. Right to the point, short and sweet. It's really shocking and effective.

I guess I'm a party of one but I like Wendy- or, at least, I find her very compelling. I liked how she stood up to the FBI agents and dared them to call her bluff if they didn't help her out. I like watching her spin her web and manipulate people. I'm usually rooting for her and Marty to succeed, despite their various misdeeds.  

I actually don't think it would be realistic if Ruth ends up killing Javi. Don't get me wrong, she's a strong character but she's miles behind Javi when it comes to experience and resources. 

I appreciate the small doses of humor they manage to squeeze into these otherwise heavy and dark episodes. Like Marty trying to get rid of the customer at the funeral parlor. There's something so ordinary and unemotional about the way Jason Bateman plays this guy, it reminds me very much of Michael Bluth on Arrested Development. HIs nonchalant reaction to hearing the man's wife has just died cracked me up.

[BC4ME]

38 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

There's something so ordinary and unemotional about the way Jason Bateman plays this guy, it reminds me very much of Michael Bluth on Arrested Development. HIs nonchalant reaction to hearing the man's wife has just died cracked me up.

Well IMO Marty could certainly be described as unemotional and nonchalant pretty much all the time, especially as the series has progressed. One thing that kills me about the series is how life goes on for the Byrds despite absolutely horrific things happening all around them all the time. All I can think is, and these kids are actually going to school during all this?! This is a family that can adjust to anything. Man.

[Paloma]

15 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I guess I'm a party of one but I like Wendy- or, at least, I find her very compelling.

I remember having empathy for her early in the series, when she had to deal with an unexpected situation that threatened the lives of her family, and I did find her compelling in how she adapted...up to a point. Now that she seems to have become callous and even evil--crossing the line from doing whatever is necessary to save her family to doing things to build her influence or power--I can't stand her. Not that wanting to be influential and powerful is a bad thing, but it is possible to accomplish that without literally destroying lives (including your own family members). The turning point for me in empathizing with her was when Marty thought they had a chance to get out and she not only refused, she allied herself with Helen to take over. (I think this was last season--I don't remember the episode or the details, but it may have been at the ribbon cutting for the casino.)

[EllaWycliffe]

15 minutes ago, Paloma said:

The turning point for me in empathizing with her was when Marty thought they had a chance to get out and she not only refused, she allied herself with Helen to take over. (I think this was last season--I don't remember the episode or the details, but it may have been at the ribbon cutting for the casino.)

The end of season two is when this happened and yes, Wendy was a lot more sympathetic before this. Marty's "win" was to get the family out with a nice chunk of change to live on in Australia and Wendy decided they weren't going to get out at all. It's a fundemental difference in how they approach things. Marty, at heart, viewed working for the cartel as a money launderer as basically a job. All Marty wanted out of the job was stability and wealth for his family. It was never about power and he wasn't greedy - he was actually an excellent employee of the cartel. He was never even thinking of rising higher in the organization because he was perfectly content to make good money and live his life. Wendy in contrast was always somewhat thwarted in her ambitions for herself. She worked on Obama's campaign but left before she could score a cool position with the new regime because she had kids. She's a stay at home mom who had a miscarriage and can't have more kids. She's drawn to powerful men like a moth to flame. 

And ultimately Marty is in her way. Marty and Jonah. Maybe Charlotte - remember in seasons past Wendy directed a lot of her vicious behavior towards Charlotte when Charlotte wasn't on board with the plan to work with the cartel. Now its Jonah in the way. And Marty - who consistently just wants safety and financial security for the family and really could care less about the whole political empire Wendy is building - he's a problem.

I find Wendy very compelling but she's not a nice person. She's got control issues and ultimately thats what got Ben killed. There was never any reason for him to be included in the business, and she knew he was unstable. She got him killed with her own choice to involve him.

[Pikety]

On 1/23/2022 at 6:15 AM, BeatrixK said:

So Wyatt getting a lead headache was Ozark's version of The Red Wedding?

Damn! Poor Wyatt.

 

 

While it was happening (before the ending), my husband called it The Red(neck) Wedding. He swears he wasn't spoiled.

[Paloma]

Not sure if I missed something, but what happened to the baby? I'm pretty sure I heard him crying in Ruth's car when she went to see the Byrds, and while Ruth was yelling at them I think I saw either Wendy or Marty give Charlotte a signal that meant to get the baby. But I didn't see anyone holding the baby (or a carseat) and didn't hear any crying when Ruth left. Are we supposed to assume that Charlotte grabbed the baby and hid it in the short time that Ruth was there, without Ruth noticing?

[BC4ME]

1 hour ago, Paloma said:

Not sure if I missed something, but what happened to the baby? I'm pretty sure I heard him crying in Ruth's car when she went to see the Byrds, and while Ruth was yelling at them I think I saw either Wendy or Marty give Charlotte a signal that meant to get the baby. But I didn't see anyone holding the baby (or a carseat) and didn't hear any crying when Ruth left. Are we supposed to assume that Charlotte grabbed the baby and hid it in the short time that Ruth was there, without Ruth noticing?

I was wondering the same thing. Certainly nobody is more worried about the baby, who was there crying who knows how long before Ruth got there, than Ruth.

Funny to think about Ruth being a match for Javi. Yet here we are.

[SeanC]

Darlene's continued survival has been implausible for about two seasons now, so her getting a bullet to the head was pretty satisfying. Shame Wyatt had to go out as well, but he paid the dumbass tax.

[Zonk]

On 1/22/2022 at 1:26 AM, Chaos Theory said:

Damn Javi has really got to go.   Killing Darlene and Wyatt on their wedding day.

For me it was more the inconsistent writing. One second he is a complete dumbass, the next he is quite smart, one second he wants to take over his uncles business and will pounce at any sign of weakness, the next he does whatever his uncle tells him to do, after his uncle told him that he sold out the business to the FBI. He changes completely depending on what the writers need him to be in that moment. The writing on this show used to be top notch, but the writers are really failing a lot on the home straight...

On 1/22/2022 at 3:20 PM, EllaWycliffe said:

I will confess, I wasn't feeling well during episodes 6 and 7 and wasn't following some of the twists. Why did the FBI reneg on their deal with Navarro? And why was it Javi and not the KC Mob that took out Darlene, when Darlene killed the head of the KC Mob?

The FBI doesn't want to destroy the cartel, they want to make money from seizures.

Junior doesn't have the killer instinct, but Javi does and Darlene kept selling heroin when she was repeatedly told not to by the cartel.

On 1/26/2022 at 3:04 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

I think we are supposed to see that quality as a feature of Maya rather than a bug. Holding a ruthless and unrepentant mass murderer to account is morally better than getting millions in cash. photo ops and attaboys. I suppose the rationalization for the FBI bigwigs is that you will never eliminate drug cartels so it's probably better to channel one in certain directions. But the counterargument is that even if would be more successful in limiting the carnage the cartels bring, it still would be repugnant to be that much more complicit. 

I mean if we are talking morals, there is a simple solution that would strip cartels of 95% of their power and influence and safe countless lifes in the process. But nobody is willing to make that move. 🤷‍♂️