S01.E08: Kaleidoscope

[biakbiak]

Quote

  In a flashback to 10 years prior, Wendy struggles with depression, Del asks Marty to be his financial adviser, and Agent Petty faces a family crisis.

[DoubleUTeeEff]

I think this might have been my favorite episode. Maybe I enjoyed getting away from the rednecks! I liked seeing Marty and Wendy being greedy and getting pulled into Del's business only to have Marty immediately regret that decision after watching his predecessor being murdered in front of him. They sure got in over their heads from the very beginning. I also just liked watching Marty and Wendy's dynamic before everything turned sour.

Another character I liked to see before he turned dark was the FBI Agent. It looks like he had a healthy relationship. That was nice to see instead of him treating his ex-lover/coworker like crap or scamming Russ Langmore. There were definite parallels between him and Marty. They both made poor decisions in their careers and lost their relationships in a sense.

[teddysmom]

I thought for sure the FBI guy's mom threw herself on the steps to get more pain pills. 

And after they killed the previous launderer and cut out his eyes, you'd think Bruce would have known better. 

[EtheltoTillie]

On 7/24/2017 at 4:32 PM, teddysmom said:

I thought for sure the FBI guy's mom threw herself on the steps to get more pain pills. 

And after they killed the previous launderer and cut out his eyes, you'd think Bruce would have known better. 

I thought it was a flashback on a flashback where he realizes he made his mother an addict when she was recovering from surgery by begging her to take the pain pills. Anyone else have this understanding?  

I agree with everyone that this was a great episode. I loved learning the back story. 

[teddysmom]

10 hours ago, GussieK said:

I thought it was a flashback on a flashback where he realizes he made his mother an addict when she was recovering from surgery by begging her to take the pain pills. Anyone else have this understanding?

Oh I thought it was after the addiction and she wouldn't take them, but you make a great point.

Whatever it is, he is nuts.  How is he still an agent? 

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, teddysmom said:

Oh I thought it was after the addiction and she wouldn't take them, but you make a great point.

Whatever it is, he is nuts.  How is he still an agent? 

Yes, it was hard to follow the timeline.  That's why I came up with my theory.

[hincandenza]

On 7/25/2017 at 6:58 PM, GussieK said:

I thought it was a flashback on a flashback where he realizes he made his mother an addict when she was recovering from surgery by begging her to take the pain pills. Anyone else have this understanding?  

I agree with everyone that this was a great episode. I loved learning the back story. 

Wow, that's very insightful- I had interpreted her reluctance on taking the pills to not wanting to relapse, but that is as explainable in your theory.  I think your theory makes so much sense and ties those scenes together, and it better explains the descent from apparently chill dude into the... well, raving animal that he is today.  

1. Happy, in a relationship, loving mom
2. Mom in an accident, living in their house
3. Mom becomes flitty and addicted, eventually goes through the whole "Requiem for a Dream" downslide
4. Not shown, but at some point his mom dies (?) from her addiction and he also loses that nice guy he was dating
5. Petty becomes a raging fiend and rogue-ish agent, goes through boyfriends like spent tissues and leaves heartbreak and turmoil behind him while shitting all over basic law enforcement standards.  

It also explains his psychotic hard-on in particular for catching drug cartel members, since they're the ones that ultimately sold his mom the heroin she was doing.

[juliet73]

On 7/25/2017 at 8:58 PM, GussieK said:

I thought it was a flashback on a flashback where he realizes he made his mother an addict when she was recovering from surgery by begging her to take the pain pills. Anyone else have this understanding?  

 

The flashbacks were not sequential. In regards to the FBI guy and his mom: 1. her carrying the table and falling on the stair, breaking her leg.  2 staying with FBI guy and his boyfriend while she was recuperating from her broken leg. Didn't want to take the pills just because, but took them to appease her son.  3. Scene at the diner where boyfriend tells FBI guy that mom looks high. 4. Mom shooting up after FBI guy drops her off.

[Guest]

On 7/26/2017 at 8:54 PM, hincandenza said:

It also explains his psychotic hard-on in particular for catching drug cartel members, since they're the ones that ultimately sold his mom the heroin she was doing.

I figure his mother is going to overdose, and that's what's fueling his absolute need to bring down the cartel.  

Not that it matters but I thought the flashbacks were sequential, and she hurt herself twice.  My elderly mother falls all the time.  The second time Petty's mother refused pain meds because she was trying to be clean, I thought.  I don't know others who refuse pain medication.  So Petty knowing of her addiction and still begging her to take them would make him feel doubly bad when she (theoretically) ODs.  

I don't love TV writers' love of tying so many characters' obsessive need to (whatever) to some family death.  I think 99% of us get over those things but on TV you'd think almost no one does.  

I loved that they had Petty saying "I'm just an accountant" because that's actually true of the FBI-- a huge percentage of agents actually are accountants and finance grads and spend their time finding white collar criminals.  But I didn't love him acting like he could be either.  I don't think you go from financial crime to chasing a drug cartel because you just feel like it.  

Didn't Wendy act kind of shocked and angry when Marty revealed why they had to move back in ep. 1 or 2?  I was surprised she was involved in the decision.  Though I guess maybe her shock was that one of them was skimming.  

Great episode, though.  I'll be sad when the show is over.

Bateman got a star on the walk of fame this week.

[MaryWebGirl]

I thought the crazy timelines were annoying and unnecessarily confusing for the sake of being "artistic." Also I don't think the agent adds much to the show as far as the story or an interesting character, so while I thought his backstory was compelling on its own I didn't really need it. 

Marty and Wendy are such great characters I would have preferred more time on their backstories, and maybe a hint of why Marty's partners thought they could pull one over on the cartel, or even more about the cartel boss and his wife.

[iMonrey]

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I thought the crazy timelines were annoying and unnecessarily confusing for the sake of being "artistic."

I agree 100%. This episode annoyed the ever-loving crap out of me, jumping around to different points in time. It's like most of the flashbacks were airing backwards, or whoever edited the episode was drunk and had no idea what sequence the scenes were supposed to appear in. I hated it. 

Look, if you have an interesting enough story, you don't need to be overly clever about how you tell it. Linear storytelling has not gone out of style. Just because something is confusing doesn't mean it's "smart." Start at the beginning and work your way towards the end in a normal, traditional fashion that anyone can follow. If you think it's "boring" to do that then you need to improve your story, not your method of conveying it. 

[Captanne]

I had a lot of problems with this series and the timeline business is just one of them.  Mostly it was the stereotyping (which is just brainless) and the dangling plotlines.  

[ganesh]

On 7/25/2017 at 7:58 PM, GussieK said:

I thought it was a flashback on a flashback where he realizes he made his mother an addict when she was recovering from surgery by begging her to take the pain pills. Anyone else have this understanding?  

Yes. I didn't realize the episode was jumping around at first. 

I didn't need as much with the FBI guy. I liked that Wendy and Marty were in on the decision since the start. But, I would have preferred more Del and Marty. I don't feel like Marty wanting to work for Del was much about money, since in E1 he was still shown to be rather frugal. I mean, yes, not having to worry about money is always tempting, but I don't feel they were struggling either. It didn't look like they took a lot of vacations either because the partner was chiding Marty about it also in the beginning episode. 

Del was charming and smart, and I get his point about social contracts, but one conversation, I wasn't buying it so much. I guess Wendy was in a bad place and Marty thought this might snap her out of it too, but again, I would like more about her issues if that was the case. 

The callback to the eyes was great though. 

[KaleyFirefly]

Now we know where the creepy eyeballs in the jar came from!

This episode was a bit confusing, since the scenes were out of order. It confused me at first, but then I kind of figured it out. When I heard the Buddy Holly song again, I knew that was a flashback to the conversation at the beginning of the episode. 

Jason Bateman is so good in this series! It's great to see him do a dramatic role, which he can do just as well as a comedic role. He's very talented and I've had a crush on him from way back.

[Duke2801]

I enjoyed this episode but was confused by a few plot points. Were they implying that Wendy fell into a deep depression because she lost a baby she only knew she had for a day or so - and that she was implying she didn't really want to have?

Or was it more depression that stemmed from "guilt" because maybe she somehow felt responsible for the loss because she didn't really want it? (And God or the universe was punishing her??) 

[stillshimpy]

On 8/8/2017 at 9:19 AM, MaryWebGirl said:

I thought the crazy timelines were annoying and unnecessarily confusing for the sake of being "artistic." Also I don't think the agent adds much to the show as far as the story or an interesting character, so while I thought his backstory was compelling on its own I didn't really need it. 

Marty and Wendy are such great characters I would have preferred more time on their backstories, and maybe a hint of why Marty's partners thought they could pull one over on the cartel, or even more about the cartel boss and his wife.

I did also and the timeline is not linear within the flashback, we can tell by the fact that we see Wendy and Marty get into the car accident at the top of the story, we see her at home being depressed after losing her baby. Although we don't know why she's depressed when we see her, we learn that she was pregnant at nearly the end of the episode when we see her taking the pregnancy test.  

 

So we have actual proof that's it's not a linear narrative and it loops around.  It just was not the best narrative choice as witnessed by the fact that it was nigh on impossible to keep track of within the episode.  The editor really should have used chyrons for things like May 2007 (or whatever month they were using) to give us a heads up.  

The story kept circling back on itself until it found the catalyst for each character.  In the case of the FBI agent: We know his mother was hurt at the top of the episode and then learn how later, we heard the agent saying that "she went through all of that when she moved out" at the top of the episode and then towards the end see what caused her to live with them and the period in which she lived with them.  

The editing on this was for psych wards, it made no linear or narrative sense but was saved by the always great cast and actors.  It wasn't even a failure of story, it was a failure of editing to illustrate the importance of the story. 

When we met the FBI agent he told Ruth's uncle about the love of his life who left him, a doctor in Chicago...who he then reveals to be male. 

Lots of good stuff in this episode but the editor nearly robbed the audience of it. 

I also like that Wendy and Marty are blinded to good sense by greed and that the mechanism for having the scales fall from Marty's eyes is to see his predecessor relieved of his own eyeballs.   I liked that kind of a lot in that "I technically wasn't watching but appreciated the symbolism" way. 

On 7/26/2017 at 6:59 AM, GussieK said:

Yes, it was hard to follow the timeline.  That's why I came up with my theory.

We watched it twice before going on to the next episode just to make sure because that was a soggy timeline if ever there was one. 

[viamber]

On 8/25/2017 at 5:13 PM, Duke2801 said:

I enjoyed this episode but was confused by a few plot points. Were they implying that Wendy fell into a deep depression because she lost a baby she only knew she had for a day or so - and that she was implying she didn't really want to have?

Or was it more depression that stemmed from "guilt" because maybe she somehow felt responsible for the loss because she didn't really want it? (And God or the universe was punishing her??) 

Yeah me too! Was she feeling guilty? Or had she been depressed before the crash? Seemed a bit much for her to be in the bed leaving her kids alone outside, you know?

[mtlchick]

I don't mind flashback episodes (if I can make it through Arrow...) but the jumping out of time for multiple stories wasn't for me. 

 

The one thing I had to smirk at was the discussion of the death of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens which ALWAYS reminds me of Esai Morales' "RITCHIE!!!!!!!" at the very end of La Bamba.

[jnymph]

On ‎10‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 7:26 PM, mtlchick said:

 

The one thing I had to smirk at was the discussion of the death of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens which ALWAYS reminds me of Esai Morales' "RITCHIE!!!!!!!" at the very end of La Bamba.

Good catch !  I didn't event think of that !

I'm in the minority as I didn't have a problem with the timeline storytelling.    This series just gets better and better.  Hope there's going to be a season 2.

[Mindthinkr]

Some things were cleared up in a round (and round) about way. 

[Paloma]

On 8/7/2017 at 9:31 AM, Guest said:

Didn't Wendy act kind of shocked and angry when Marty revealed why they had to move back in ep. 1 or 2?  I was surprised she was involved in the decision.  Though I guess maybe her shock was that one of them was skimming.  

Yes, I remember her reaction at Marty's reveal in the early episode and it did not seem like she knew about the laundering. Maybe she had come to accept it over the years as Marty's normal job and no longer thought about the possible consequences, though that seems unlikely for someone as level-headed and responsible as her.

[Armchair Critic]

"Have a Super Store day!" Sad but funny how easily he could buy a gun.

[Ottis]

On 7/24/2017 at 9:44 AM, DoubleUTeeEff said:

I think this might have been my favorite episode.

And this may have been my *least* favorite episode (as a late comer to this show). 

First, why the hell is Marty a wealth advisor? Clearly his skill is in forensic accounting. Unless their company already did work for other illegal enterprises, it doesn't make any sense for Marty to be pushing investments vs. working for a law enforcement agency.

Second, having Marty (and Wendy) *choose* to go illegal makes the show much less interesting to me. If you decide, after extensive exposure to someone who you know is a cartel drug smuggler/lord, to accept his offer of employment - after getting away with turning him down not once, but TWICE and still living - then you deserve whatever comes next. I get that Marty and Wendy were distraught and struggling with money, and so who knows, maybe I would make that decision? Hope I never find out. But for purposes of a TV show, then I no longer am rooting for you like I was before this episode. You made your bed. And that's a huge negative impact on my investment in the show. 

Third, OK, I get Del is a ruthless drug smuggler/lord whatever. But you have just hired a guy who you really wanted, and who had been reluctant to sign on, and the first thing you do is murder someone in front of him? A lighter touch would have made more sense at that moment. Draw Marty in closer and closer, until he can't escape if he wanted to. You could argue that, by seeing a brutal murder first hand, Marty is already now trapped. But what if he reacted emotionally, and ran and called the cops? He doesn't know much about Del, and all he has said is "yes, I'll work for you." There would be some danger but at this stage, because cartel, but Marty isn't part of the operation, yet. That was a poor choice on Del's part, IMO, and may be a future weakness to exploit.

Finally, I give no f*cks about the FBI agent's addict mother. I have to assume that something he learns as a result of his mother's issue will pop up in his ongoing undercover investigation of Marty, otherwise, what's the point? But I really don't care about the mother, and every time we go to them it feels like a different show. If this is about his motivation to shut down drugs, do we need to know that an FBI agent wants to stop crime? That's the assumption.

The only part I did like was seeing what low regard Del had, from the beginning, of Marty's partner. That was always going to end badly.

 

On 8/25/2017 at 6:13 PM, Duke2801 said:

I enjoyed this episode but was confused by a few plot points. Were they implying that Wendy fell into a deep depression because she lost a baby she only knew she had for a day or so - and that she was implying she didn't really want to have?

Wendy strikes me as an unstable and often weak character. Having an affair, leaving kids alone while she goes to bed, poor me.  Jason Bateman is still playing Michael Bluth, trying to keep his family together while members of his family run away, fall apart, yell at him, etc.

Also, Alias did the sudden car crash better.

Edited October 8, 2018 by Ottis

[Raja]

On 7/25/2017 at 6:58 PM, GussieK said:

I thought it was a flashback on a flashback where he realizes he made his mother an addict when she was recovering from surgery by begging her to take the pain pills. Anyone else have this understanding?  

I agree with everyone that this was a great episode. I loved learning the back story. 

 

On 7/26/2017 at 5:57 AM, teddysmom said:

Oh I thought it was after the addiction and she wouldn't take them, but you make a great point.

Whatever it is, he is nuts.  How is he still an agent? 

I always remember an Emergency plot from when I was a kid were a recovering addict refused treatment and the paramedics and doctors had to work around that.

I was thinking the same when mom steadfastly tried to stay with ibuprofen after we saw her shooting up heroin.

[eelpout]

On 10/8/2018 at 5:56 AM, Ottis said:

Second, having Marty (and Wendy) *choose* to go illegal makes the show much less interesting to me. If you decide, after extensive exposure to someone who you know is a cartel drug smuggler/lord, to accept his offer of employment - after getting away with turning him down not once, but TWICE and still living - then you deserve whatever comes next. I get that Marty and Wendy were distraught and struggling with money, and so who knows, maybe I would make that decision? Hope I never find out. But for purposes of a TV show, then I no longer am rooting for you like I was before this episode. You made your bed. And that's a huge negative impact on my investment in the show.

(yes, we're latecomers to Ozark 🙂 )

you'd get along well with my wife, this is her exact take on the show after this episode. she'll watch this season through, but then she's likely done. 

[SlovakPrincess]

I'm grateful for the flashback episode, but the jumping around in time within 2007 or whatever was really unnecessary and distracting.  

Marty, you incredible dumbass.  He knew working with Del was a bad idea and then he went and did it anyway after (smartly) saying no twice.  Wendy's understandable depression and need for a vacation was not a good reason to get back into Del's orbit again.  And the fact that Marty and Wendy decided they would do this ... complete dipshits.  Even if they didn't realize at first exactly how dangerous Del is, they should have at least thought of the consequences to the kids if Marty was arrested.  

And he talked Bruce into it!  Complete dumbass Bruce, who later goes on to try and skim from someone he knows will brutally murder anybody for doing that.   Gah, the stupidity of these people, it just kills me.  

On the other hand, Agent Petty, who I've kinda disliked this whole time, comes off quite sympathetic in the flashbacks!  Shame he screwed things up eventually with Scotty, who was great.  And I can see why he downward spiraled, not that excuses his behavior as an agent. 

[Kel Varnsen]

I just watched this episode and I completely hated it. The bouncing around in the timeline was stupid and just a weird way to show off. Plus the whole storyline with the agent and his mother was super obvious and heavy handed once you saw the whole thing. I mean it ended with her saying she would take a pain pill "just this once".

Also I am a little confused by the cartel boss. If his last name is Del Rio (Marty called him Mr. Del Rio) why do they call him Del? Is that common for people with that last name?

And the scene with Wendy trying to get the job. Was that supposed to be before or after the accident?