When Ozark first hit the scene I was enthusiastic for a couple of reasons. For one thing I find it near impossible to not like Jason Bateman and the idea of criminal elements getting thrust upon a straight and narrow family is kind of exciting. This was established in Breaking Bad and more than likely other shows that came before.
However, this similarity to Breaking Bad is also the show's biggest weakness: We've been here before and while it is still interesting to see people that are unfamiliar with criminality come to terms with their new, less-than-legal lifestyle, the transition into criminal mastermind is nothing new thanks to Breaking Bad.
Sure the Byrde family isn't exactly the same as the Whites, but it isn't possible to notice the overlapping stories. The kids even get involved in the new family business in a roudabout, we don't really know what the F**K is going on type of way and there are various evil characters introduced along the way that we can all tell are going to get phased out by the end of the season - that is just the way these things work.
Julia Garner is a high point in the series up to now as she is absolutely incredible in her performance playing Ruth Langmore. There are other strong characters in the show as well, but I would be lying if I said they were all top-tier.
This is most noticeable in Laura Linney's portrayal of Wendy Byrde. I don't think I am alone when I say that out of all the actors in this thing, she is one of the only ones that seems completely out of place.
Wendy is the embodiment of "Skylar" from Breaking Bad. She at first doesn't know what is going on, then reluctantly takes part while still protesting every step of the way while also being a constant thorn in the side of Marty, and eventually she becomes a crucial part of the entire enterprise.
It isn't really that her character is bad, we could easily make the case of it being absolutely necessary for the storyline and to create tension. However, Laura is just whiney and unconvincing in the role and this is odd since I actually believe that Linney is a tremendous actress. She just feels wrong for the role and now it is too late to replace her.
At the end of Season 2 we saw the Byrds plan to flee to Australia but then change plans at the last minute. It didn't take a great deal of imagination to realize that the trip was not going to happen because therefore season 3 wouldn't be possible. The family sees themselves getting more and more bogged down in the criminal underworld and it seems there is no turning back.
The bottom line is that I will likely still watch this show when it is released on March 27th especially since by then we will probably all be under house arrest. However, the series has a very formulaic feel to it that kind of results in the audience being able to predict what is going to happen outside of very rare events.
The episodes up to now have mainly consisted of recap - tons of dialogue / arguing - one major twist at the end that normally results in the elimination of what was easily identified as a temporary character. I don't t know if it is possible for Ozark to impress me anymore, but seeing as how it is one of the most popular shows on Netflix, I suppose there really isn't much reason for them to change this system.
What do you think?