First, I'll offer the good. Julia Garner as Ruth Langmore is the heart of the show. She had a fantastic character and arc and, best of all, she acted the hell out of it! She was really the reason to watch the show.
Jason Bateman was good as Marty Byrd and Laura Linney did great as the hateable character Wendy Byrd. The complaint I have was Wendy's character was so idiotic most of the time that even though Linney did great, I couldn't stand the character. We're supposed to hate the character, but I hated the writing for her instead. She was a complete and total idiot.
My thing with the series is that I was barely sold on the first season until the last episode and then I was all-in. Following this, however, there were moments that were excellent but a lot of 'filler' in between those moments. To be it seems more like an issue of writing and editing to make a tighter story.
I hate comparing it to Breaking Bad, as they aren't the same show, but in BB there was such a chemistry of writing, acting, story, and motivation that it was hard to ever look away. With Ozark, I found myself staring at my phone until Ruth came back on screen. I was bored 75% of the time.
To me this is one of those series that had its moments. There were times that things were surprising and well written and screen. But... there were more times I felt more like I was going through the motions.
I won't spoil the ending but, alas, it is another one that just drops the ball. I was hoping for a lot more and it just felt contrived. There was no oomph to the ending, for me. Instead, it just...happens.
I will recommend this show if you have nothing better to do and are looking for a new series to watch. It is a half-hearted recommendation, however. With that ending it'll just fade into obscurity for me.
But 100% kudos to Julia Garner for being so fantastic in it! She alone makes the ride worth it!
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