Ozark, Not a “Breaking Bad”?

Synopsis: Marty Byrde and his partner Bruce Liddell are financial advisers in Chicago. They do the money laundery for a Mexican drug cartel. Bruce skim $8 million by the help of and the trucking company owners who move the cash. Cartel sends Del to investigate and punish the skimmers. Del kills Bruce, his fiancée and owners of trucking company but Marty who was not aware of the skim, tries to save his own life, He makes up a plan for money laundry by using a promotional leaflet Bruce showed him as the inspiration for a spur-of-the-moment claim that the Ozark area is a good potential location for laundering, He also claims if allowed to live, he will wash $500 million in five years.

Del gives Marty a few days to replace the skimmed $8 million, which he does by liquidating all his assets and closing all the company accounts. Del then asks Marty to move his family to the Ozark and prove his claim by laundering the $8 million within three months.
Marty’s wife Wendy who has an affair with a Silverberg, follows his advice to leave Marty and take as much money as she can secure. After Wendy empties Marty’s account and goes to Silverberg’s place, Del kills Silverberg as a warning to Wendy to keep the family together…

Ozark is not a Breaking Bad but it reminds us of how the situation can change people and how they try to reverse the course of events. Even though Marty Byrde is not at the edge of death like Walter White in Breaking Bad, he accepts the risk of dealing with a drug cartel to enrich his family and please her wife with a luxury life.

He is the good guy in the bad side of the story and his shades of grey between black and white colors of people around him is the most attractive motif of the series. We take side with him even though we know he is doing the wrong thing and even though we see how disastrous his presence is in the others’ lives. But still we feel the empathy towards him and we feel the necessity of his actions in order to solve problems. That’s why we get shocked when the result of his actions are disasters for others.

Mason, the pastor of the city is the best victim of Marty’s actions. He is preaching on a boat and having a happy life with his wife. As soon as Marty chooses him as a tool for money laundry and offers him the money for building a church, his life turns to ashes. Jacob who is distributing heroin during Mason’s preach on the water every week, sees the church on the land as a threat to his business, kills his wife and leave him with a new born baby.

Besides the crime story, Ozark opens a window to viewers to see what can be behind many organizations in countries like the US. A window to show how dirty money not only impacts on the economy but also how it shapes the legislation, political direction, and development of regions.

Creators: Bill Dubuque, Mark Williams
Stars: Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Sofia Hublitz, Skylar Gaertner, Julia Garner, Lisa Emery, Janet McTeer