Ozark Season 4 Part 1 Early Review: Laura Linney & Julia Garner's fiery performances outweigh everything

Ozark Season 4 Part 1 

Ozark Season 4 Part 1 Cast: Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Julia Garner

Ozark Creator: Bill Dubuque

Streaming Platform: Netflix

Ozark is one show that has consistently grown with every season and while the supporting characters have come and gone, if there's one thing that's remained as its mainstay, it's the performances of its lead cast. I have often wondered why flawed people, personalities with questionable moralities make for some of the most irresistible onscreen characters. In Ozark, there's practically descendence we see of people letting go layers off of their personality while bowing down to their basest feelings of greed and power. The show has over the years become a favourite at the Emmys for all the right reasons and as it comes near to its ending, we can't help but be excited to see how it all ends for the Byrde family. 

Ozark's fourth and final season has been divided into two parts. The Part 1 of Season 4 consists of seven episodes that will offer us a peek at what the final road looks like for Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney). Ever since moving to the Ozarks, much has changed for the Byrdes. In the fourth season, we meet them at a time when they are wealthy casino owners who are straight out of the shock of having to wash off Helen Pierce's (Janet McTeer)  blood off them after she was shot in the season three finale in front of them by Omar Navarro's (Felix Solis) gunman. 

The fourth season of the show picks up with its first episode titled aptly for the ride ahead as it is named, The Beginning of the End. The season kicks off with Omar Navarro giving Marty and Wendy an offer that seems impossible to manifest as he asks for them to create a situation that would allow him to leave the cartel business and have free and open access to the US without the fear of any arrests. Managing this could offer Marty and Wendy the much-needed freedom from Navarro as he promises to leave them out of his work. In the meantime, Darlene (Lisa Emery) finds herself a new partner as Ruth (Julia Garner) joins her to help launder money.  

If there's one thing we have been watching in Ozark since Season 1, it's that the Byrdes are always trying to get out of a bind. In of the show's most telling moments, in the first episode of Season 4 itself, Marty (Jason Bateman) puts it straight out how there's only one way to get out of all their problems and that is, "We need large numbers of money, and then we need to buy all the people." It's in moments like these that show manages to tap into a nature of being somewhat self-aware of how ridiculous the stakes are when it comes to surviving in this underbelly.  This conversation is had over a glass of wine in a house that has its windows shot up by their son Jonah (Skylar Gaertner). This scene also seems to be a moment for foreshadowing for what's about to happen next as we expect Jonah to create problems for his parents if he does in fact end up helping Ruth (Julia Garner), who won't leave any opportunity to hurt the Byrdes and what better way to do it than through an inside track into the house. 

ALSO READ: Ozark Season 4 Part 1 Trailer: Jason Bateman and Laura Linney fall prey to their past 'obligations'

Ozark managed to become an Emmys favourite thanks to not only its increasingly wild script that makes the midwest look far more intriguing than you would have ever thought it to be but also because of its performances. With every season, the lead cast of the show has brought their A-game to it and when it comes to the final one, I'm guessing it's Laura Linney and Julia Garner who will truly blow your mind. While Garner's ability to emote anger and helplessness all at once give Ruth's character multiple dimensions, it's Linney's glares and straightforward dialogue delivery that make her character of Wendy, ruthless in the most amazing way. As for Jason Bateman, the actor continues to make Marty come across as a man whose rationality and calmness are the true bullets that work for him as he takes on bigger bad guys. 

Ozark Season 4 Part 1 kicks off with an exciting start and gives a clear indication that the Byrde family is about to face its toughest challenges in this race for survival towards the end. The tension is expected to grow with every episode in the final season and after the first episode's ending, you will realise that Marty and Wendy have ample mess to clean up before they can find a ticket to set themselves free.