I would point out that Walter White did not think logically. He practically made all emotional decisions because of his ego. Even Gus Fringe who was probably the most strategic and tactical thinker in the series, all his motivation for building a drug empire and taking out the cartel was for a personal vendetta of Max.
you’re 100% right, Walt acts irrationally with only going with whatever plan benefits him most. Just like Mike said, he could’ve worked under Gus as long as possible and make millions but his ego wouldn’t allow him to not be in charge
@@allisonbrock9563 ?? Gus threatened to kill Walt and his family after he saved Jesse from those street dealers. You guys can’t just paint everything Walt did as ego driven. Not accepting the help from Elliot and Grechen, yeah that was ego.
Javi would never be a a good leader because he is too blind to others around him, all he sees is his own shadow and all he hears is his own voice, perfect guy to hate.
Thank you. I've been fighting for weeks to explain how Jonah's behavior in s4 part 1 makes perfect sense, despite being irrational. It's because it sharply conflicted with his core values. "If they aren't even fighting to keep their family alive, then what's the point of all this." Could not have said it better.
everyone on the show had broken bad long before we saw them in the first episode I mean, Wendy was literally about to run away with the families money and leave her kids and husband for some guy she was having an affair with, which is a lot worse than anything Skyler and arguably even Walter ever did in Breaking Bad so the comparison doesn't really make sense either way, I don't see why the characters need to be compared
Wendy running away is a moral issue, and illegaity here is breach of a civilian contract, marital obligations in this case. Context of the concept "Breaking Bad" are clearly criminal actions, whether it's Ozarks or BB. Skyler does laundering because she loves it, even though she claims this is for family. Marty loves his work and is clearly good at it. However laundering is thrust on him at gunpoint from the beginning. Skyler's accomplice to violently criminal actions is reluctant, and often a last resort. Wendy on the other hand is clearly driven by ambition and power, with family safety as a straw man. Something very similar to Walter.
One of the most fascinating things to me is how Marty is unable to understand the emotional turmoil Wendy and Ruth are going through. His logical straight by the numbers approach seems perfectly sensible to him and he just can't figure out how everyone else can't see that. He didn't recognize his wife's ambition and didn't understand that the decision to stifle that to be a stay at home mom made her feel trapped. She's trying to achieve success she feels she has been unable to since becoming a mother. If Marty better understood that, he could have helped her channel it in a way more in line with success for them both. I also understand Marty's rational decision to let Frank Jr. go unpunished for assaulting Ruth. If he had better understood her well justified fury, he could have even said something along the lines of, "I understand your pain. We will deal with Frank Jr. later, but right now this is what we need to do." He just totally blew her off instead which is, of course, only going to fuel her anger. He may have not really meant that they'd go after Frank Jr. in the future, but in the moment, Ruth needed to hear someone understanding and acknowledging her pain.
He did not stifled anything. They both work into high achieving jobs and one has to carry a baby. Marriage requires sacrifices and one of them has to remain the breadwinner. It's as simple as that. We're just finding excuses to Wendy Byrde's egoistical, manipulative, smothering, need-to-be-right, tendencially unhinhed behaviour.
@@kacethegreat4560 Maybe I am more alike to Marty than to the remainder of the charaxters because whether their grievances are reasonable or not, *they ALL pass second to the survival and well-being of both the business and family. What Wendy did and still does poses more often a threat than anything else, while Ruth has sometimes a hard time to figure out when to strike and when to not outshine the master (the case with Diego being the sole exception to the rule) .*
Initially in the first season, I used to feel bored watching most part of the episodes, but as the series progressed and introduced the different characters like Ruth and twists, I became glued to Ozark. Characters being not rational, is what attracts me more to Ozark as it is quite different from some other series where protagonists work only logically and what is expected out of them.
I’ve been enamored with Ozark since I started watching when season 3 released and I couldn’t wait for Part 1 of Season 4 earlier this week. I wasn’t expecting any analysis videos to put up in my recommended, but this one was excellent! Love your channel and the quality of your uploads is excellent
Did you liked Season 4 part 1?? I loved Ozark but man did this season was kinda bad, so many characters not communicating and making stupid decisions. Idk, it wasnt my favorite season.
I'm glad you mentioned this. I never thought that a character was making an irrational decision for plot progression or to extend the run time. Rue, Beth, and even the Drug Lords make crazy decisions simply because they put emotion over everything else
This is a really fresh take on a show I love. And I wish people would apply this type of thinking to more shows on TV so you would have much richer content
Great video but I believe Ruth’s decision to leave the Byrds laid more on how Darlene actually did something to Frank Jr. Ruth had to kill some of her own family members earlier on in the season, and although she loved Ben I think she’d at least see that the Byrds aren’t hypocritical since they had to kill Ben. Marty not following through on his word about protecting Ruth is what really tipped the scales imo.
One thing is for sure is how they functioned especially Marty and Wendy when they had less sleep. Waking up during the night to get shit done or not able to sleep at all bc your stress levels are high
How is it even remotely underrated? It’s immensely popular with both critics and fans and not only has been nominated for a shit ton of Emmy’s, but have won many Emmys as well. That literally means we’re all watching and loving it.
Great job on this video. You laid out the foundational principles of what is truly one of the most fascinating, thrilling, gripping, intriguing, and well-written shows to watch today. Ozark thrives as much in the perfomances of the cast, who have excuted well the writers vision for the show. It truly is joyous cinema, and I absolutely adore the show. Loved your take on it. I'm subscribed!
In my humble opinion this is the best show on Netflix. I love it, this is my vibe, it pulls my emotional strings. What is most important for me, there are no "fillers" in this show. It has as much episodes as necessary to tell this tense story. Thank you for your video and we are waiting for the series finale :)
I don’t see Ben as Tony B .Tony was a wild gangster who went against his mob boss cousin.Ben had mental issues and was more of a sympathetic character.Tony killed Tony B in anger and didn’t feel near the guilt Wendy did.
@@lochofmceo it's true that Ben is not a wild gangster but he did go against Wendy's wishes to get back on his meds similar to how Tony B disobeyed Tony S and killed Joey Peeps and did cause pain to a powerful person. He told Erin the truth about Helen similar to how Tony B killed Billy Leotardo and Helen and Phil wanted both dead after that.
Spoilers: I think Maya really F’d up arresting Omar, because now the FBI was forced to do a deal with Javi and for a longer period, who is much more irrational and dangerous than Omar. I think there will be some crazy unintended consequences for her actions in part 2
The second half wasn’t nearly as good. Rachel coming back served literally no purpose and didn’t amount to anything, as Ruth got her own casino license. As well as Jonah and Charlotte just instantly deciding to side with Wendy after she manipulated them both into visiting her at the psych ward didn’t make sense for their characters, or from a writing perspective. Not to mention the ending was just so unsatisfying and left so many loose ends. There’s a difference between a cliffhanger and an incomplete story
One thing that annoys me so much at the end of ozark is how terribly mismanaged Javi’s death was. I really don’t see why Marty couldn’t have twisted things to make himself seem more powerful and cut-throat. When he was overseeing cartel actions he should’ve told them that Javi had betrayed the cartel my trying to steal clean assets from Omar’s children and that he had to be dealt with promptly. Then he should’ve continued to oversea cartel actions while eventually becoming the head of the cartel himself while Omar was still rotting in prison
I love how the roles swap in S2. Wendy was the remorseful one after Ash died and Marty basically told her to just deal with it. It isn’t really until Marty himself kills Mason where Wendy starts to take control and become immersed in the drug world. No one ever talks about that I hate the “Wendy is evil” narrative, THEY ALL ARE😂
Breaking Bad for me stops at the drugs parallel- WWhite and Marty and Wendy are different breeds of personality - Breaking Bad is “ desperate times call for desperate measures“. Ozark is a guy working for the cartel by choice -
@@seen921over the story line of Ozark marty has less agency then walt. walt could have swallowed his pride and taken money from grey matter. He also could have quit cooking meth relatively early on and would have had enough for his family to be ok after his passing. marty while he ultimately made the decision to work for the cartel, didn't have as much control over the conditions and couldn't leave, as badly as he wanted to.
I was almost sure I was gonna get character development after they showed how badly Marty wanted to win with that Arcade game. I thought it was gonna resurface but sadly was disappointed how quickly he reverted.
It was difficult to watch these supposedly logical characters make increasingly illogical decisions as the showrunners were trying to wind down to what seemed like an early and rushed ending.
Excellent essay, so glad I’m Subbed, I really look forward to the well articulated content you put out, so a very sincere thank you. Could you be persuaded to do do an essay on the sublime Justified?
Everything up till this season has been great. This season though, with the writing with the son has been driving me nuts. Decision making that constantly puts own family in danger.
I like breaking bad but I personally like ozark so much more. I feel like Ozark characters are put in much more interesting situations because of the way they wrote the characters. Without breaking bad, I’m not sure ozark would be this good so I have the upmost respect for BB. If you haven’t seen Better Call Saul or Barry (hbo show) and you love BB and Ozark, I highly recommended watching those shows.
Hell nah.Ozark copied mad shit from breaking bad.How are the situations more interesting?Walt had to melt a guy in a tub and stab a dude to death in season 1.He had to blow up a bldg to get Tuco’s respect.Had to blow Gus up.Had wars with neo nazis.etc etc etc. Walt stayed in some shit
Spoilers: (both Ozark and Breaking Bad): Other than Del, who behaves *incredibly* counterproductively in Season One, I've found the characters actions to be basically consistent. I have a quibble with the statement that Wendy "allowed Ben to be killed", as she didn't tell Helen where he was until it became clear that Ben was incapable of hiding. He's going to be caught no matter what she does, so by helping him escape she's risking her family for nothing. I think Jonah could be made to understand that, but Wendy is incapable of communicating with Jonah, and Marty doesn't really "do" explanations. My problem with season four is that there's a lot that doesn't make sense at all. How on earth does Jonah know who killed Darlene? What exactly is Mel investigating? Every time he calls a source it's something different. Omar says he never threatens children: is he really that unaware of how his deputies roll? Although Omar is deliberately opaque, so getting annoyed at his offense at seeing the Byrde children hunkering down with a shotgun is perhaps nitpicking. But my most persistent beef with Ozark, particularly the early seasons, is how the brilliant money launderer is expected to provide his own a) muscle, b) protection, both from rival gangs and law enforcement. Everything is "I understand you have a problem with some local hillbillies. Fix it Marty!" Anyway, I reject the author's dichotomy between the two series'. Skye was prepared to write off her sister forever over petty theft. Skye's sister compulsively shoplifts. Making money seems to be at the bottom of the list of priorities for the Juarez gang, running behind revenge and keeping track of perceived slights. Also, the characters in Breaking Bad were at times irrational in ways that emotion couldn't explain. The main protagonist's conflict with Gus went like this: Gus wants to work with Walter, but not Jesse, because Jesse is unpredictable and unprofessional. Walter insists on Jesse's involvement. Jesse, under Walter's protection, murders Gail. Gus does a total 180, and decides to work with Jesse, and isolate Walter. Gus' decision is even reflected by the attitude of Mike -- Mr. "no more second chances" -- towards both characters: now Walter is a disaster waiting to happen, and Jesse is a good kid. And you're left wondering "what was any of this all about?" BB is a great series, but the lack of a clear motivation by arguably the most strategically minded characters was one of its weakest parts.
Gus wanted blue meth. From the beginning Gus wanted kill Walter after learning Walter's recipe and let Gale cook for him . Because Gale was naive person who was very loyal . But Walter was the exact opposite. So after Gale died Jessie seemed the most reliable cook for Gus. He is both naive and loyal like Gale also Jessie knows how to cook blue meth . Originally Gus didn't want to work with Jessie because he seemed like a dead weight and a good for nothing junkie but after seeing him work Gus saw Jessie much reliable then he originally thought of and also saw the potential of Jessie. Also Walter is smart enough to not gave away his recipe unlike Jessie. So maybe Gus thought he might managed to get Walt's recipe from Jessie and then find another cook . I don't think it's lack of motive more so it's the classic method of "show don't tell" . Gus doesn't tell his entire villain plan in a evil monologue. You have figure out through his actions
Good comparison with Breaking Bad, people often try to say which is better but their are so different, while BB borderline the satire genere and being more black and white, the Ozark is more realistic, it actually portrays a better picture of the drug war, world of crime and all crossings interest. Definitely the best on tv right now after Succession.
my only issue with the decisions the characters make is that I as an audience member sometimes feel blindsided by all of them, their character may say "egotistical" or "irrational" but their character only makes the most irrational/egotistical decisions when it best suits the plot, and rarely leaves room for exploration on why/where their heads at as a character - this leaves me personally with the idea that things will happen, and I won't know why until maybe after, and have to assume more than I would with another show
What horse shit are you talking about bro ? To this day people still talk about how good Breaking Bads ending was .Breaking Bads ending was Soo good because how in the end Walter redeem himself while getting punished for his dirty deeds . I think you have watched a different show .
I binge-watched the series recently because my friend said "It's basically Breaking Bad but money laundering". Yeah, no. Ozark has great characters don't get me wrong, but Marty Bryde, the main protagonist, the lead, is not Walter White. The creators of this show proactively hate Marty because my god, he is nothing, he's weak, he's a yes man, he's so passive, so incompetent, so boring. The earlier season makes me can't wait to watch the later seasons to see how much Marty changed. Maybe become a braver man, a smarter man with a backup plan, precautions, a plan, whatever. But no, this is the biggest issue in the show, Marty Bryde is still the same character from the first episode, he barely changed.
Now that I've let the finale of Ozark set in. I can proudly say, Ozark, albeit, had it's moments. Did not hold a fucking candle to BB or BCS. BCS got nothing to do wit this but that show is infinitely better then Ozark. Ozarks finale was interesting. But it just felt anti-climactic.
I'd definitely say its not in that league, but I wouldn't say its infinitely worse at all... Even after that disappointing ending. I'd say the show is just in the league RIGHT below the likes of BrBa and BCS... Good enough to be compared in alot of aspects, but not quite as perfect. I personally felt like they rushed season the last parts of Season 4 and most likely would've done better if they had extended it. The payoff isnt as good either, but tbh I also had a problem with BCS's payoff.
I might say that Ozark stands comfortably in the shadow of Breaking Bad. But I would never think to suggest that was _accusing_ them of standing comfortably in the shadow. Whence would come that?
Dude you do exceptional work with these videos, great content once again. Will you consider creating content for the show SHAMELESS.... I really love the show and it would be great to watch your take(s)
I stuck through this saga, of which I had a lot of problems with, waiting for the big payoff (definitely not as sharp as the similar Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul series). And what do I get? Lord and Lady Macbeth get to live happy ever after! And the series kills off everybody at all decent. That may be the real world, especially so in the corrupt century we seem to be living in now, but it's hardly entertainment.
My biggest problem with the show is it ended up just being a complete waste of time. Nothing happens or I guess you could say the same thing just happened over and over and over again. It’s all set up with no pay off it’s all these threads that go nowhere. What a waste of a great show I don’t know what the fuck Netflix is doing right now.
I’ve watched ozark 3-4 times now and it sadly gets worse with every viewing. But it let me know breaking bad is special cause I’ve watched that 7-8 times and it’s great every time!!
After everything that's transpired it's hard to see the private investigator having any relevance. Everyone who's anyone, including the FBI, knows who killed who.
I hear everything you’re saying. On the surface, you’re correct. But when do, and how often, do people completely act against their own self interest with stakes so high? Even if we can see they may not be acting with their best interest from the outside, often they will BELIEVE that they are even if they are not and they will not act without that. Maya is a perfect example of that. A logical character who complete acts against her own self interest and more importantly her daughters interest. Jonah is another character with this problem. If the character was always emotional, fine. Like Javi. But then you have a boy genius like Jonah acting like a pre teen girl all of the sudden, that goes against who he’s been since the start of the story. Emotional outburst do not last for weeks at a time. A rational person may act in an irrational way for a moment, but they will not remain in that state for months at time. Even the most irrational people don’t remain in that state all of the time.
I don't think you understand people at all if you think a kid the age of Jonah, no matter how booksmart he is would be able to just deal with the fact that his uncle who he loved so much was murdered by his mother. To Jonah, money laundering is a video game, that's all it is, it doesn't mean anything aside from it's fun and he's good at it. Being good at money laundering doesn't mean he's not still a 14 year old boy with the temperament and childishness of someone his age. I think he's acted exactly how I would expect him to act, same goes for Maya. Maya is someone who really believes she's doing good by working for the government, that's a huge character flaw cause no one who works for the FBI should be thinking that way but so many people do because they see "fighting crime" as doing something noble. She basically thought she was batman but then she realized actually she's just a foot soldier fighting a useless war fought for profit and she couldn't accept that so she tried to hold on to her sense of morality. It was a dumb decision to arrest Navarro but so is thinking that the FBI are a force for good. In the end she achieved nothing, the cartel is still going and now it's being run by a mad man, she probably made things worse and her actions will probably lead to more people dying, we saw it immediately in the deaths of Wyatt and Darlene.
Bro you used the worst possible examples of characters for this you could've used... Jonah's character was never implied or insinuated to be ok with the deaths of family members, and Maya practically got blindsided by her bosses.
The difference between pragmatic and logical. Walt was pragmatic and analytical. Smart. But actual logic would have at the very least kept him from killing Gus and essentially ruining everything to feel like a badass. Marty is similar intellectually but the majority of the time is trying to untangle the knot, not master it
I know this happens in part B but Ruth Flying all the way to Miami to recruit a character from earlier seasons only to come back and take the Casino from Marty after she had already gotten her revenge made no sense even from her emotional point of view. The show tries to be smart but bad writing is just bad writing no matter how complex you try to make it... the last Jedi.
At this point Ruth had no love for the Byrdes, Wyatt is literally dead... Her whole life is practically ruined because of her and the Byrdes(but ofc as a human she'll mostly blame the Byrdes). As well as the fact that Wendy attempts to put the cops on Ruth to squeeze her for the deal she had with Clare. I dont see how her going after the Casino she previously managed is 'bad writing'...
Really? I loved his development and the way he took issue with Wendy. She is my least favorite character and I loved the backlash she had to deal with from one of her own. The ego that woman has. Willing to have her own son arrested just to come out on top.
The difference is that no matter what Wendy did, she tried to keep her kids alive. Jonah’s actions could have actually gotten someone killed. Yea Wendy let the cartel kill her brother but like did she have a choice? If she resisted, they would’ve killed her too. Jonah was annoyed bc he went against the family. No matter what happens, never go against the family. That’s the only rule in life.
@@RK-bz7hb Wendy completely assimilated into the cartel leader role and several times this season you can visibly see her getting off on manipulating, threatening and exploiting innocent people. Jonah is realizing the destructive nature this lifestyle is having on everyone their family comes in contact with and is beginning to open his eyes to who are actually in the wrong (the byrde family and the cartel). Sometimes as a kid you can find yourself in a situation where your family are the bad guys, and it’s then your responsibility to be brave enough to do what’s right. There are many more rules in life than not going against the family. Like not killing innocent people is a big one.
Ozark got progressively worse the more they killed off original characters. Del, Petty, Russ, Cade, Jacob were all more interesting than everyone that followed them (Helen is the exception, and they fucking killed her off for no reason as well)
Thank god they never lost the depth of the characters as the show went on. How many shows flattened out their characters to advance the plot? ***COUGH...Game of Thrones...COUGH***
Loved the first three series but season 4 Part 1 started getting very frustrating about halfway through. Julia Garner is still killing it but I feel like too many of the other s characters went full-on Season 8 GOT Tyrion-They overdosed on stupid pills. Very frustrating.
