Netflix's Ozark that tells the story of Marty and Wendy Byrde (Jason Bateman and Laura Linney) and their constant struggle to keep themselves and their two children alive. Marty and his former partner were laundering money for the Columbian drug cartel. Everything went south and now Marty is tasked to repay a debt in the most unlikely of places, The Ozarks of Missouri.
Marty spends every waking moment trying to keep them alive using his wits. Sometimes it works. Other times he inadvertently gets them closer to danger. Here are five ways Marty kept his family safe and five decisions that almost spelled doom.
Danger: Marty Tells About The Cartel
In Season one, Ruth is introduced working in the motel where the Byrdes are staying. While the family is out, Ruth enters their room and steals their bags of cartel cash.
Marty tracks Ruth down, finding her with her criminal family. When they threaten him, Martry tells about the major drug dealers that would come looking for their money. This lets Ruth's family know that he is in the criminal world and puts them on to schemes of how to get his money, which adds more troubles for Marty.
Safety: Marty Impresses Del With His Quick Thinking
Marty and his partner were laundering money for the cartel for quite a while. When his partner is caught skimming, the cartel sends their top enforcer, Del (Esai Morales) to find out where the money is and kill them for their betrayal.
After killing his partner, Del is ready to shoot Marty but, knowing they will kill his family, he tells Del that he can make his money back with greater profits. Del sees something in Marty's abilities and figures he can make him look good with his boss and gives Marty another chance.
Danger: Marty Gets Involved With Jacob
Marty stays clear of Jacob Snell (Peter Mullan), a local drug supplier who has built a small empire throughout the Ozarks with his homegrown product. Jacob sits on his ranch with his wife/ "Lady Macbeth" Darlene (Lisa Emery) quietly running his business and living a rich life.
In order to keep the peace after Jacob threatens him, Marty enters a necessary relationship with the backwoods drug king. This doesn't bring the balance that Marty hoped for and the situation for the Byrde family becomes more dangerous and as dark as the show itself.
Safety: Marty and Wendy Get Close To Buddy
When Wendy finds the family a house, it comes with a catch. Buddy (Haris Yulin) owns it and lives there. He is old and dying with less than a year to live. The catch is that he is allowed to live in the basement until he dies. Buddy promises to leave them to their lives if they leave him alone.
Buddy takes a shine to the family and becomes a friend and moral com of sorts for their son Jonah. Living underneath, he hears all and gives both Marty and Wendy advice and a much-needed ear. He is also a savior. When gunmen come to the house, it is Buddy who saves the family from certain death, becoming one of the most beloved characters of the Netflix show.
Danger: Marty And Wendy Underestimate Darlene
Darlene Snell was always quick to kill off her and her husband's enemies rather than "playing nice". Marty and Wendy figured that Jacob could keep her under control.
They misjudged how much Darlene could be controlled. In Seasons Two and Three, certain events transpire that bring the cunning and vicious Darlene to the forefront causing more trouble for The Byrdes and setting up Darlene to be a major Netflix villain.
Safety: Marty And Wendy Make Moves To Go Legit
Laundering money is tough but Marty does what it takes to make it work.
By the end of Season Three, we find Marty and Wendy making their business dealings public and seemingly legit. This allows them good standing in the community, giving the Byrde family name a legitimacy.
Danger: Marty And Wendy Lie To Their Kids
In an already unstable environment due to Wendy's unfaithfulness and Marty's money laundering, the Byrde children were already unstable.
After uprooting them from their life in Chicago to the Ozarks, the Byrde children demanded answers. Despite the kids being wise beyond their years, Wendy and Marty lied to them time and again about why they had to move. In these lies and a few events in Season Three, the Byrdes further widened the divide between them and their children, causing them to act out beyond that of the normal teens/preteens.
Safety: Marty Keeps Ruth Close
Marty and Ruth started as enemies. As the show progressed, they became unlikely allies.
Marty realized it is smart to keep Ruth close. He saw that she was smarter than her family and the environment in which she chose to live. He wants her to do better for herself. In keeping her close, he not only helps Ruth but endears himself to her, further ensuring their safety.
Danger: Wendy Undervalues Ruth
While Marty keeps Ruth close, Wendy keeps her at a somewhat of a distance. Ruth feels as if she is becoming a makeshift part of the family but after Ruth becomes involved with Wendy's brother, Wendy begins to dislike Ruth.
After never fully trusting Ruth's abilities to help, Wendy unwisely lets her know how she feels and informs her she is a mere employee to them, setting in motion Ruth questioning sides.
Safety: Marty And Wendy's Perseverance
Through the thick of it all, Marty marched on to save his family. After a shaky start and much distrust, Wendy eventually began to dig in and take after Marty, as she started doing everything she could to make things right with the cartel.
By the Season Three finale, Marty and Wendy are flown down to meet face to face with the head of the cartel, Navarro. Neither knows what will happen but, once there, Navarro does something powerful to let them know that their perseverance did, indeed, pay off and that he was now embracing them both, welcoming their paths to the future.