2x02 The Precious Blood of Jesus

In 2019, Scorsese ruminated on the death of the mob movie. This followed the entire run of The Sopranos similarly reckoning with the decline of the genre. When Breaking Bad and then Better Call Saul started, it proved that the life of crime drama likely lies in adjacent areas previously unexplored: how does one get tied up in organized crime or the drug trade? To what extent does culpability corrupt?

Ozark asks no questions of its viewers. It wrestles with very little. It’s still a downward spiral for the Byrdes, but as of this point there’s no sense that Marty is seriously grasping with these consequences. He has been affected by his circumstances, but his character has not seriously changed. The character trajectory is similarly that downward spiral, but without any sense of alteration like we’re used to seeing.

What is on screen is a shuffling of popular film and TV in the modern era. There’s elements of Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, House of Cards. Ozark is all too willing to bring in extraneous elements without justifying their inclusion or carving its own path. In episode two, the political subplot is so present it borderline makes it feel like I should expect an Underwood.

I don’t understand the heart of this show. I know the premise, and understood (past tense) the plot. However as the show pushes forward I worry we’re going to start losing the scent. Marty is forced into becoming who he is becoming, but I’m waiting for the shift where he takes the responsibility.