Binging. Thanks Scott. Yeah, two episodes in and it’s just as good as S1. And the cinematography is fine. Vox is being Vox, @charmtrap
I really enjoyed Season 2, though I’m concerned this is a series that really needs to max out at 3 or 4 seasons or else it will overstay it’s welcome.
So the S3 antagonist will be the Kansas City Mob with an assist from crazy Darlene.
What I don’t get is … can the gaming license be revoked? Why can’t they open the shop and make the jobs all union anyway?
Agree with that. But it is nice to see a show like this with so many strong characters played by good actors, especially the women. Wendy, Ruth, Darlene, Helen, Rachel - these are great characters, and the women who play them are spectacular. They must be having a ball.
Janet McTeer is fantastic as Helen. Great addition for S2.
Just got renewed for season 3.
I watched the first two episodes of the first season and neither hated nor loved it, but it sounds like this show is worth the investment of time/attention, huh?
I’ve enjoyed it. The performances are really first rate. Casting as well. The script is pretty good.
Has become one of my favorite Netflix shows. Agree that the acting is great and isn’t shy about going dark and messed up. The last episode of this season was crazy but good with the “reset” having some interesting possibilities.
Finally got around to finishing Season Two this weekend. We had watched the first 7 episodes in the two weeks after the season dropped on Netflix, but then took a long hiatus to watch other stuff partly because “new fall TV season” and partly because Season Two just hadn’t gripped us the way the first season did.
The final three episodes made up for it though. I enjoyed how they tied up several loose ends while at the same time leaving room for those “solutions” to come back and cause potential issues for the Byrds and others down the road. The “twist” at the end, where someone changes their mind at the last minute, was telegraphed a mile away, but obviously there would be no show if it didn’t happen that way.
-
Now that Wendy has decided they will stay put, I expect she will also try to “rescue” the baby from Darlene, which will in turn nullify Marty’s agreement with Darlene to pretty much go away and let the casino and the cartel do their thing.
-
Ruth was somewhat underutilized this season, though understandably so given the focus on the casino, cartel and the Snells, but I expect she will play a huge role in Season 3 as Marty leans on her more and more with everything they have going on. The actress who plays Ruth is the best thing about this show, she does a great job making such an initially unlikeable and consistently abrasive character into someone you actively root for and care about.
-
It’s kind of weird that the KC mob would have their underwear in a bunch already given that Marty has all but assured them he will find a way to take care of them and that the project was dead without the initial “no union” clause. The show did not provide any details about why the mob needs the shop to be union so badly, and thus why they’re so pissed off.
-
Finally, now that the casino is a done deal, you would think that the cartel would be more interested in protecting their interests with Marty, not less. The relationship should have shifted from mistrust and threats of violence to more of a partnership with the cartel protecting Marty, his family and their interests. That sets up a cartel vs. mob standoff in the Ozarks, which would be interesting to see play out.
Great she was really good in Ozark.
Back on March 27
1/2 way through season 3, so far very good.
I see they’re not giving up on that blue filter.
Awesome, thanks for the reminder that it’s back!
Halfway through 5: The conflict between Marty and Wendy is really good this season. The stakes seem appropriate (what they can gain as well as lose) and it’s of course very well acted. I like how much work they put in to hide the conflict, by contrast to the other intra-relationship conflicts, this season and previously. I’m feeling the right kind of trepidation when they risk exposing their conflict, especially when Wendy kept talking to the cartel boss. Marty’s kidnapping seemed relatively consequential (as opposed to an arbitrary plot device. Although I tend not to like cartel boss characters’ stereotypes—too much a stretch from gangster’s actual antisocial traits—it’s nice to have the measured lawful evil of Dell back.
What I do not like: Wyatt, older men hanging out with Jonah stories, repeating Charlotte’s season one story with Helen’s daughter, Uncle Ben (basically a Langmore except they can film in the Byrde’s home.) But I had similar complaints about season two and I think things are better overall. Looking forward to the rest of the season.
After finishing it, I liked how the season turned on Marty’s imprisonment. Bateman portrayed a major change in his life well. Disappointed in that ending; how in the world is that cheap kill satisfying as a cliffhanger after the family did so much emotional work to re-unite and examine themselves after Ben’s death? And how does Helen’s death advance the plot when Helen was only in the show to give the cartel local presence; won’t they just have to have another Helen, assuming Navarro doesn’t start hanging out in the Ozarks with his kids? Why is Cosgrove’s enmity interesting? Why is Ruth turning against the Byrds interesting? I think Breaking Bad fandom, or the show’s perception of the fandom, is setting expectations for seasons 4 and 5 of this show that won’t serve it well. That said, I enjoyed myself! I just feel misaligned when things had been going so well.
To me the most interesting episodes were 8 and 9, and the family trying to deal with Ben’s mental illness. Any show that starts of good and gets better for 3 seasons has my respect.
The finale wasn’t great, but it was satisfying.
Been avoiding the spoilers in this thread. My wife and I started watching this about 2 weeks ago. We just finished episode 8 of the 2nd season.
She likes it more than I do. It is okay, but ridiculous. Each spiral just creates new problems, which they then make new deals to remedy, which leads to even more new problems, etc. etc. ad infinitum. Which is the point, I realize, but it just gets stupid.
All that being said, the one thing really spoiling it for me is Charlotte. She isn’t a character, she’s a plot device. I can just hear the conversation in the writer’s room: “hmm, we need something fresh. Oh, I know, have Charlotte do something stupid again!”