By Perry Willis
Words: 468
Michelle Hoff (the Hoff) and I finished watching "Ozark" last night on Netflix. It was a great series. The characters were fabulous and the plot was gripping and mostly free of fake drama.
Fake drama is when the writers create a scene or plot device that their characters would not really do, or that could not really happen, simply because the writers think it is interesting, or because they need it to make their Rube Goldberg structure work. In my opinion, shows are more or less bad depending on the quality of the characters, and/or the amount of fake drama used.
Ozark had only a few moments of fake drama. They kept it real for the most part, or real enough to make it work. The characters were consistent and the plot was mostly logical and compelling The Hoff and I looked forward to each episode with great anticipation. We didn't like having to pause to get the last half of the last season.
Ruth was our favorite character, and one of the best characters ever in anything. Getting to know her was worth the time spent watching the series, all by itself. Marty Bird was our second favorite character, but we constantly wanted Wendy Bird to die.
About Wendy - we kept noticing her say things and use tones of voice and facial expressions that eerily reminded us of Walter White from Breaking Bad. Was this intentional?
Speaking of potential influences - Wendy and Marty also reminded me a little bit of Bill and Hillary Clinton (though Marty Bird is a vastly better person than Bill). The plot also rhymes just a bit with the events that happened at Mena, Arkansas during the Clinton governorship. Was this the reason the producers set the story in that area?
Has anyone else noticed these things? Actually, I have a friend who knows the show's creator, so I will have to ask her. She may know. I will update here if I learn anything.
So what about the ending? The Hoff and I both thought they mostly stuck the landing, only to add a coda to their climax that stepped on their own dick. We prefer to think that the story really concludes with the first part of the ending, and that the tortured non-sensical coda didn't really happen.
The Hoff and I both recommend the show.
Perry Willis was the Executive Director of the national Libertarian Party and has managed or worked on six Libertarian Party presidential campaigns. He is the co-founder of Downsize DC and the Zero Aggression Project. He also co-created the One Subject at a Time Act, the Read the Bills Act, and the Write the Laws Act, all of which have been introduced in Congress.