Discuss Ozark
Discuss → TV Shows → Ozark → General
Not to be that guy, but I am surprised this show is currently rated 8.1...
posted by Daddie0STAFFMOD on September 26, 2017 at 12:00 PM
I put off starting this series even though I kept hearing great things (and Netflix kept pushing it). I finally decided to take the plunge knowing I'd likely binge watch it (which I did in just over a day or two I think). Anyway, I did enjoy it but must admit I was a bit shocked to see it rated so highly here. For me a couple of things were at play:
- Especially early in the series, it felt a bit "Breaking Bad-ish". Now maybe it's the similar-while-not-quite-the-same story line or whatever, I just felt like it was treading some ground that has already been done in such an excellent way, but in the end I decided to press on.
- The characters were pretty over-the-top. Not just their lines but their appearance and mannerisms. It was more cliche than character. Plus there were a whole bunch of "wow-that-was-convenient" moments and decisions to move the plot along.
- I kept trying to geo-locate the film's happenings, I mean, after all it is in the title. Now I know this is fiction, and a real movie about the Ozarks would be pretty boring, but some of the stuff is so outlandish I wonder how often other locations are so radically misrepresented. And, yeah, I know the real Ozarks, so that's likely the problem.
All that being said, I did finish season 1, and I'd say that about 2/3 of the way through some of the goofy characters began to calm down a bit, or perhaps I just normalized them in my mind. Characters like the poppy farmer have become such a trope (heck the Mexican cartel leader too) that they could be straight out of BB, Longmire or Sons of Anarchy. It seems to be getting blatantly formulaic, or maybe I have just watched too many recent series at this point. But in the end...an 8.1?
I'm hoping Season 2 can step up the game somehow, I'm just not sure how. Anyone else feel this way?
Reply by FatDrunkAndStupid
on September 28, 2017 at 6:11 AM
I did not really see any Breaking Bad comparisons. In Breaking Bad Walt's story arch is far more dramatic with him being a world class chemist who walked away from being a billionaire because of a woman and is essentially broken as a man and then "breaks" bad after being given a death sentence from the doctor. Marty is just a regular guy with no particular problems who is made an offer to join a criminal enterprise and takes it pretty much because of the money. The Ozark story line is far more normal and realistic, and that is why I found it refreshing. If there is a "Breaking Bad" element to the story it is in the wife who agrees to go along with Marty's scheme mostly because she has recently gone through a Walt-like life crisis and is depressed and bored.
Didn't think the characters were all that over the top. The setting didn't strike me as that off either. Blue Cat Lodge reminded me somewhat of Dog Days if it had a little hotel attached to it.
Reply by JustinJackFlash
on January 31, 2018 at 9:49 AM
Yeah, 8.1 is a bit over the top. It's a good series. But it's not legendary. It's a familiar story that just happens to be fairly well written and acted. I did enjoy it but I can think of quite a few shows this year that I enjoyed more.