# Ozark, or How I Got Suckered Yet Again **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 4, 2017, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743 "2017-08-04T03:08:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743/21 "2017-08-06T14:12:07Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Uh, you wouldn’t happen to have a link to the article handy? It was from the Wikipedia page, but here’s the NYT article it came from: [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/18/arts/television/the-handmaids-tale-finale-showrunner-interview.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/18/arts/television/the-handmaids-tale-finale-showrunner-interview.html) ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743/22 "2017-08-06T15:46:46Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > It was from the Wikipedia page, but here’s the NYT article it came from: > [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/18/arts/television/the-handmaids-tale-finale-showrunner-interview.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/18/arts/television/the-handmaids-tale-finale-showrunner-interview.html) Thanks! It’s fine, of course, if it stays the same quality as the first season… But maybe I’ve had too many experiences like the OP’s, but I’m skeptical. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743/23 "2017-08-06T22:54:33Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > I call this _Lost_ Syndrome. > > I watched a few episodes of season one, and it was clear to me that the writers didn’t have a direction or a resolution in mind, they were just making it up as they went along. So I stopped watching. I was a little surprised years later when the series ended that anyone was upset by the lack of a satisfying conclusion. When you talk about “Lost Syndrome”, I know exactly what you mean, but I don’t think it started to happen for that show until season 3 or 4. The first two seasons were marvelous and ingenious in their content setup. So many of the ideas they introduced or suggested were so compelling and intriguing, especially for network TV and before today’s golden age: Secret weirdo 70s experiments, lost civilizations, cold war-type encrypted radio signals all on a tropical, phase-shifted island where polar bears roamed the jungle. Nobody was doing stuff like this. Wow, sign me up! But as the story progressed, in the interest of stretching the ratings, they were continually writing creative checks in which they had no interest or capability of cashing. Towards the end I remember thinking, “How in the hell are they going to tie all this up??!?” Haha, joke’s on us, they weren’t: They essentially smoke-bombed the stage and snake-oiled their asses out of there. See ya suckas! Towards the end I imagine them sitting around: "How about a gorilla in a hot air balloon? …Tony? “…No…, well, hmmm… no.” “He could throw down coconuts. And inside would be golden keys.” “Opening?” “…Other coconuts?” “What if we tie it all into the French Revolution?” And so on. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743/24 "2017-08-07T02:49:42Z")
It’s funny that the OP uses Ripper Street as an example of a show that did it the right way. The natural and perfect end of the series was the finale of season 3. Then they brought it back for a couple of seasons. > [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …Lost co-show runner Damon Lindelof’s next TV series the Leftovers (show-runner with Tom Perrotta) demonstrated that Damon had learnt his lesson. (Even though I personally loved Lost, even the finale, I understood the criticisms.) It was a brilliant series, only three seasons, with a clear beginning, middle, and a perfect ending. Look up Lindelof’s recent interview with Chris Hardwick. One of the things he explained was that they wanted to talk about ending the series but the network wouldn’t listen until it had already become very bloated. If it was up to him it would have been wrapped up earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743/25 "2017-08-07T04:19:16Z")
The nice thing about Netflix is that you can shelve a series and easily go back to it if it somehow gets its footing. I agree that Ozark gets too implausible too quickly, and not just plotwise. None of the character interactions seem at all genuine. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743/26 "2017-08-13T21:45:59Z")
I watched the British version of House of Cards, and it began and ended - beautifully. I watched the first series of the American version, and if it had ended there, it would have been equally as good. Instead, they had to keep making episodes for no clear reason. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743/27 "2017-08-14T13:31:41Z")
> [@jkirkman](#): > > - > > The fulcrums for this shift were the two teen girls–Charlotte and June. Both, over time, and especially as the series went deep, shifted their families towards each other. I’m pretty sure the Langmore girl is Ruth. Other than that, I agree with most of what you wrote. Finished the series last night, and am hoping they bring it back. It’s not great TV, but it’s pretty good TV. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743/28 "2017-08-15T18:37:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If you’re going to run a series for multiple seasons, base it on a premise that can hold up for that long. This is one reason I liked Justified so well. In addition to being well-written and acted, they did wrap up each season to at least a reasonable degree. Each season had a different central plot and unique characters, even though the main characters continued from year to year. > [@](#): > > One of the more annoying examples for me was “My Name Is Earl.” Earl had a clearly defined story set up (his list) and I’d have happily followed him on the road to enlightenment. But when it became a hit, it went off the rails and seemed to no longer care about that story and became just another wacky sitcom. I dropped it, like about half the audience, and it abruptly ended, leaving the audience and producers unsatisfied. I agree completely. I really liked the pilot and first (and maybe second) season. But it did truly go off the rails. The same thing is happening with Person of Interest and (now) The Blacklist. Each started with an interesting premise, but ended up going off in strange directions. I would put House of Cards and Orange is the New Black in a similar category, too. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743/29 "2017-08-18T21:05:10Z")
I enjoyed it. Good summary by jkirkman, plus I’d bet we’ll also see Ruth’s dad get out of prison. Ruth’s uncles were clearly scared of him; so he’s probably a pretty nasty dude. I wonder if we’ll see anymore of Rachel, the owner of the Blue Cat Lodge. This didn’t say spoilers, so I guess I’ll cover the rest of this… If she stays away, she was the smartest one of them all; and she took a small enough amount of money where maybe Marty will just make up the difference. While it was kind of contrived in the end. The crazy old bat Darlene Snell murdering Del actually saved Marty; because otherwise he likely would have been in the vehicle with Del when they got busted at the end of the driveway; which would have put Petty’s plan into motion of making Del worry that Marty was ratting him out. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743/30 "2017-08-19T01:36:38Z")
So while Michael Bluth was laundering $8 million in already-clean money as a summertime demonstration, how was Evil Rodriguez processing his drug money, which I assume comes in fairly steadily and copiously? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ozark-or-how-i-got-suckered-yet-again/792743.md?page=1)