Catch up with Ozark's complicated criminals before season 4 hits Netflix

The first part of the twist-filled drama's final season premieres January 21

By Saloni Gajjar | January 17, 2022 | 6:00am

TV Features Netflix

Catch up with Ozark's complicated criminals before season 4 hits Netflix

Clockwise from left: Laura Linney (Photo: Steve Dietl/Netflix), Julia Garner (Photo: Steve Dietl/Netflix), Jason Bateman (Photo: Steve Dietl/Netflix), Sofia Hublitz, Skylar Gaertner (Photo: Netflix), Lisa Emery, and Charlie Tahan (Photo: Netflix) Graphic: Natalie Peeples

New episodes of Netflix’s simmering crime drama Ozark last premiered in March 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was setting in. While it’s been only two years since season three landed, it feels much longer. Created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, the show follows the misadventures of Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) and his wife Wendy (Laura Linney) as they launder money for a Mexican cartel.

Ozark’s third season was its most daring yet, full of personal and shocking cliffhangers, including Wendy setting up the murder of her brother Ben (Tom Pelphrey), and the Byrdes getting closer to cartel leader Omar Navarro (Felix Solis) after he kills their lawyer and liaison, Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer).

The fourth and final season will be divided into two parts. The first, consisting of seven episodes, premieres on January 21. It catches up with the Byrde family as they deal with the fallout of losing a loved one, and introduces two new characters: Javi Elizonndro (Alfonso Herrera), a man eager to take over the cartel, and private investigator Mel Sattem (Adam Rothenberg).

To help you get ready ahead of season four, The A.V. Club has put together a handy guide to Ozark’s key characters and their complicated plotlines.

Marty Byrde

Character: Marty ByrdeActor: Jason BatemanOzark journey so far: Financial advisor Marty moves from Chicago to the Lake of the Ozarks with his family to launder money for the Navarro cartel. He clears illegal cash by buying various businesses, from a lodge to a strip club to a funeral home. He also makes enemies with the local crime family, the Snells. Marty recently built a casino, the Missouri Belle, to make his laundering seamless, and he runs it with the help of protégé Ruth Langmore. Oh, and he’s constantly looking for a way out of this chaos he’s created.Where we left off: Marty is trying to run Missouri Belle without any legal interference, but the FBI is nosing around again. Agent Maya Miller unsuccessfully asks Marty to testify against the Navarros. Instead, to avoid jail time, Marty starts solving other financial crimes for her.Meanwhile, his marriage is a mess. Even couples therapy sessions fail badly—Marty has to literally bribe the counselor to take his side. He temporarily moves out, but returns home after being kidnapped by the cartel and taken to Mexico. The incident terrifies him so much that he believes it’s the end of the road. In the finale, the Byrdes get caught up with leader Omar Navarro when he kills Helen Pierce instead of them. What’s he doing in season four? Marty and Wendy have become second-in-command to Omar. If we know Marty, he’s not happy being the messenger. He’s already planning an escape to keep his family safe. The trailer shows frequent scenes between him and Maya, so maybe they’ll both bring the Navarros down. Either way, the chances of Marty riding off into a peaceful sunset seem awfully slim.

Wendy Byrde

Character: Wendy ByrdeActor: Laura LinneyOzark journey so far: With apologies to Marty, it turns out his wife is the real criminal mastermind. Wendy was happy staying out of her husband’s illegal activities in Chicago, but in the Ozarks she has transformed into a formidable money laundering queen. With each season, Wendy digs deeper into the business by using her political know-how. She schemes with her landlord to avoid being caught by the feds, and is responsible for the death of Ruth’s spiteful father. She’s starts a foundation with the goal of moving ahead politically and helping people with the illegal cash. Where we left off: The third season is a dark turning point for Wendy. She ventures out on her own to propose an expansion to Omar Navarro with the help of Helen, eventually becoming the recipient of his secret late-night calls. This partnership adds to the tension in her marriage, especially when Marty begins spying on her. Not one to stay behind, she also bribes their couples therapist to take her side. Her younger brother Ben Davis arrives in the Ozarks. He doesn’t approve of their business and manages to blow things up by threatening a lot of people and revealing Helen’s job to her daughter. Realizing there’s no other way to keep her kids safe, Wendy performs her most ruthless act yet: She gives up Ben’s location to Helen, who wants him dead. She might be down a sibling, but Wendy is finally the leader she’s always wanted to be. What’s she doing in season four? The emotional toll of betraying Ben will not be easy, especially since she has to pretend he’s missing. But she’ll face venomous reactions from her son, Jonah, who knows what she did. Cue the annoying teenager trope.

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Ruth Langmore

Character: Ruth LangmoreActor: Julia GarnerOzark journey so far: Ruth Langmore is a hustler. After robbing Marty when he moves to town, she convinces him to take her on as his very own Jesse Pinkman. She hopes to learn the tricks of the trade, but doesn’t plan for their father-daughter-type bond. It shouldn’t be too surprising considering her actual dad is a manipulative prick. Still, Ruth’s relationship with Marty becomes worse when her dad, Cade Langmore, arrives from prison. Despite earning Marty’s trust, Ruth temporarily betrays him in season two by trying to steal from him for Cade. But she eventually sends her dad packing, only for Wendy to kill him for his actions. Also, Ruth kills her uncle Russ. When her beloved cousin Wyatt finally learns that she killed his dad, he cuts off ties. Where we left off: Still reeling from Wyatt dumping her as family, Ruth busies herself in the casino. She also makes an enemy out of Frank Cosgrove Jr., the son of the Kansas City mob leader who does business with Marty. In fact, she demands that Marty seek revenge for their behavior towards her to show solidarity, but he doesn’t agree, much to her chagrin. Ruth also develops a romantic relationship with Wendy’s brother, Ben. They’re cute, but it doesn’t last long. She decides to part ways completely with the Byrdes when she learns of Ben’s death. Ruth makes up with Wyatt, joining him and Darlene Snell in their heroin business instead. What’s she doing in season four? Ruth is using her money laundering skills to help Wyatt and Darlene. She’s also convinced Jonah—who is also pissed about Ben’s death—to come over to her side. Her war with the Byrdes is about to blow up.

Charlotte Byrde

Character: Charlotte ByrdeActor: Sofia HublitzOzark journey so far: Like any normal teen would be, Charlotte is not a fan of suddenly moving to the middle of nowhere. Wendy quickly tells the kids about Marty’s illegal career. Charlotte doesn’t approve but reluctantly helps them. In season two, she’s given up hope and even tries to emancipate herself. She briefly gets together with Wyatt and is used as a pawn by Ruth’s dad to get money out of Wendy. But otherwise, she’s mostly just stuck in the freaking Ozarks.Where we left off: Knowing she has nowhere to go, Charlotte joins her mother to help promote Missouri Belle on the “legal” side of the family business. Charlotte befriends Erin Pierce, and the two even get arrested along with Jonah, which causes a stir between their parents. What’s she doing in season four? It looks like Charlotte may finally get more to do now that Ruth is no longer a part of the extended family. She’ll step up to help manage the casino.

Jonah Byrde

Character: Jonah ByrdeActor: Skylar GaertnerOzark journey so far: Jonah instantly bonds with the Byrdes’ new landlord, Buddy (Harris Yulin), when the family moves to the Ozarks. Buddy even teaches Jonah how to shoot after learning about his parents’ money laundering. At one point, Marty’s adversary Darlene shaves Jonah’s head to send some kind of twisted message. Where we left off: Jonah starts earning money by playing multiplayer online games and uses a newly gifted drone to monitor security at the house. He’s very close to Ben—Jonah bonds with any male authority figure in his life except Marty—so he’s enraged when his uncle dies. He threatens Helen at gunpoint for answers, only to learn his own mother had Ben killed. What’s he doing in season four? A lot. Jonah is angry at Wendy, so he switches allegiances to Ruth, Wendy, and Darlene. Who cares if one of his new partners in crime gave him that tragic haircut? Will Marty be proud of his young son for laundering, or upset that he’s lost those skills to his nemeses?

Darlene Snell

Character: Darlene SnellActor: Lisa EmeryOzark journey so far: We know two things for sure about Darlene Snell. She has no problem being assertive, and she hates being called a redneck. Darlene and her husband, Jacob Snell (Peter Mullan), run the poppy farm and heroin supply in town. Their business takes a hit when the Byrdes arrive, but by the end of season one, Jacob decides to team up with Marty and the Navarro cartel. Darlene doesn’t like it, so she swiftly poisons the love of her life. She also successfully blackmails Wendy into getting custody of baby Zeke, the infant of town pastor Mason Young, played by Michael Mosley. The Snells killed Young’s wife after Mason learned they were using his floating church to deal drugs.Where we left off: Darlene is still raising Zeke. She helps out Wyatt when he gets locked up for squatting in rich people’s houses. The two start a weird romance that shocks even Ruth. However, to bring Ruth to their side, Darlene smartly does what Marty couldn’t: seek revenge for how the Kansas City mob treated her. She’s also restarting her heroin business with the Langmore clan by her side.What’s she doing in season four? Darlene has found her poppy-farm purpose once more, so she’s on a mission to ruin the Byrdes’ lives and go against any demands the Navarros may make of her.

Wyatt Langmore

Character: Wyatt LangmoreActor: Charlie TahanOzark journey so far: It’s totally okay to feel bad for Wyatt. He’s a smart cookie who loves to read, but his upbringing doesn’t allow him to succeed, even after he gets admitted to college. He becomes depressed after the death of his father, finding brief respite in a bond with Charlotte. But all that goes for a toss when he learns Ruth was responsible for Russ’s murder.Where we left off in season three: Alone and feeling abandoned, Wyatt sets up shop with Darlene when she bails him out of prison. He comes to her defense in court when baby Zeke is up for custody. Darlene convinces him that Marty and Wendy, not Ruth, are responsible for all their troubles. Wyatt then forgives his cousin, luring her to his side—and into opposition with the Byrdes.What’s he doing in season four? He’s still shacking up with Darlene and helping to grow her heroin trade.

Omar Navarro

Character: Omar NavarroActor: Felix SolisOzark journey so far: As the head of the cartel, Omar did his bidding through his lieutenants, including Camino Del Rio (Esai Morales) in season one, and Helen Pierce after that. Where we left off: Omar shows up in season three, ready to flaunt his private planes. He likes Wendy’s expansion plan, so he ropes in the Byrdes to further expand his business. Omar also asks them to help him battle the Lagunas cartel when they take the fight to the Ozarks and almost kill Ruth. Helen tries to tell him the Byrdes are nothing but trouble, but Omar loves trouble. He kills Helen and promotes Marty and Wendy in her stead. What’s he doing in season four? Omar is struggling to retain control of the business. He seems ready to exit the cartel altogether, even if it means teaming up with the FBI. He’s passing the antagonist mantle to his nephew, Javi.

Maya Miller

Character: Maya MillerActor: Jessica Frances DukesOzark journey so far: FBI agent Maya Miller is relegated to the Ozarks in season three. Before that, the turf belonged to agent Roy Petty (Jason Butler Harner), who tried to nab Marty and Co. before getting smashed in the head by Ruth’s father. Where we left off: Maya zooms into Marty’s world, offering him a deal to work for the FBI after an 18-month incarceration period. Marty considers accepting but uses the deal as bait instead. Unable to strike gold despite conducting lots of interrogations, Maya is ordered back to Washington, D.C. What’s she doing in season four?: Maya, now heavily pregnant, faces repercussions at FBI headquarters. She’s set to head back into the dangerous Ozark territory, and get more involved with the Byrdes and Omar Navarro as both parties seek an out.