Almost finished now. Ep 8 is particularly good. The scene where Wendy's brother gets sectioned to the alsyum is heartbreaking as he begs not to be sent away. It's very well played by all concerned. That scene is very moving.theres not a lot of feelings in the series because almost everyone is a psychopath. So it came as a relief to have some humanity. It's in short supply.
Just my 2 cents, but I thought the Actor who played Ben did in an incredible job. Especially considering he was playing someone with bipolar disorder, an often misunderstood and misrepresented disorder. I thought they presented both sides very realistically in the TV show.
Ozark Cinematographer Pepe Avila del Pino deliberately shot the entire show at 4400°K on Panasonic Varicam cameras to give it that characteristic "blue" look. So what you see was a specific creative choice. It's not my idea of a good time either, and I also think some of the interiors are too dark, but I get that it's what they wanted. I think if anything, they backed off on the blue and brightened things a bit for Season 3. How the 'Ozark' DP Created a ‘Gritty, Authentic Vibe’ with Consistent Color Temps and Practical Lighting
Oh, the blue definitely seems to broadcast a "cold" sort of feeling. I think it's effective. Plus, I still see the occasional use(or digital rendering of) grads in a few scenes. But the QC person in me feels like one or two of the guns stopped working on my monitor(ha ha). This is one hell of a show. The Panasonic cameras look quite good. Dan
Finished the series. What a damp squid the final episode was. Obviously the bimbo who looks like she's been on 50 year diet was going to get it. A great series with a very disappointing ending The problem with psychopaths is that their behaviour is entirely predictable. The actor who played Ben put in a tremendous performance. Was anyone surprised that his sister effectively killed him? The problem with the series is that it's not got anywhere to go given the characters in it. But more of the same isn't necessarily a bad thing. Not always
it was sort of a twist on Of Mice and Men ... George kills Lenny to prevent even worse cruelty at the hands of his captors.
I didn’t feel like the ending made a ton of sense. Navarro kills his long time associate to accept the Byrdes instead? Why? Helen was a snake but she had done nothing to undermine Navarro or the cartel. The Byrdes have proved more than once to be wild cards and problematic - unstable brother, in the presence of a high up cartel member killed, the FBI on their back, etc. It just seemed like a convenient way to end it and keep it going without it truly being logical. I’d think this show has one more season in it, max.
Interesting that they used that dual ISO Varicam camera. I spent a fair amount of time looking at the demo of that camera at NAB last year, impressive. I do agree that many of the interiors did seem excessively dark visually, almost to the point of being under-lit. Not criticizing though, nice look overall.
It's better in HDR than it is on a regular TV Set. Panasonic has not done well with the dual-ISO VariCam LT: not many people bought it and it's not widely used. They also cut the price from about $20,000 to $10,000, which is astonishingly cheap for a camera this good. You wouldn't know it could make lush, beautiful pictures from this show, but it can. There are moments in Ozark, particularly the day scenes with drones flying over the gambling paddle-wheelers, where it's fully bright and very colorful, and it gives you an idea of what the show could look like.
I'm surprised to hear that about that camera, I would have expected that it would have found a larger fan base given the track record of the Varicam. I must admit though that this is the first major production I've heard of that has used it. The one thing I have noticed about the look of the third season is that the flesh tones are substantially warmer this time around. I would assume that this too was a conscious decision made to effect the overall look. By the last half of the second season, the blue color palette was getting pretty strong. Makes one wonder if there was a directive made based on viewers observations to make a change.
well i for one was surprised as hell at the killing of Helen. while on the surface it seems illogical, when the next season begins, we will surely learn of Navarro's reasons. which will probably have little to do with anything we were shown previously. i can not wait for Ozark to return.
The killing of Helen was meant to be shocking. Let's remember that the killing of Jacob in S2 was shocking as was the killing of Del in S1. See a pattern forming here? I like the show and am anxious for it to return, but I just don't see how things can play out much more. As I said, I see it having one more season, tops.
My first reaction was the same, but then I thought about it. By the end of the season, Helen and the Byrdes are on a collision course. Helen is so entrenched that it is hard to see her losing an internal turf war. But consider: First, a loyal and ruthless fixer is great, but is there much question at this point that both of the Byrdes are extremely resourceful and valuable in ways that are basically impossible to replicate? Second, being able to leave clean money and legal businesses to your kids would have to be an appealing proposition for a crime boss. Helen does not offer this. Third, Helen's insistence that her daughter know nothing made the daughter (and therefore Helen) a liability.
Navarro probably found out or realized Helen was plotting against the Byrds. Seems reason enough to me. Plus as socorro says, the Byrds add unique value whereas attorneys are a dime a dozen. I thought this season was great and better than season 2. The Byrds seem to endlessly come up with one idea after another and they quickly move to manipulate others with routine success. I find this implausible but it does make for a fast moving, entertaining show.
In fairness, lawyers might be a dime a dozen, but fixers are not. At least on screen, Helen did little legal work.
Just finished it. The best show ever. I think Byrds tipped the scale when they suggested FBI can be set to chase another cartel. The brother personage was stunning. Couple stretches in the plot : Two intelligent people would not go to a shrink, especially in their situation. And more importantly - no way in hell they would have that loud conversation in her presence. I liked how their daughter because more realistic. The son will be a problem. They've built a good base for the next season. I didn't quite get if she actually called with their location, or she just let her brother use that burner he bought.
I loved it to be honest. I think it's a tremendous show, but like you I don't really understand why Helen was dispatched? She hadn't done anything disloyal to Navarro and surely could have been deployed elsewhere in the organisation? Seemed like a waste of a loyal and experienced employee to me!
Well, like I noted, somebody you don't expect is going to get the grease for the finale of a season. This time it was Helen. Tune in a year from now, and we'll see who it is next.
I am sure it will be explained "why" in the season 4 opener. They can't just let something like that hang.
Helen was tortured in the beginning of the season. It shows that she is not as important and valuable as it seemed in the previous season. It makes her killing less surprising. She was digging under Byrds, and the main a$$hole had chosen them instead.
