Ozark: Season 3 Episode 4 “Boss Fight” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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As Marty gets a meeting with Navarro, Ruth gets the chance to prove herself and try to prove whether the student can come anywhere near the teacher.

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Directed By		Cherien Dabis
Written By		John Shiban
Aired (Netflix)		3/27/2020
Introduced This Episode
Young Marty	Jet Jurgensmeyer

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

As The Clock Tolls: Wendy, Agent Miller, Helen, Omar, Marty, Ben, Ruth

With Marty taken to Mexico and being tortured, that leaves Wendy and the rest to face the test of whether Marty is expendable. A test that, despite Ruth working with Marty closely, she cannot pass. For while smart as a whip, she isn’t trained on how to do the accounting Marty does. So between Agent Miller breathing down her neck and Ruth accidentally locking up one of the accounts, everyone is prepping to die. This includes Helen, who asks of her driver to at least provide a warning before it comes.

But, during all this madness, a silver lining is Ben. Someone who finds a way to help Wendy face the possibility she might become a widow and breaks through to Ruth to the point she initiates a kiss. Nothing long, surely not passionate, but a kiss which shows an appreciation for him trying. Be it to make her feel better or trying to woo her even though her life is a s*** show.

What Is It You Want: Marty, Omar

Alas, their worries might be for nothing. At least if you believe Marty’s return means his demands, that is more control over the operation, such as when things get laundered, have been granted. Much less this idea he could possibly turn Agent Miller and, at last, get the FBI off of Omar’s back. Which, based on what has been established, might mean Marty is going to jail for 18 months to become a federal contractor.

What Must Also Be Noted

1. Behind the title card
   1. Arcade Machine: From Marty’s flashback to when his dad was in the hospital
   2. Cell: Where Marty is being kept
   3. Downard Plane: A symbol that when the Navarro gang usually want to personally torture someone, they send a private plane
   4. Eagle Biting A Snake: The fact Marty is in Mexico since the symbol is of the Mexican flag.
2. One of the things which got Marty into numbers and probability seems to be, as his father was dying, learning how an arcade machine in the hospital operated.

On The Fence

Ruth and Ben Becoming A Thing

Is it weird that we never really sexualized Ruth? We recognized she is a woman, hence why she has to fight as hard as she does, but the idea of her being with someone, or needing to, has never been at the forefront. If anything, it seemed between Marty or Wendy, what she needed was someone to validate her and make her seem like an exception when it came to her family.

But, in many ways, one can say that she has moved beyond needing their validation, for she has shown, even if a foot soldier, she is capable of taking on vast responsibilities. So, with that in mind, why shouldn’t she be allowed happiness beyond monetary or a pat on the head?

Yet, there still feels something very off about Ben. Especially considering Agent Miller, who surely can find out Ben is on the run, doesn’t say or do anything to him. She doesn’t even push him to become a new informant. Thus continuing to push Ben probably is already in too deep and is just trying to figure a way to take Marty down and protect his sister. The only problem is, his sister keeps revealing stuff she is part of rather than what Marty specifically can be taken down for.

Marty Making A Comeback

Omar is a desperate man who is willing to make desperate maneuvers, if they make sense. Case in point, after cursing him out, saying he trusts no one, and fears nearly everyone, Marty gets to go home. Now, one could say Omar likes this fear and distrust, for that means Marty is in the same mindset he is in. However, this show has always been at its best when Marty was losing control, not gaining it. So with us just reaching the halfway mark, almost, what does this mean for the rest of the season?

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