Ozark: Season 4/ Episode 12 “Trouble The Water” – Recap/ Review

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It’s a wonderful day in the Ozarks for Ruth as Wendy’s life begins to fall apart.

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Aired (Netflix)	4/29/2022
Directed By	Amanda Marsalis
Written By	Paul Kolsby, Martin Zimmerman
Introduced This Episode
Judge Mayhew	Rhoda Griffis

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Summary

Wendy making enemies ends up being a boon for Ruth. Charles Wilkes hooks Ruth up with Judge Mayhew to expunge her record, which means, on top of inheriting Darlene’s money and land, she can also have her stake in the casino. Then, because he really wants to mess with Wendy, Charles talks about giving Ruth his shares which could give Ruth a majority of the shares.

That problem, though, isn’t made aware to Wendy. Her focus is split between trying to get Omar off the SDN list, which he wants to be done in days, not weeks or the four months Jim wanted, and Nathan petitioning for custody of both Charlotte and Jonah. Senator Schafer is the man Wendy needs to handle both of these issues, but at a cost: For both favors, he’d need his grandson’s election machines, which can easily be manipulated, installed in Illinois and Michigan.

At first, Wendy rejects this proposal and focuses on getting Mel back on the Chicago Police Department payroll ASAP so he can’t testify against them for Nathan’s benefit. However, even with Mel taking the deal, to Maya’s disappointment, with Jonah living at a motel combined with Wendy and Marty getting arrested after their street fight in the last episode, Nathan’s petition is granted. Thus leaving Wendy a wallowing mess.

As for the other issue? Wendy gives in and says she’ll get Schafer’s grandson’s machines installed, and with that, some headway to get Omar back to Mexico should be possible. With Marty still raising red flags over what Camila is capable of and her plans for her brother.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Did Jim fully cut ties with Charles, or will he find himself in the middle of Charles and Wendy’s drama?
2. So is Ruth really going to let someone take the fall for Wyatt’s murder who didn’t kill her cousin? All so that case can be over with?

What Could Happen Next

1. Ruth coming up out of nowhere and sending Wendy deeper into her madness
2. Jonah and Charlotte realizing their mother wasn’t being dramatic when talking about Nathan

Review

Highlights

Wendy’s Breakdown At The Courthouse

Wendy is generally a first-class manipulator, and whether you are a redneck or part of the upper echelon of the business world, she has likely tried to play you. On the other hand, Nathan is one of the few people she hasn’t pulled one on, and as of now, he is also one of the first to deliver a major loss. Thus leading to one of the first times she has legitimately cried, begged, groveled even, and it didn’t seem to be a play. What we saw was Wendy at her lowest and potentially back to being the child who, at one time, wanted her father’s approval.

But, the benefit of him snatching her kids and taking them far away is that is one less liability for Wendy to worry about. Thus leaving viewers to wonder, without her kids holding her back, will the lines Wendy is willing to cross be pushed back?

Ruth’s Second Chance

As Judge Mayhew pointed out before expunging Ruth’s record, her family led her astray. For five generations, Langmores have been criminals who got each generation that came after in trouble. When she was a toddler, Ruth even said she was tasked with crawling in cat doors to steal. So, losing everyone was a blessing and a curse in some ways.

When Ruth started to work with Marty and find a more lucrative venture, her family tried to ruin that for her and died. Wyatt, bless his soul, was forever torn between his loyalty to Ruth and Darlene, and who knows? Considering Ruth’s ambitions, how long would it have been before Darlene killed her for getting too big for her britches?

So, with all but Three and this aunt we barely see gone, maybe Ruth can break the curse, go legit, and build legal generational wealth?

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