Beau, be Honest

To Beau,

I sat down and watched the first episode of Netflix’s Ozark, and there are a few things that I would definitely think you would absolutely despise about the.  For one, the main characters are all from the city, born and raised.  Second, the main character seemingly has no regard for traditional values such as family and honesty.  As the story progresses, however, it becomes apparent that because of the main characters disregard for honesty and love of money, it places them in a situation that puts their families in harm’s way.  

The main character, Marty, is a businessman who apparently got stuck laundering money for cartels.  Inherently, the “job” itself is dishonest.  Quickly, the show flings him into a situation where he must make an extremely difficult decision where he must put together a very large sum of money or him and his family’s lives are at stake.  It’s probably much more difficult to get in a situation like this in the south, but in Ozark, in order for for Marty to escape the trouble he’s having, he decides to move his family to the Ozarks in Missouri.  Beau, I don’t know how you would feel about a family like this moving closer to where you are, but the Ozarks give Marty and his family another chance at life.  

The tension that slowly manifests throughout the first episode seemingly is drawn together through dishonest actions.  First, of course, Marty launders money, plain and dishonest.  Twofold, however, Marty has had to maintain a lie to his entire family that he is a financial adviser; I guess, in a way he is a financial adviser, but to cartels, not to normal clients.  Third, it becomes apparent that Marty is not enjoying his marriage as much as he has in the past, so there are a few shots where he struggles to stay true to his ceremonial bond.  In many places around the world, family is of the highest importance, but that is clearly not the case with Marty.  Concerning Marty’s wife specifically, however, later it is revealed that she is in the same boat as her husband; she is not loyal to her marriage either.  Beau, if you get a chance to watch the show, you will see how much trouble this gets Marty’s wife into.  Infidelity is truly an ugly monster to have to deal with.  One last aspect of dishonesty in the show concerns Marty and the cartels he works with.  When Marty initially begins to handle the dangerous situation he’s in, where his family becomes endangered, a twist on his character can be seen.  Instead of being dishonest to his family, like Marty normally does, he begins to tell the truth to them, and instead is dishonest with the cartels in order to protect the lives of his family.  Once again, however, even this turns out to put his family into even deeper trouble, as the episode continues.  Beau, if you get anything out of this, it should be that there is a clear reason why honesty is such a highly valued personal trait; honestly really is the best policy.  

Ozark explores how serious monetary dishonesty can bring someone to an extremely dark place.  Throughout the first episode, it is exhaustively evident that no matter what Marty does to try to escape the reality that he brought himself into, he cannot find a way out.  The lies that he has lived for years are all finally coming back to get him.  This not only puts his own life in danger, but his immediate family and even his extended family.