Ozark Season 4 Part 1 Updates: In the season 4 trailer for Ozark, Navarro mentions threats from inside, implying several storylines that have yet to be created.
In the season 4 trailer for Ozark, Mexican drug lord Omar Navarro (Felix Solis) speaks of challenges from in, implying three big storylines that have yet to be established. Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) will finally ditch the façade and embrace their role as true villains in the Netflix original series’ final season when they are welcomed into the cartel by Navarro himself.
Navarro surprises the Byrdes by ordering the killing of his consiglieri Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer) in the Ozark season 3 finale, giving them even higher stakes than previously. In season 4, the Byrdes will have to seek other, less obvious threats.
Marty and Wendy trade roles as the one who wants to get away and the one who wants to stay and gain even more money over Ozark’s first three seasons. The Byrdes are trying to get out from under the cartel’s grip when Navarro flies them to Mexico, kills the controlling Helen Pierce, and baptizes them into the Navarro family with Helen’s blood in the third season, as the FBI investigates their new casino boat. By the fourth season of Ozark, the Byrdes had established themselves as the show’s main villains, and it remains to be seen how the family gets rid of Navarro, the Snells, and potentially even the Langmores as threats to their rule.
Ozark Season 4 Part 1 the Threat
“Your greatest threat will always come from the inside,” Navarro tells Marty in the Ozark season 4 teaser. This line being juxtaposed over Jonah’s (Skylar Gaertner) face is most likely no coincidence. As Jonah is seen laundering money for Ruth (Julia Garner), Ruth has just paired up with Darlene (Lisa Emery), and the Byrdes are now in the Navarro viper nest, planning their last exit, threats from inside may become a key recurring topic in season 4.
The final season of Ozark promises significant betrayals, and Navarro’s key line predicts all three major themes.
Jonah establishes a close friendship with Ben Davis (Tom Pelphrey) in Ozark season 3, who later proves to be a burden to the Byrdes. In season 3 episode 9, “Fire Pink,” Ben confronts Helen after learning of Wendy and Marty’s cartel ties, which leads to her ordering his death.
Wendy, his lover Ruth, and his buddy Jonah are all affected by this. Ruth is enraged at the Byrdes’ betrayal and even joins Darlene Snell in retribution. In season 4, it’s only a matter of time before Jonah finds a way to betray his family. After all, he had just pointed a revolver at Helen, and she had persuaded him that it was his mother who had made the ultimate decision to murder his uncle.
Ruth asks Jonah to launder money for her at Ozark’s trailer, and Marty can’t hide his delight for his 14-year-old son who is already doing so. While this foreshadows Marty growing his kid to be a criminal mastermind like himself, it also foreshadows the consequences of Marty and Wendy’s conduct, in this case, Jonah’s betrayal – one of Navarro’s three threats from inside. If the Byrde family is to survive, they will once again have to learn to work together rather than fight.
Ozark Season 4 Part 1 Ruth’s Decision
Ruth’s decision to join Darlene Snell at the end of Ozark season 3 might have a variety of ramifications, and not all of them result in Darlene’s dominance. Darlene adopts the Langmores and forms an odd partnership with Kansas City mob boss Frank Cosgrove (John Bedford Lloyd) in the Ozark season 3 finale, strengthening her dominance in the area.
Wyatt Langmore (Charlie Tahan) is Darlene’s lover in the meantime (with Darlene even wanting him to meet her mother). Darlene intends to resurrect the Snell heroin empire, but Ruth is suspected of assassinating Darlene first.
Ruth joins Darlene because she despises Byrdes, whom she believes is to blame for Ben’s death. Ruth will soon recognize Darlene for the cruel murderer she is. Darlene has also taken Wyatt away from Ruth, despite the fact that the two had built a tight bond. Ruth feels responsible for Wyatt’s safety, and Darlene will be furious if Ruth suspects she is a threat to her cousin.
Finally, Darlene vows that her mother will emerge in Ozark’s final season, adding that she will be even more hot-tempered and vicious than Darlene. If Darlene’s mother is the Snells’ biggest threat (again, from in), Ruth might be their biggest threat (again, from in), similar to how Ruth killed her uncles Russ (Marc Menchaca) and Boyd Langmore (Christopher James Baker) in season 1.
Helen terminates any collaboration with the Byrdes and seeks to cut them out of their business when Ben reveals Helen’s true work to her daughter Erin in season 3. She obtains a Missouri state gaming license in order to seize the casino from Marty and Wendy, and she lies to the FBI by claiming that Marty intends to use state evidence against Navarro.
Soon after, the Byrdes realize Helen has become their adversary, and they must increase their value to Navarro in order for him to select them over Helen. Marty’s contact with the FBI and the drone video Jonah has of a rival cartel carrying out a hit on American land in Ozark season 3 convince the US government to eliminate Navarro’s enemy, ending his drug war and saving his children’s lives. Marty and Wendy have therefore ascended to the pinnacle of Navarro’s empire, but they are unlikely to be content there.
In the season 4 teaser for Ozark, Navarro is seen seeking refuge in the United States. FBI Agent Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes) warns a deal with them would need “more than he’s ready to give.” Navarro gives the Byrdes one more job amid all of this: “Do this and you are free of your responsibility to me,” but whatever it is, the Ozarks are no longer a welcoming place for Marty and Wendy.
The Snells and Langmores have joined forces with the Kansas City mob to take on the Navarro cartel and the Byrdes; the FBI is after them because they believe Marty broke a deal to testify against Navarro and enter witness protection, and Jonah will want to know why Wendy sent her own brother to his execution.
The only way out for the Byrdes is to complete their bargain with Navarro and eradicate any remaining threats to their position in the Ozarks. Ending a partnership with a cartel is notoriously tough (and often bloody), so the Byrdes are highly likely to use their newly-acquired status in Navarro’s drug empire to dismantle it from in and gain their long-awaited independence.
Part 1 of Ozark season 4 will air on January 21, 2022, while Part 2 of Ozark season 4 will air sometime in late 2022. And there is more than enough time to figure out what the biggest internal dangers are and how the Byrdes will deal with them.
