‘Ozark’ Season 2 Episode 5 Recap: “Game Day”

By
Alison Helms
-
Ozark Season 2 Episode 5
Jason Bateman in ‘Ozark’ season 2 episode 5 (Photo Credit: Netflix)

Jacob and Darlene Snell are watching the construction that’s taking place on their land for the new casino as Netflix’s Ozark season two episode five begins. Darlene, who’s never happy about anything, is, of course, complaining as they stand and watch. As they walk back home, Darlene (Lisa Emery) is still going on about how much she hates it. She questions how this is any different from what the power company did to their family all those years ago. Jacob (Peter Mullan) reminds her it’s because they entered into this willingly; they were given a choice.

“Not without reservation, but for the benefit of our family and our family will benefit,” he says.

“Family? What family,” she retorts.

The FBI is combing through the Byrde house while the family waits outside. In Charlotte’s room, they smell marijuana and find cash in a small box. Jacob shows up with a mounted deer head – the one that Jonah killed – while the Feds are still going through the house. Marty (Jason Bateman) assures him he has nothing to worry about.

Agent Roy Petty (Jason Butler Harner) asks Marty if he’s ready. After nodding his head, he looks to Wendy (Laura Linney) and tells her to call a lawyer.

Ruth (Julia Garner) goes through the safe while Sam (Kevin L. Johnson) watches. He admits he doesn’t feel comfortable with what she’s doing. (Ruth can be careless.) Sam wonders what she’s looking for and Ruth lets him know she’s making sure there’s nothing in there that they could arrest Marty on.

Sam begins to panic, worried the FBI will arrest them as well. He’s babbling on when his stripper girlfriend comes in and asks if everything’s okay. Sam asks his girlfriend to keep an eye on Ruth while he grabs a box. Ruth being Ruth tells her to get the f**k out of there. The girlfriend isn’t fazed and tells Ruth she only take orders from Sam. Ruth takes a knife out and responds with, “Well, how about I pop those tits and squeeze out the silicone?”

Wisely, the girlfriend is now scared and runs out of the room.

Marty’s with Agent Petty in what appears to be a building under construction. Petty’s trying to convince Marty to give it up, warning the cartel knows by now that Marty is with the FBI. He goes on to tell Marty the FBI is still at his house ready to take Wendy and the kids into protective custody. Petty seems to be talking to himself at this point; Marty isn’t talking at all.

Marty’s lawyer shows up and he’s shocked to see it’s Helen (Janet McTeer). Petty notices Marty’s surprise as well and tries to feed on that, letting Helen know Marty was inquiring about his future as a paid informant. Marty finally speaks and denies he brought that up.

Back at the Byrde residence, Wendy questions Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz) and asks if she stole $5,000. Charlotte tries to claim she didn’t steal it, she took it just in case they needed it. Wendy questions if Jonah has anything to do with it. Charlotte lies and says he doesn’t know anything. Wendy wonders what she bought because the Feds only found $4,600. Charlotte reveals she purchased jeans. Wendy sarcastically replies, “Mm-hmm. In case of emergency, huh?”

Wendy isn’t done and seems pissed now. She tells Charlotte, “Well grow the f**k up because it’s game on. Do you understand?” Charlotte nods.

Agent Petty tells Marty he’s a terrible judge of character. He begins to lay out photos of people – some are dead, some are not. He brings up Charlotte taking five grand of cartel money and stashing it in a box reeking of pot. Marty and Helen sit and listen without saying a word and Petty questions whether Marty thinks he’s safe. Petty tries to scare him by insisting he can charge his kids as adults. Helen cuts him off by asking if Petty will be charging her client.

Ignoring Helen’s question, Petty brings up Ruth Langmore. He asks Marty if he’s aware Ruth tried to kill him. Petty tells him all about the boat ride and how he unrigged the dock. Helen, again, inserts herself into the conversation, stating they both know if they had anything, they would be arresting Marty which they have not done. Petty ignores her and assures Marty he saved his life. If Marty doesn’t believe him, he can ask Jonah. (Jonah pulled a gun on him that day.)

Marty and Helen get up to leave when Petty tries one last time. He warns Marty he can stay there where it’s safe and he can get another attorney – one the cartel didn’t send. Marty informs him he’s happy with his representation and they leave.

Back at the house, the FBI is wrapping up. Buddy (Harris Yulin) tells Wendy, “I’d ask if you’re okay, but I know you’re not.” He hands Wendy a glass of alcohol and tells her a story about a French man. “Hang in there, Wendy, lose your sh*t tomorrow. Today is not the day to fall apart,” he advises.

Jonah’s in his room when Charlotte comes in and tells him they found her money. Jonah thinks maybe she shouldn’t have kept it on a shelf. Charlotte gets mad and tells him Wendy asked if he knew anything about it and she told her no. She thinks Jonah should be thanking her. He does thank her, sarcastically. He thinks next time she should give him her money and he’ll create shell companies – like Marty’s. The money is safe and cannot be traced.

Charlotte asks if she can have some of his money. She wants to buy a van in case she needs to leave. Plus, she can live in it. Jonah tells her he can’t because the money’s tied up.

Jacob brings a boy home to work on their farm in an effort to help Darlene out with her empty nest syndrome. Darlene, however, isn’t falling for it. She questions what Jacob’s doing and he explains the boy’s a foster kid; maybe they can adopt him. Darlene’s not having it. She wants a baby boy, someone they can mold.

Sheriff Nix (Robert C. Treveiler) interrupts their conversation to inform them the FBI is all over Marty Byrde’s house. Jacob cuts him off, assuring him they know all about it. Nix warns them the Feds aren’t messing around and there’s nothing the local police can do. Darlene reminds Sheriff Nix of his debt to them. He lets her know that’s why he’s there to warn them. Darlene basically just tells him to leave. She also wants Sheriff Nix to take the boy back where he came from.

After their meeting with Agent Petty, Helen questions Marty about Ruth Langmore. He vouches for her. She then asks about his computer and what’s on it. He assures Helen there’s nothing on it. Helen questions if the money Charlotte stole is the cartel money and he lies and says it isn’t. She asks how much his children know and he again lies and says they know nothing.

Helen is pretty sharp and doesn’t believe his kids don’t know anything. She says kids see things; they hear things. Marty turns the question around and asks what her kids know. Helen doesn’t like the tables turned and reminds him this isn’t about her kids.

Helen instructs the driver to pull over. She lights a cigarette and begins to tell Marty her kids don’t know she smokes. She hides it. After telling him that, she asks about the Snells. Marty’s not following this line of questioning and asks what she means. She says it’s only a matter of time before the Feds go to their farm and find their crop of opium poppies. Helen reveals she has a friend in the US Attorney’s office; she can see if there’s a warrant pulled for the Snells. Marty reminds her he’s been loyal to the cartel for years to a fault. She asks him, “Why do you think you are sitting in my car?” He’s still alive and free.

She demands he call the Snells to set up a meeting.

Ruth shows up at the Blue Cat asking if Rachel heard what was going on. Rachel confirms she heard what everyone else heard. Ruth then asks if she’s heard from Marty. After Rachel tells her no, Ruth reveals she’s left Marty messages but he hasn’t called her back. Ruth asks Rachel if Marty ever leaves anything there.

Rachel, trying to get her to say more, asks Ruth why they didn’t bring her in. Ruth thinks they would bring in Rachel before her because they’re partners. Rachel reminds Ruth she’s his partner, too, at the strip club.

Agent Petty and Agent Trevor Evans (McKinley Belcher III) are listening in on Rachel and Ruth’s conversation when Evans points out Rachel sounds buzzed. Petty admits she may have a little oxy problem. Petty seems a little too giddy and Evans reminds him to stay by the book. Petty thinks Evans should just follow the leader.

Evans, clearly upset, brings up that if he hadn’t vouched for Petty on his psych evaluation Petty wouldn’t have a job right now. Petty has a massive ego and calls Evans a little worker bee. He himself is the queen bee. Evans tells Petty to stop giving Rachel drugs and this time try to keep his asset alive. Petty believes Evans is just jealous because of what he had with Russ.

Wendy asks Marty why Helen dropped him off and he reveals Helen is now his lawyer. He gives her the CliffsNotes version of what Petty said. Marty’s angry to learn about Charlotte and the cash.

Marty asks Jonah if he pulled a gun on a man a couple of months ago. Jonah did, explaining the stranger was on their property. Marty wants to know what the man was doing and Jonah isn’t sure; that’s why he pulled the gun. Marty wonders if Jonah’s ever seen the man before. Jonah confirms he saw him once at the Blue Cat and then again, this morning.

Agent Petty stops Ruth in the parking lot of the strip club. Right away she says she wants a lawyer. He informs her he can arrest her for a double murder. Before she can say anything else, he asks what forces she thinks she’s messing with when a double murder is the least of her problems. He brings up the cartel. Ruth claims not to know what he’s talking about. He asks why she doesn’t turn witness; she could be living in a cute little house in Arizona. Ruth responds, “How about you go f**k yourself.”

Ruth asks Agent Petty if he wants her to explain how that works. Unfazed, he assures her he’s not her problem – he’s her solution. He warns her the other option is he arrests her for killing her uncles. Quite possibly the funniest thing I have heard in this entire series so far is Ruth ignoring him and going back to explaining exactly how Agent Petty can “f**k himself.”

“See, what you do is you roll yourself into a ball or whatever, and you take your dick, right? And you put it up your ass.” Still not fazed, Agent Petty explains her third option is getting killed by the cartel. They’d kill her family as well. He admits he cared about her uncle Russ a lot, even revealing they had a sexual relationship.

Agent Petty doesn’t stop there. He lets Ruth know he thinks she’s a piece of crap. She probably thinks Marty Byrde will protect her. He drops the bombshell that he told Marty how she tried to kill him. He suggests she look over her shoulder. The cartel’s watching and now they think she’s friends with the FBI. With that, Agent Petty leaves.

Ruth hurries inside the strip club and locks herself in the office, clearly spooked.

Marty, Helen, and Wendy head over to the Snells. They explain they need to get rid of their poppies but the Snells don’t want to budge. Helen warns them that if the Feds find the poppies, there is no more deal and there is no casino. Jacob tells them if he destroys the field the cartel will still have to pay them. Helen delivers a hard no on that request.

Marty walks Helen back to her car and she demands he get them to change their minds.

Wendy and Darlene are walking together when Darlene asks Wendy if her friend Wilkes funds an orphanage. She asks if Wendy thinks he’ll help them get a baby. Wendy seems taken aback by this question. Darlene continues, “We’d take more kindly to destroying our field if you could get us a baby.”

While Marty and Wendy are driving, Ruth calls them in a panic about the Feds. Marty cuts Ruth off, telling her not now and not over the phone. After hanging up, Ruth calls Sam inside the club and tells him to get his car and pull around to the back.

Ozark Season 2 Episode 5
Jason Butler Harner and Jason Bateman in ‘Ozark’ season 2 episode 5 (Photo by Jessica Miglio/Netflix)

Agent Petty is there waiting when Marty and Wendy pull up in their driveway. He wonders if they have an open marriage. Wendy asks what he’s talking about and Petty brings up Charles Wilkes, saying she calls him Charlie in their emails. He asks her if they’re having an affair and then suggests they take this conversation inside.

Neither respond and Agent Petty continues divulging what he knows, suggesting there’s an email in which Charles said he did something to her he shouldn’t have. He questions what Charles did. Did he kiss her? Marty’s heard enough and tells Petty to go f**k himself, warning this is an ethics violation. Wendy asks if he’s finished and Petty confirms he’s not quite done. He shows her the video of her affair with Gary that was still on Marty’s computer. She informs him she’s seen it and they’ve talked about it. Wendy asks what his angle is here – divide and conquer?

Agent Petty asks why they don’t want to save their kids. Wendy demands he get off their property. While Agent Petty drives away, Wendy plays the blame game, asking Marty, “Why would you save that video?” before walking away.

Ruth’s at home packing when Cade (Trevor Long) comes in asking what she’s doing. He wants to know if she’s talked to Marty and she hasn’t. He asks where she’s going and she admits she doesn’t know. He believes that’s her first mistake. He then reminds her they don’t rat and they don’t run. He asks if she ratted anyone out and she shakes her head no. She confesses she’s worried about the cartel. He assures her they’ll be ready for them.

Marty goes down to the basement to visit Buddy. Marty needs to do something about the poppy fields and Buddy gives him tough love, stating Marty needs to stop trying to please everyone and just react.

Helen shows up and warns if there are children in the house they should go to their rooms. When Marty asks what’s going on, she shows him a picture of Ruth. The photo shows Ruth talking to the Feds. She needs to know if they’re sure they can trust her. Marty hesitates and Helen immediately leaves.

After Helen’s gone, Wendy asks why he hesitated. Marty fills her in on the fact Ruth tried to kill him. Wendy seems to be in disbelief and Marty opens up. “Ruth tried to kill me. Bruce turned on me. You cheated on me. Maybe I’m not the best judge of character,” he says. With that, he leaves. Unfortunately, Charlotte heard everything from the hallway.

Charlotte tells Jonah what she heard and that their mom didn’t even try to deny it. Jonah asks how much the van she wants costs.

Buddy talks to Wendy, letting her know she always does what she has to. He admits he likes Marty, but he’s got to act. Someone does.

Marty visits Ruth’s place and she starts freaking out about the Feds. Marty wants to know if she tried to kill him and she doesn’t say yes, but instead says it was a long time ago. He reminds her that no, it was not – it was three months ago. He needs to know if he can trust her and she swears to him he can.

As they’re talking Helen shows up with several men. Helen grabs Ruth and takes her inside.

Wendy and Buddy drive to the Snells’ house. While she talks to Darlene about helping her adopt, Buddy walks over to the poppy fields.

Ruth is waterboarded while Helen questions her. Ruth denies everything. Cade warns Marty he’d better pray she’s alive.

While Wendy is showing Darlene adoption agencies, Buddy burns down the poppy fields.




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