‘Ozark’ Season 3 Episode 5 Recap: “It Came from Michoacán”

By
Alison Helms
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Ozark Season 3 Episode 5
Jason Bateman and Laura Linney in ‘Ozark’ season 3 episode 5 (Photo Credit: Steve Dietl / Netflix © 2020)

As Netflix’s Ozark season three episode five begins, Special Agent Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes) is meeting with her superior about Marty Byrde wanting to cooperate with the FBI before he was kidnapped. She seems to think Marty would be a good asset to the FBI. Agent Trevor Evans (McKinley Belcher III) is in attendance and seems to be turning into the new Agent Petty. Evans believes Marty had Petty killed, but Agent Miller points out there isn’t any evidence to support that theory.

Evans doesn’t want to hear what she has to say and stubbornly insists Marty Byrde needs to be taken down. Miller asks for more time with Marty.

The next morning Marty (Jason Bateman) is talking to the kids and, surprisingly after all that’s happened, he seems to be in a good mood. He made breakfast for the kids and even cleaned. Marty tells Wendy (Laura Linney) he’ll meet her and Ruth at the office later, but she tries to get him to take the day off. He insists he’s fine.

After leaving, the kids ask Wendy if he’s really okay. She assures them he’s fine.

Ruth (Julia Garner) wakes up to a text from Marty letting her know he’s back and asking her to meet him at the office later. As she’s locking up her trailer, Ben (Tom Pelphrey) shows up. He offers her breakfast and right away she says, “Listen, I know I kissed you last night, but I thought I was going to f*ckin die.”

Ben tells her it has nothing to do with the kiss; he’s worried about what his family dragged her into. She reminds him she was a criminal long before Marty Byrde came along.

Marty, Helen, and Wendy are at the office discussing how much money they’ve been laundering each day. Ruth joins them and embraces Marty, telling him how sorry she is and how she feels what happened to him was her fault. He tells her not to worry about it and to have a seat. She informs Marty that Frank Jr. is loansharking at the casino. He asks who approved that and no one responds. He wants Ruth to end that today. Marty says they need to find someone with a lot of money willing to loan it to them and trust they’ll give it back. Ruth and Wendy look at each other and indicate they know exactly who to go to.

Cut to the next scene and Wendy’s talking to Sam. He reminds her that it’s his inheritance. She assures him they’ll not only return it to him, but with an extra 8%. He seems to think she needs a loan. She explains it’s not that; they need to have more cash flow to get more credit. He thinks about it and asks if it’s legal. She assures him it is.

Their conversation’s cut short when her phone begins to ring. It’s Navarro and after he asks how she’s doing, he apologizes for what she had to go through (him kidnapping Marty), and then cuts to the chase. He explains he’s been thinking about when she asked, “What’s next?” By the look on Wendy’s face, she now regrets getting swept away in the power of the cartel and asking such a question. Navarro can’t ever just say what he wants and asks if she knows what a Charro is. After she replies, “A cowboy,” he corrects her and says a Mexican cowboy. He tells her his grandfather was one and owned a ranch in America. He would like to do the same and has one in his sights. Navarro needs her to close the deal.

After agreeing she will, Navarro hears something different in her voice and asks what’s wrong. She says nothing but then wants to know why he let Marty come back. Navarro asks Wendy if maybe she didn’t want her husband to come back. She insists she did, of course, and that they all did. She adds, “It’s just that we didn’t pass your test.” Navarro informs her Marty passed his test. “I didn’t know him, now I do, and you’re very lucky because he’s just like me.” Wendy wants to know how and Navarro simply says, “He wants to win.”

Marty goes to see Sue the therapist and warns her he wants to hire someone at the casino. He knows Wendy won’t be on his side about this and he’s really going to need Sue’s help. She assures Marty she’s always willing to help get Wendy on his side but Marty doesn’t buy it. His snarky remarks to the poor older lady always seem to be funny and this time’s no different. “Mm-hmm. Well, do you, Sue? You know, I’m not giving out participation medals. From now on, if you want your bonus, you’re gonna have to earn it,” says Marty.

Frank Jr. (Joseph Sikora) pulls up and as soon as he gets out of the car Ruth’s there warning him he needs to stop his loansharking. He thinks they can coexist, but she lets him know they can’t – and this is coming from Marty himself. She tells him he can take it up with his daddy.

Marty comes into the casino office and Agents Miller attempts to engage him in small talk. Marty seems to be doing the tough love approach and tells her not to go near his family again before walking back out the door.

Marty and Wendy are driving to the horse ranch when she tells him Navarro thinks he and Marty are alike. As they pull up, she assures him she can do the talking. He tells her not to worry; he wants this as well. They meet with the owner, Ollie Brennan (Tammy Arnold), and she shows them around.

Erin (Madison Thompson), Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz), and Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) are hanging out on the docks when one of Frank Cosgrove’s men, Tommy (Tyler Chase), shows up in his boat. Charlotte’s annoyed and asks Erin if she invited him there. Ignoring Charlotte’s question, Erin asks Tommy if he brought any beer.

Back at the ranch, Ollie’s giving Marty and Wendy an overview of what kind of horses they have on the property. She gets to the point and says she’s looking for a buyer so she can upgrade her ranch. Marty seems to know what Ollie wants and gets her to make a deal. She offers to let them stay in the guest cottage but Wendy declines because they have Zeke’s hearing the following day. However, Marty’s all for it and says it’ll be fine because they can get up early the next morning and take off.

Frank’s guy Tommy is actually an FBI informant and is busy asking Charlotte questions about Ruth. Charlotte says she doesn’t see Ruth often since she works in the office and Ruth works in the casino. His friend asks Erin and Charlotte how they know each other. Erin tells them her mom is their parents’ lawyer. Tommy asks, “You’re Helen Pierce’s daughter?” After Erin confirms she is, he smiles.

Charlotte and Jonah exchange looks and Charlotte suddenly gets up and says they need to get Erin back home. Tommy asks to use her restroom before he goes. Jonah catches him coming out of his parents’ room. He makes a crude remark and tries to walk past Jonah. Jonah demands to know why he was in his parents’ room. After Tommy shoves Jonah to the wall, Charlotte and Erin come running into the house. Charlotte asks what’s going on and Jonah informs her that Tommy was in their parents’ room. Erin, being a brat, tells Jonah it doesn’t matter and not to be weird.

Charlotte demands Tommy leave their house immediately.

Marty and Wendy are lying in bed having a drink when he suggests they break into the stables. She doesn’t think they can, but he insists they can since they own the place. While he’s petting a horse, Wendy asks if he’s really okay. He assures her he is; everything is a lot clearer now and he feels good. He lets her in on his plan to turn Agent Miller. Wendy doesn’t think there’s any way he can do it. He reminds her she asked him to get involved and this is him getting involved.

Ruth waits for Frank’s men to make a drop-off and when they arrive one of them is Tommy. He tells Ruth to get the bags out of the truck herself. When she gets in the truck, he locks up the back with her in it and drives away.

Meanwhile, Darlene Snell (Lisa Emery) and Wyatt (Charlie Tahan) are preparing for court. She thanks him for what he’s going to do and then things turn creepy between them when she washes his hair in the kitchen sink.

Back at the Byrdes’ house, Charlotte tells her mom about Erin’s obsession with Tommy. Charlotte confesses she believes there’s something off about him. He was asking questions about them and knows who Helen is.

In the courtroom, Darlene becomes upset and the judge has to warn her as Wendy begins to speak. When Wyatt takes the stand as a witness, he lies and says Wendy tried to hit Darlene first. Wendy calls him a liar and he brings up the time Wendy threw a dead opossum at his house. For some odd reason, the judge believes a Langmore and allows Darlene to continue to have custody of Zeke.

Ben picks up Ruth after she calls him from the truck, and he demands to know where Frank Jr. lives. She insists he is untouchable and they can’t go after him.

Marty and Wendy return home to find an arcade game in the garage. Marty’s pleased to see it and Wendy asks if it’s some kind of mistake. He says no, he ordered it when he got back. It’s an arcade game he used to play all the time when he was a kid. Wendy starts to go on about how they need to get Zeke back. Marty cuts her off and tells her to give it up.

Wendy heads inside to let Charlotte know they lost. She finds Charlotte drinking wine and questions her about it. After Charlotte hands over the wine, she asks where her dad is. Wendy says he’s in the garage playing a video game. Wendy gives Charlotte instructions to make an appointment for her tomorrow with Jim Rattelsdorf.

Back at the Snell farm, things are getting weirder and weirder. Darlene and Wyatt are sleeping together!

Marty asks Jonah if he wants to play the arcade game with him. After they walk away, Ben says, “You’re not wrong. That looks like Marty, walks like Marty, sounds like Marty, but that is 100% not Marty Byrde.” Wendy assures him that Marty’s fine.

Charlotte goes to see Tommy and tells him he can’t date Erin. Tommy responds that he doesn’t take orders from teenage girls. She reminds him his boss and her father are awfully close so he better back off.

Finally, after a couple of seasons, Charles Wilkes’ minion has a name and it’s Jim Rattelsdorf (Damian Young). Wendy meets with him and it seems he’s not a fan of hers and won’t help her out. She reminds him his boss has a share in the casino so their problem is his employer’s problem. She asks him to get information on Agent Miller. He agrees to do so but warns her whatever she’s going to do is a bad idea.

Darlene’s showing Wyatt her heroin harvest when he admits he’s never tried it although he has thought about it. Oddly enough she warns him she won’t let a junkie in her bed and to stay away from the drugs. Afterward, he kisses her hand while one of Darlene’s workers watches them.

Ozark Season 3 Episode 5
Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, and Janet McTeer in ‘Ozark’ season 3 episode 5 (Photo Credit: Steve Dietl / Netflix © 2020)

Marty, Wendy, and Helen meet at the office and Wendy reveals they have a problem with Agent Miller. She informs them she met with Jim and learned Agent Miller’s father was engaged in shady business dealings. When she was 15, her father was arrested and went to prison. Miller probably resents her father and she’ll never turn.

Marty seems to think this is good info and asks Helen if she has any shady past clients they can throw under the bus to see if Miller will take the bait. Wendy seems stunned Marty still wants to continue with trying to turn Agent Miller. After he leaves, she asks Helen what happened in Mexico. Before Helen can respond, Wendy asks if she thinks it’s a good idea to try and turn Agent Miller. Helen reminds her it doesn’t matter what she thinks – it’s what her client thinks.

Marty finds Agent Miller at the casino and apologizes for his behavior. Miller reminds him he should become one of them. She’s still trying to convince him to be “one of the good guys” and he lets her know he’ll think about it.

The tables have turned and Wendy is meeting with Sue the therapist alone about Marty. She asks for Sue’s help, explaining Marty went through something traumatic the week before. Wendy thinks he’s unpredictable and edgy. Sue asks if she wants her help to talk to him. Wendy, in a roundabout way, tells Sue she’ll pay her to get Marty back on track. Sue agrees. Wendy gets a call prompting her to leave right away.

Ruth’s checking security cameras when she sees Ben trying to get her attention. He shows up with French toast sticks and offers her dinner and a show. They’re sitting outside when Ruth notices pigeons all over Frank Jr’s car. Ben informs her there’s also 50 lbs. of bird seeds all over Frank Jr’s car.

Marty asks Miller if she knows a guy by the name of Roger Blinkhorn. She knows who he is but couldn’t prove what he’s been doing. Marty informs her he has a bunch of stuff on him. He starts to reveal all the evidence he has, but she cuts him off demanding to know what he’s doing. She doesn’t want to hear it unless he tells her what happened to him in Mexico.

Helen shows up at the horse ranch with a couple of men.

Marty puts in an appearance at Miller’s hotel and claims she saved his life. He knows she flagged the Panama account and that’s what got him out. She wants him to admit he was in Mexico. He decides to tell her the truth.

Ollie’s completely freaking out when Wendy shows up at the ranch. She’s angry she just lost millions of dollars because Wendy’s people removed their prized stud’s testicles. Wendy seems confused and sympathetic towards her.

Wendy demands Helen explain why they did this. Helen informs her the horse belongs to Navarro’s cartel rival and when they found out the horse was moved to Kentucky, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Wendy demands Navarro’s number.

Enraged, Wendy rings Navarro and reminds him they were supposed to be partners. She doesn’t choose her words wisely and he screams back at her, “Partners?! No, no, no. You exist for me to use! What did you think, huh? That because you are American you are not gonna get your hands dirty? Wendy, if I am at war, you are at war! We’re not partners. I own you!”

The episode ends with Wendy trying to call Marty but he sends her to voicemail. She turns around to see Helen staring at her. Helen silently gets in the SUV and drives away.




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