Ruth (Julia Garner) is being interrogated by Agent Trevor Evans (McKinley Belcher III) and Special Agent Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes) about the men who were killed – and about Marty Byrde – as Netflix’s Ozark season three episode seven begins. Helen (Janet McTeer) is there to represent her. The agents ask about her relationship with Frank Jr. and Ruth tries to claim she barely talks to him, but Agent Miller jumps in saying that is not entirely true because she sees them at the casino talking quite a bit. Miller thinks they don’t seem to like each other.
Marty (Jason Bateman) and Frank Cosgrove meet up and it’s obvious Frank’s pissed and demands to know what’s going on. Marty informs him the cartel is involved in a war right now with another cartel. Frank seems to think it’s awfully suspicious that Ruth was able to walk away fine from what happened while three of his men died. Marty suggests he cool off and keep his head down.
Frank warns Marty he’s not a patient man.
Back at the Byrde home, Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) shows Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz) the drone video of what took place. She asks if he’s shown it to their mom and dad, and he confesses he hasn’t because Ben told him not to. Ben doesn’t want Marty and Wendy to freak out that Jonah was there. He asks Charlotte if she thinks he should show it to their parents anyway. She tells him not to, concerned it will give them something else to argue about.
Ben (Tom Pelphrey) waits at the sheriff’s station for Ruth and is slowly losing his cool. Back in the interrogation room, Evans explains they found her tire tracks even though she continues to deny being there. Evans tries to get her by bringing up her loyalty to Marty and her father’s murder. She tells him she suspects a lot of people wanted her dad dead. He tries one last time and brings up her uncles as well. She and Helen have had enough and get up to leave.
As Ruth and Ben are walking out of the sheriff’s station, Ben tries to convince her to go on the run. She doesn’t feel as though she can just pick up and leave. After Ruth asks Ben if he’s okay, he questions her about what his sister has told her. He seems to convince her that Wendy left when she was 18 so she has no idea what he’s really like.
Helen visits the Byrde house to assure them the other cartel left town. Wendy, sarcastically, tells her she said that last time when they all knew that wasn’t true. Ben returns home angry and Wendy asks how Ruth’s doing. He replies, “How do you think she is doing?” before walking away.
Navarro calls Wendy but she doesn’t pick up. He calls Helen instead and she puts Wendy on the phone. He wants to know what she plans on doing with the FBI and he senses she’s still mad about what happened at the horse ranch. She lets him know that he messed with “their brand,” insisting they’re trying to do things in a legitimate way for his safety net. His stunt could mess with their brand. For the first time, he doesn’t have a response. He finally says, “The next time I call pick up.”
Good ol’ Sue (Marylouise Burke) pulls up in their driveway in a brand new, bright yellow sports car. Marty heads outside to see what’s going on and Sue explains she was worried about him and heard what happened. Marty tries to tell her it’s not a good time as he glances back at the house to find Helen and Wendy watching them. Sue won’t listen and says people are saying it’s the mob, but she thinks it’s the cartel.
Marty changes the subject by asking, “What the hell is this?” about the car. She informs him it’s a car and he jokes it’s a transformer. Helen and Wendy come outside to check out what’s going on and Sue says hi to Wendy before trying to leave. It appears she doesn’t know how to drive her fancy sports car yet.
Ben frantically packs up his stuff in the basement – he did not listen to Ruth at all! – while telling Charlotte and Jonah that Ruth is still probably on their radar. Jonah insists they don’t have to run because the cartel doesn’t know they were there. Ben’s not listening to anything they’re trying to tell him. The kids decide it’s time to tell their mom what happened.
Wendy attempts to calm down her brother by agreeing it’s a smart idea they leave. However, she thinks he should leave first and then they can send Ruth to him. He doesn’t believe her and brings up the fact she told Ruth he’s not taking his meds anymore. He insists he was going to tell her, but Wendy doesn’t believe him. Wendy confesses she’s worried about him and that Jonah informed her he took him to the money drop.
Ben claims he was trying to protect Ruth and she would be dead if it wasn’t for him. Wendy angrily says, “You put my son in danger!” Ben stops packing to look at her and replies, “I put your son in danger? Jonah and I just witnessed a massacre. How are we all not leaving right now? How is that boy walking around like there’s nothing wrong?”
It’s Marty’s turn to be interrogated and Evans asks if Tommy has ever worked for him. Marty tells him no. Evans shows him pictures captured from a surveillance video of Tommy on the casino boat that blew up and Helen realizes Tommy was working with Evans as an informant. Marty asks him what he’s being accused of. Evans reveals he believes Marty found out Tommy was working with the FBI and had him killed.
As Marty and Helen are leaving after the interview, Helen realizes Tommy was trying to work their kids and asks if they could have let anything slip. He insists they would not. Before going their separate ways, she tells Marty he and Wendy need to get new phones and Wendy should sweep the house for bugs.
An angry Frank Jr. drinks while waiting for Ruth at the casino bar. When he spots her, he begins to yell. He seems to think she had his friends killed. He knows his friend was a snitch and thinks Marty found out and had him killed, which means Ruth must have set them up.
Ruth’s shocked and has no clue what he’s talking about, but Frank Jr. doesn’t believe her. She says he’s drunk and needs to go home.
Agent Maya is watching the entire exchange.
Agent Miller walks up to Sam (Kevin L. Johnson) and requests a word with him. She explains she’s good at math and knows he’s lost $250,000, give or take. He’s more concerned that she doesn’t inform his girlfriend than he is about the loss itself. She assures him she won’t but will need to re-examine his financials including his bank statements and pay stubs.
Sam’s confused and after Miller walks away, he calls Marty slightly freaking out and wanting to know what to do. Marty tells him it’s okay and to take his chips and cash out. Sam, still confused, reminds Marty that Wendy said all of this is okay. Marty assures him that it is. Sam insists it doesn’t feel okay.
Ruth is leaving the casino late at night when Frank Jr. shows up and beats the crap out of her. The next scene shows Marty and Ben are waiting at the hospital when Wendy arrives. She asks how Ruth’s doing and Marty informs her she’s out of the operating room. (They had to operate because she had internal bleeding.) Three (Carson Holmes) tells Ben he can go back and see her now.
Wendy sits down with Marty and confirms she swept the house for bugs and it’s all clear. She asks Marty how he’s doing and he admits he’s tired. He returns the question and she says the same. Marty changes the subject, blaming the FBI for what happened to Ruth since they pointed Frank Jr. right at her. Wendy wonders if he’s talked to Frank Sr. and he reveals that’s his next stop. She then asks about Maya Miller. Marty seems to question if he can really turn her, realizing she’s an idealist. He thinks he’ll have to go to her bosses with the information he has.
Erin (Madison Thompson) asks her mom why the FBI is questioning Charlotte’s dad. Helen tells her they’re just trying to help any way they can. Helen adds that she thinks Erin should go back to Chicago. Erin doesn’t seem interested in that suggestion and asks if she can stay with her instead.
Three shows up at Darlene’s to talk to Wyatt (Charlie Tahan). He asks his brother if he got his text and when Wyatt confirms he did, Three wants to know why he didn’t come to the hospital. Wyatt reveals he didn’t think it was a good idea. Three wants to know what’s going on between him and Ruth, and Wyatt will only say it’s complicated. Three fills his brother in on how bad Ruth is and Wyatt only replies, “Thanks for letting me know.”
Marty and Frank Sr. meet and the first thing Frank says is, “The kid made a mistake.” The “kid,” of course, being his grown son. Marty’s baffled that he’s referring to what happened to Ruth as a mistake. Frank explains his son was upset that his friends died. Marty is not having it. “He’s not a f*cking kid. He’s a grown man and he beat the sh*t out of a girl half his size,” says Marty.
Frank continues using the excuse that the other men killed were like family. Marty reminds him one of the dead men was a snitch. Marty says that since he can’t control his kid and one of his men was an FBI informant, they are done. Frank questions if Marty really wants to do this. Before Marty gets in his car he warns Frank Sr., “The next time you come near me, my family, or Ruth, your son…he’s gonna be hanging from a bridge in Juarez. You got that?!”
Wendy meets with a man by the name of Andrew Wade (Brian Lafontaine) about her charity foundation and he asks for more information about it. She hopes to fund charities across the state. They’re forming an advisory board and she wants to know if that’s something he would be interested in. He admits he’s flattered but given the PR crisis they’re facing and her connections to Charles Wilkes – a die-hard conservative – he’s going to pass.
Wendy begins to work her magic and asks him what he has his sights set on. Before he can answer, she asks if he’s familiar with a company called Blink Check. (This is the information Marty tried to give Maya hoping she would take the bait.) He confirms he’s heard of the company and knows what the company did. Wendy explains they came across documents that could bring on another lawsuit. He takes the bait and says he thinks he can be of service.
Marty’s waiting outside Ruth’s hospital room when Miller shows up asking how Ruth’s doing. Marty’s obviously unhappy with the agent and responds, “Why? So you can interrogate her again?”
She asks what happened with the guys who were killed and he wonders whether she really thinks he was responsible. She admits she doesn’t know what to believe. However, her boss just received papers about Blink Check – the same papers he gave her. She doesn’t know what to think about him anymore. Marty turns the tables and says Agent Evans did that to Ruth and Miller sat there in that interrogation room and did nothing. He believes Miller might as well have beat the crap out of Ruth herself; she’s culpable for what took place.
Agent Miller warns Marty until he’s straight with her, she’s going to keep coming after him.
Darlene (Lisa Emery) asks Wyatt what really happened between him and Ruth. He confesses she killed his dad and his Uncle Boyd. Darlene wonders if maybe she had a good reason, and Wyatt confirms she did it to protect Marty. Darlene thinks in that case it’s actually Marty Byrde he has an issue with, not Ruth. She calls Marty a “disease.” Marty worms his way into people’s lives; she witnessed him doing just that to her husband. She nonchalantly adds, “And that’s why I had to kill him.”
Wyatt seems stunned by her admission. He says, “I thought you said he had a heart attack?” She admits he did, but it was not natural. Attempting to justify killing her husband, she explains it was only a matter of time before he turned his back on her because of the Byrdes.
Darlene asks if Wyatt wants to leave. He assures her he doesn’t, but it’s just a lot to take in. She says her point is it’s not too late for Ruth; she can change her course. Darlene insists he visits his cousin.
Sue is now on Helen’s radar, which isn’t good news for the therapist. Sue asks Helen questions including how long she’s been the Byrde family lawyer. Helen switches things up and questions Sue, asking how long she’s been their therapist. She reluctantly admits six months. Helen asks about her financial agreement with them and Sue replies, “Are you talking about the bribes they have been giving me behind each other’s backs or the lump sum Marty gave me?” Helen says both. Helen asks if she’s satisfied with the money. Poor Sue is signing her death warrant by stating she may have undervalued her services. Helen assures her she’ll make sure she’s taken care of.
Wendy is talking to Jonah in the garage about Ruth’s condition when Agent Miller shows up. Miller warns Wendy she’s losing patience with her husband and Wendy tells her to get in line. She urges Wendy to get Marty to take the deal and Wendy basically tells Miller thanks for stopping by.
Ruth wakes up and Ben’s with her. She’s confused about what’s going on and Ben explains she’s in the hospital. They found her in the casino parking lot and he wants her to know she’s safe now. He asks if Frank Jr. did this and she admits she didn’t get a good look. Changing the subject, she asks if Wyatt came to see her. Ben’s sorry to have to tell her he didn’t. She asks him to let Marty and Wendy know she needs to talk to them.
Nelson, the cartel muscle who’s always with Helen, goes to see Sue on the pretense of needing a therapy session – but we all know why he’s really there. After talking with him she asks what he does for a living. Nelson produces a gun in response.
The next scene shows a dead Sue, wrapped up in the hallway. He wipes all her records of any sign of Marty and Wendy ever being there.
As Marty and Wendy head into the hospital to visit Ruth, she reveals Agent Miller came to the house and told her about the deal. He lies and says he wasn’t going to take it. She says, “Yes, you were,” while angrily walking past him.
Wendy asks how Ruth feels, even though it’s obvious she feels like crap. Ruth wants to know if Marty knows Frank Jr. did this to her and Marty confirms he does. He also reveals they cut ties with the Kansas City mob and she will never have to work with him again. Ruth, not satisfied with that response, asks, “And?” She reminds Marty she was supposed to be untouchable and demands that Frank Jr. be killed. Marty insists he can’t do that and promises he’ll never touch her again. She angrily tells them that’s not good enough. Wendy admits this is the best they can do. Ruth wants to know best for who, adding that if it were Charlotte laying in this bed Frank Jr. would be dead.
After Wendy tries to assure her that’s not true, Ruth says, “You killed my dad and he barely touched your kid.” Ruth says fine, she’ll kill him herself. Marty tells her she will not and warns this ends right now.
As Helen and Nelson watch Sue’s car go into the lake, he admits Sue was a good listener. Helen asks if he ever gets tired of doing this and he claims he doesn’t. She’s happy with that response and tells him to keep his schedule open.
Ben brings Ruth home to her trailer, carrying her to the porch just as Wyatt shows up to talk to her. Ben gives them a few minutes and Wyatt asks Ruth who did this to her. She says it doesn’t matter. He apologizes for not going to the hospital. He figured the Byrdes would be there and he doesn’t want to see them. He admits he thinks he knew the truth about her killing his dad before she even said it and asks, “Why’d you have to say it out loud?” She admits she wanted him to hear it from her. She owed him that, at the very least.
“What do you call it…the Longmore curse?” she asks. Wyatt claims they aren’t so bad after all – it’s the Byrdes that curse everything. He thinks the minute they showed up everything got turned upside down. She insists she has changed and he agrees she has. He admits he wants to forgive her, but he’s not there yet.
The episode ends with Ruth watching Wyatt walk away after she asks him, “What now?” and he says, “I don’t know.”
- Ozark Season 3 Episode 1 “War Time” Recap
- Ozark Season 3 Episode 2 “Civil Union” Recap
- Ozark Season 3 Episode 3 “Kevin Cronin Was Here” Recap
- Ozark Season 3 Episode 4 “Boss Fight” Recap
- Ozark Season 3 Episode 5 “It Came from Michoacán” Recap
- Ozark Season 3 Episode 6 “Su Casa Es Mi Casa” Recap
- Ozark Season 3 Episode 8 “BFF” Recap
- Ozark Season 3 Episode 9 “Fire Pink” Recap
- Ozark Season 3 Episode 10 “All In” Finale Recap
