"It's so hard doing business when you can't trust anyone." You can say that again, Marty Byrde. Let's get this out of the way: The second episode of the new season of Ozark is a frustrating one, an hour that falls back on a few of the character crutches of the first season and gives one that the sinking feeling that the midseason sag that often hampers Netflix dramas is starting very early here. Let's hope it's just a fluke - something the writers needed to get out of their system and that the pace will pick up soon. Did Ozark really need to return to questions of Wendy's marital fidelity? Yes, she turns down Charlie Wilks after what she perceives as a quid pro quo offer of sex for political capital, but it still feels like a cheap development given the Byrdes still haven't really recovered from Wendy's cheating last season. And the Cade/Ruth arc had a similar gamesmanship this episode that felt weak. Did anyone really think Cade was suddenly his daughter's greatest cheerleader? And willing to work for her?!?! It wasn't so much a shock when Cade abused his daughter in the car as an inevitability, and a drama never really works when you get the sense that it's just delaying the inevitable to get to a predetermined run time. Meanwhile, Marty has an adventure into Buddy's mobster past while trying to fit all the pieces together to make the casino a reality. He learns that there's a power player in Kansas City named Frank Cosgrove who is basically stopping all progress on the casino, sometimes through force. Marty's lodger friend Buddy has a history with Frank, and a cool nickname: Jimmy Small. Buddy plays the nostalgia card on Cosgrove, and forces him to negotiate with Marty, who claims he has a "creative approach to moving money." Whether or not Buddy actually slept with Cosgrove's wife remains a mystery. (He probably did.) Finally, there's the dispiriting saga of Ruth Langmore, someone that Marty trusts enough that he gives her $1 million in cash and knows she won't take too much of it for anyone to notice. In fact, she even negotiates a better deal for the paddleboat that Marty is trying to buy, especially after she learns it doesn't have a motor.
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