Ozark Season 4 Episode 1 Recap – The Beginning of the End

The Byrdes were taking a small drive. Everyone is doing okay except for Jonah. One would think that things would fall apart after Ben’s death, but it seems things are still swinging in their favor. Wendy and Marty were talking about the FBI and their second casino. Marty wasn’t focused on the road, and he didn’t see the oncoming truck in their lane. The truck tries to overtake the car in front of it. Charlotte sees the truck and alerts Marty, but it is too late. Marty dodges the truck, but they are going too fast. The family van swerves out of control and flips over a few times before coming to a complete stop. It doesn’t seem like anyone survived the crash.

Previously, Marty and Wendy attended the baptism of Omar’s son. They fly to Mexico with Helen, but upon arrival, Helen is killed by Nelson. He blew Helen’s head off in front of Marty and Wendy. They cleaned themselves up and rejoined the party with Omar. Omar introduces his nephew, Javier, who went to LU in Chicago. Javier was very interested in the family business, and he hoped that Marty and Wendy would go back to Ozark and sort Darlene out. It seems Helen knew that Darlene wanted to start replanting her poppy plantation. She informed Omar and Javier about Darlene, and now they know she’s a threat that needs to be neutralized.

Marty didn’t have any choice but just to tell Omar and Javier that they were working on eliminating Darlene. They were clueless about Darlene, and they don’t really have a plan for her yet. Omar invites Marty and Wendy back into the church so they could talk privately. Javier is a very impatient man. Omar knows that his nephew is currently looking for weaknesses and he will not hesitate to move on him and take over the family business. Omar wants Marty and Wendy to help him leave the family business without the threat of being arrested or assassinated. Marty and Wendy knew that Omar’s request was impossible but Omar wouldn’t take no for an answer.

He tells Marty and Wendy that the only reason he chose him was because they could guarantee his freedom. Omar ends the conversation and tells them to enjoy the food and wine at the party. Marty and Wendy were returning to Ozark with a new problem on their shoulders. Meanwhile, Ruth returns to the Lazy-O motel where she used to work as a maid. She spoke to the owner and offered to buy the place for $450,000. The owner hesitated to sell the place, but he couldn’t turn down the offer. Ruth manages to convince the owner to sell and she goes back to Darlene’s estate to celebrate with Wyatt.

Ruth was now working for Darlene. She bought the motel in order to have a legitimate business where they could start laundering money. Ruth learned from the best and she plans to use what she learned from Marty to help Darlene and her heroin business. Darlene knew nothing about money laundering, she was used to Jacob handling all of the business, and she felt one step behind Wyatt and Ruth. Ruth tells Darlene the split percentages they would agree upon on their new business endeavor. Darlene agrees to give Ruth 25% of all their earnings while she splits 75% with Wyatt. With everything agreed upon, Darlene went out of her way to get a bottle of champagne.

A man goes over to Helen’s house at Ozark. He knocks on the door and peeks inside, but the house is empty. Meanwhile, Jonah visits Ruth and gives her Ben’s ashes. He told Ruth that she deserved the ashes of all people because Ben loved her the most. Jonah tells Ruth that Wendy ordered Ben to be killed, but she already knew. She tells Jonah that he’s more than welcome to visit Ben anytime.

After Jonah’s visit, Ruth goes back to the Missouri Belle Casino. Her access was no longer working so she goes back to double check. Charlotte discovers that Ruth was in the hotel and asks security to escort her out. Ruth thought she could fool Charlotte but she knew that she no longer works for her parents.

Wendy and Marty returned from Mexico and found bullet holes in their kitchen windows. They thought something happened to Jonah and Charlotte but they came out from their rooms and assured them they were fine. Jonah tells Marty that he shot the windows out in frustration. He reveals what he knew about Wendy and that she ordered Ben to be killed. Wendy didn’t deny anything but Jonah was looking for an argument. He tells Wendy that Helen told him everything. Jonah wants to call Helen so that she could corroborate her story. Wendy tells Jonah that Helen is already dead. Jonah couldn’t accept that Helen was dead because it would mean that Ben’s death wasn’t necessary. While Jonah was arguing with Helen, they heard the doorbell go off. Marty opens the front door and meets Mel Sattem.

Mel asks the whole family about Helen. Mel informs them that Helen’s husband, Gene, wants to expedite the divorce papers and have Helen’s signature so that he can re-marry. They deny knowing Helen’s whereabouts, but Jonah decides to tell Mel that he should speak with Erin. Meanwhile, Wyatt thanks Darlene for allowing Ruth to be part of their business. Darlene told Wyatt that she wouldn’t have it any other way. Ruth offered Darlene 50% of the business share, but she decided to split everything, even with Wyatt. Wyatt was flattered, and he told Darlene that she didn’t need to pamper him. Darlene tells Wyatt that what’s hers is his.

With Charlotte and Jonah asleep, Wendy and Marty talk about how they’re going to resolve the current problems that they have. Firstly, everything was going to get more political. Without Helen, they need to resolve the legal problems on their own. Marty knew that they needed all the money and support that they could muster if they were going to survive on the legal and political front. If that wasn’t enough, they also needed to turn Omar Navarro into a model citizen per his request. The hardest part was trying to convince Darlene to shut down her heroin operation.

Back at FBI headquarters, Maya attended a debriefing regarding the successful mission against the Lagunas cartel. The FBI infiltrated the cartel’s headquarters and managed to kill four members including the third highest member of the cartel. They confiscated a small arsenal of weapons but the highlight of the operation was the heroin that they seized from the cartel. The heroin had a $350 million street value. Maya received all the credit due to the intel she received from Marty regarding the Lagunas cartel. Instead of getting demoted, she was going back to Ozark to keep an eye on Marty and his family after her maternity leave.

Marty and Wendy scheduled a meeting with Darlene and Wyatt. Darlene mentions that she was waiting for her other partner. The meeting didn’t start until Ruth arrived. Marty and Wendy were surprised that Ruth was already working for Darlene. Things now made sense as to why Ruth went back to her old office. She wanted to steal Marty’s software. Marty and Wendy warns Darlene that she needs to stop her heroin farm before the cartel rains down on her. Darlene didn’t care about Marty, Wendy, or the cartel. Marty and Wendy told them that they’re just messengers. They didn’t want them to end up like Helen who everyone thought was untouchable and yet she’s already dead.

The meeting ends on a sour note as Darlene refuses to listen to reason. Marty begs Ruth to try and convince Darlene not to go to war with the cartel. Ruth knew how the brutal the cartel was and she’s worried for her everyone since Helen was already dead. She thought Helen was untouchable and she was shocked upon hearing news of her death. Wyatt assures Ruth that everything was going to be fine. He tells Ruth not to let the Byrdes get into her head and leave things to him and Darlene.

Mel goes over to Sheriff Nix’s office to ask him for help in locating Helen. Nix refuses to help Mel so he decides to just leave his calling card instead. Meanwhile, Trevor confronts Maya about his suspension. Maya reported Trevor for accepting a false confession from Helen in behalf of Marty. Trevor got suspended for what he did but what he couldn’t accept was someone ratted him out. Maya didn’t care about Trevor. She already broke her code of conduct by accepting the intel from Marty. Everyone knew that she accepted the intel from Marty and even though it was just a onetime deal no one was ever going to trust her ever again.

Mel really needs a signature from Helen in order to return to Chicago. He accepted the case from Gene thinking that it was going to be a walk in the park. He decides to swing by Helen’s house again and take a look inside. Mel reviews the security tapes and finds something odd. Meanwhile, the Byrdes were having dinner and they end up discussing the new plan regarding getting Omar immunity from the FBI. Marty and Wendy end up giving false hope again to their kids. Charlotte was fine with everything but Jonah called out the bullshit. He no longer trusts his parents especially after what happened to Ben. Things were getting heated up again between Wendy and Jonah but before the argument escalates they hear a knock on the backyard door.

It was Mel. He shows a picture of Jonah holding a shotgun at Helen’s face. Mel got the picture off of Helen’s security tapes. Jonah had an alibi but Mel didn’t believe him. Mel just wants a signature from Helen but Marty and Wendy couldn’t tell Mel that Helen was already dead. Marty tells Mel to leave so that their family could go back and enjoy dinner. Wendy goes ape shit on Jonah but he just decides to leave. Jonah went to Helen and planned to kill her but he discovered something greater. Helen told Jonah about Wendy and that she’s the reason that Ben is dead. Jonah didn’t believe Helen at first but everything made sense after her explanation.

Wendy did everything to make Jonah stay, but he wasn’t listening to her. Jonah takes his keys and leaves. Marty tries to regain control of the situation, but Wendy was so angry that she just walks out on dinner entirely. Jonah went to Ruth’s to clear his head. Ruth arrives and Jonah ends up offering his money laundering software to Ruth. She responds that she’s now working for Darlene but that didn’t matter to Jonah. Ruth offers the money laundering job for Jonah but he hesitates to accept. Working with Ruth would mean that he’s betraying his parents and challenging them. Ruth knew that things would end up far more complicated that how it started so she rescinds the offer and just gives Jonah a few cans of beer. She tells him that he could stay for as long as he likes.

Marty continues to pester Maya. He needs to talk with her regarding Omar but Maya refuses to answer his calls. Marty returns to the casino to continue his operations and he finds a familiar face at the bar. It was Javier. He went over to visit so that he could get confirmation from Marty that Darlene has been taken cared off. Marty still doesn’t have any solution for Darlene. He tells Javier that he’s not safe in the casino because FBI agents could still be lingering. Javier knew the risks of his visit so he opts to go back to Marty’s house where they could have the privacy they need.

Charlotte confronts Ben but he was busy finalizing his software. She asks him where he was last night but Jonah didn’t tell him that he went to Ruth’s. Jonah couldn’t accept that Wendy had her own brother killed. Charlotte tries to convince Jonah that everything Wendy did was to protect their family. Jonah considers Ben’s death the same as his own. Ben was family so if Wendy could have Ben killed she could have them killed as well. Charlotte didn’t want to argue with Jonah so she just leaves. Meanwhile, Marty and Javier arrive at their house. Wendy welcomes them and Marty tells her that Javier visited to get an update on Darlene.

Wendy and Marty explain things to Javier. He plans to stay a few more days before returning to Mexico. Javier was staying at Helen’s place because she wasn’t using it anymore. Meanwhile, Jonah goes to the Lazy-O motel to accept Ruth’s offer. He was ready to turn his back on his family even though they stood out for him.

Sheriff Nix sees Mel’s calling card. Mel wrote the words “Do your fucking job” on the back of the calling card. Nix decides to go over to Helen’s house and meets Javier. Javier tells Sheriff Nix that he’s Helen’s friend and he’s using the house while she’s away. Javier invites Nix inside to talk but he kills him the moment he gets the chance.

That night, Wendy and Marty were talking to Charlotte about Jonah when they hear a knock on their door. They went outside and found Javier riding the Sheriff’s car. He told Marty and Wendy that he just solved their problem about Sheriff Nix. Javier opens the trunk and shows them Nix’s dead body. Javier knew that they own a crematorium so they just need to get rid of Nix’s body. While Marty and Javier were loading Nix’s body inside their car, Jonah arrives on his bike and sees everything. Jonah wonders if his parents killed Sheriff Nix.