Ozark might be about how getting a promotion in America can suck

polygon.com:

In episode 2 of Ozark’s newly released season 4 part 1, Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) briefly encounters Sam Dermody (Kevin L. Johnson) inside her casino. Things have not gone well for Sam, as things rarely do for those who stay in the Byrde circle. Sam once played the tables for Wendy’s benefit, but now he’s gambling simply because he has a gambling problem.

Wendy is skeptical when she sees him, but Sam assures her everything is under control. “I’ve got a plan!,” he says, not convincing anyone. Wendy quickly throws him out, saying it’s for his own good. This small moment recreates the entire show in a miniature. On Ozark, there are people like Wendy and Marty (Jason Bateman) and there are people like Sam — the users and the people being used.

The bleak binary has played out since 2017, but what makes Ozark consistently fascinating is learning how just about everybody occupies both roles at the same time. Marty and Wendy have power over Sam, sure, but what’s the difference between that relationship and the one they share with Omar Navarro (Felix Solis)? One person has everything, another has nothing.

The first two episodes of Ozark’s fourth and final season show Wendy and Marty trying to deal with their problems, as they always have, by erasing them. There are more things than Sam that they want to make disappear. Like what happened to their former cartel co-worker Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer) or Wendy’s brother Ben (Tom Pelphrey). Helen’s death at the end of season 3 was a loss because Helen was a phenomenal character, but the viewer’s loss is the Byrde family’s gain, as they have moved up in the cartel.

In a 1977 essay, journalist Barbara Ehrenreich and her professor husband John coined the term “professional-managerial