Ozark Season 4 First Look: The Byrdes Have Blood On Their Hands (And Everywhere Else)

Not for the first time in their lives, the Byrdes are covered in blood. A few years ago, this would've been unthinkable for the suburban power couple, back when life was all about raising their kids and trying to find joy in their passionless marriage. But "Ozark" is now approaching its fourth season and things have gotten considerably more exciting for Wendy (Laura Linney) and Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman). Their marriage is a lot of things, but boring isn't one of them.

Anyway, who needs PTA meetings when you can be the guest of honor at a cartel leader's cool mansion party? Don't let the blood fool you, the Byrdes are having a blast! See for yourself, in our first look at "Ozark" season 4.

Move to the Ozarks, they said, your family will be safe there. Turns out you shouldn't take advice that encourages money laundering, who would've thought? One drastic decision made four seasons prior led the Byrdes to where they are now, cleaning blood from their hair with shaking hands. "Ozark ” has consistently ramped up the stakes for the family and since this is the fourth and final season, their situation has never been more dire.

You might remember that last season saw them travel to Mexico at Cartel leader Omar Navarro's (Felix Solis) request, to attend his son's second baptism. They arrive with cartel lawyer Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer) and to both their shock and ours, Navarro immediately has her shot and killed. And as we now see, the blood splatter got pretty far. 

This first look shows them understandably shaken as they attempt to wash the blood from their face. Wendy is especially affected, trembling as she pushes a rag into Marty's hand for help. It would almost be a tender moment if it wasn't blood he was wiping from her face. Plus, in typical Marty fashion, he already seems to be compartmentalizing, his face hiding his emotions. The scene ends on an ominous note, with someone entering the room and sadly, it'll be quite a while before we know who.

Season 4 of "Ozark" is expected to be supersized, coming in two parts that add up to 14 episodes. Both parts premiere in 2022, but no official release date has been confirmed.

Marty and Wendy are way past being considered good or even decent people. The Byrdes are deep in the trenches now, having a direct relationship with Navarro and having wrecked many lives to save their own. Sure, they're in much deeper than they ever planned to be, and some of it was simply rolling with the punches and clinging to survival, but this also demanded a lot of awful and very conscious decisions on their part. So by no means are they blameless, but it's still hard not to root for their survival. And even if your resentment for them is getting overwhelming, remember everyone else involved in their mess: most notably, their kids, Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) and Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz), and their protege, Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner).

As a refresher, season 3 concluded with the death of Helen Pierce and Navarro's embrace of the Byrdes as his new partners. Covered in blood and shaken at their core, the couple can do nothing but accept this new relationship and all of its many, many risks. Elsewhere, another powerful alliance was made as Ruth severed herself from the Byrdes and joined up with Darlene's (Lisa Emery) heroin operation.

 The biggest bombshell of the season was Wendy's role in her brother Ben's (Tom Pelphrey) death. Given he had just began a relationship with Ruth, she was especially devastated by his loss. Making matters worse, Wendy tried to direct blame back on to Ruth for releasing Ben from the hospital where she had him committed. After discovering that Wendy made no attempt to save Ben, Ruth quits working for the Byrdes.

Also enraged by this discovery is poor, young Jonah. After fitting the puzzle pieces together, the kid has realized the darkness behind his parents. Adding to the list of issues for season 4 is the mysterious and perceptive FBI agent Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes), who the Byrdes promised to have under control. They really have their work cut out for them, but if Marty and Wendy can successfully get all that blood out of their hair, what can't they accomplish?