Ozark season 2, episode 9 recap: ‘The Badger’ deals with Jacob's death

The season 2 penultimate episode of Ozark leaves us a lot to think about as Charlotte tries to break free from her parents and Darlene does the unthinkable.

Ozark gave us a pretty stellar penultimate episode with “The Badger” and while it didn’t exactly feel like we are reaching the season’s end, it was still quite riveting to watch. What makes this episode so epic is the old-timey love that the Snells shared has been blown to smithereens over the course of the season.

Too much bad has happened in their relationship to sustain the damage, and as expected, Darlene is the one to take a very drastic step and beats Jacob to the punch. Jacob plans to stab Darlene to death during one of their walks however, it is too late by then as Darlene has spiked his coffee with some good ‘ol cyanide.

There is some humor infused at this moment as Jacob’s dying words to Darlene are that he could never keep up with her, not even until his dying breath. A flashback into their first meeting shows that Darlene was always the wild card in their relationship. A young Darlene proceeds to crash a date that Jacob is on and well, the rest is history. But now the couple ceases to exist, and Darlene can go about handling things her way.

But before Jacob’s death, Marty and Wendy reveal to him one of the biggest tragedies of his life. The land he owns is essentially government property and the wrath Darlene had over joining forces with the Byrdes and cartel was justified. It has all led up to this moment and he is full of regret and sorrow.

Credit: Netflix

As Decider points out in their episodic review, Jacob says a line here that is haunting and is so on-point with the sentiment of the scene–“What do you do, Martin, when the bride who took your breath away becomes the wife that makes you hold your breath in terror?” Wow, just wow. It is so fitting for how his and Darlene’s relationship has evolved and what is now left of it.

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Family problems are the theme of the episode as Charlotte is still dead set on getting emancipated from her parents, because honestly who wouldn’t want to? Wendy is all up in a frenzy over this but it seems Marty is being realistic. They are after all a family of criminals and it’s not exactly the best environment for their children.

The only way Marty can secure a future for his family is if the casino plans go through but he has hit yet another roadblock in the form of the gaming commissioner who wants it to be a non-union shop. This would seriously piss off the Kansas City mob who Marty needs for construction purposes so how he plans to get out of this mess is beyond us.

However, there is some happy news embedded within this episode despite Jacob’s death and Cade and Wyatt attempting to rob the strip club. Wyatt is accepted into the University of Missouri and the scene between Wyatt and Ruth is absolutely wonderful. But as exciting this news is, Wyatt is still conflicted over his father’s death and isn’t sure he can move forward without some clarity.

Next. Ozark season 2, episode 1 premiere recap: ‘Reparations’. dark

Ruth’s big reveal of the truth pushes Wyatt away as he runs off with Charlotte. But fret not, Wendy is lurking in the shadows keeping a watchful eye on the both of them.

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