Ozark Finale - Wendy Byrde's Psychotic Selfishness

[@stephenderry9488]

The complete lack of any redeeming features as a human being is what makes Wendy Byrde such a great character. No compromises, no regrets. She's definitely a Javi to Marty's more thoughtful, cautious Navarro.

[@cesarincamendozaloyola4407]

I found Darlene less redeeming and les compromising.

[@automnejoy5308]

I wouldn't say Wendy was less thoughtful. It's just that her drive for power guided her whole thought process, which made her soulless and reckless. Marty just wanted out.

[@AS-fu1kd]

@@cesarincamendozaloyola4407 Darlene's the best lol POW

[@patrickhilboldt6281]

Wendy wasn't the villain Marty was.

[@terryxperry]

​@@automnejoy5308the thing was there was no way. Marty forgot that. The cartel was not letting them leave . Even if they could Landy the 8 million . I think in the end Wendy knew she had to powerful to for her and her family to live.

[@AgeofWonder_7]

I heard Laura Linney say in an interview about Wendy: “She’s manipulative & calculating, but not emotionally mature” which explains her vulnerability in dealing with the kids. Work is where she thrives.

[@meowmachine9147]

I'd agree with that analysis. Sometimes, when Wendy was upset, especially with the kids, her intense emotional reactions were embarrassing. Her relationship with her father and issues with Ben growing up really stunted her in many ways. Horrible and fascinating character

[@abosworth]

Oh man that was brilliant. I hadn't really considered that she was simply being more sympathetic as a strategy. I do think her plea to the children in the mental hospital about Ben was somewhat genuine but I think you've nailed it in noticing that she picked up on the fact that she could use it as a manipulation tactic. Such a great show and I absolutely loved the ending.

[@colincnote2120]

After season 2 I stopped trusting anything she says

[@ABSsponds]

Remember we started with her cheating on Marty. Hated her from ep 1

[@Meanie74]

I think everyone acknowledged it was a manipulation tactic with “you know this is messed up, right?” I think that’s exactly what Jonah is referring to.

[@kevinmadrid7908]

@@Meanie74 but then she sidelined the thought by teasing what she would say through her "I'm the hopeful victim" plea of "i really hoped things would be different. back tracked and said things as they perceived her to be in the end allowing them to let their guards down to make their own choices in what is a "win win"

[@cindyinnew]

Same here. It ended the only way that it could

[@CosmicPhilosopher]

I've wondered if the Byrdes had made some different choices back in the day, Wendy's desire for control and power could have been better channeled. In earlier seasons, they talked about her mental health struggles and the decision for her to give up her job to be a full-time mother. Marty, being the level-headed rational person he is, probably failed to see how this "stifling" of Wendy made her discontent with her life in general. If she had continued with therapy and working at least part-time in politics, would we see the result we got in the show? I don't know, but it's interesting to think about. I'm also fascinated in how so many people take Wendy's stay in the institution at face value. My very first thought when it happened was that she was just doing this to manipulate others. Her emotions when talking to her kids were not genuine, but because no kid wants to see their mother as a bad person, they bought into it. I've seen a number of people in videos and comments applauding Wendy's confession to her kids, but they're being manipulated just as much as the characters in the show.

[@uditvedantmishra9719]

well we saw that she did try to get back into politics but was met with rebuttal and that was the source of her frustration

[@freegadflyathome]

Yeah they explored that idea. She just saw the power she could actually have as a mobster and it took her over.

[@DesperadoDufel]

It's a TV show lol

[@aprilwashington3150]

She did use the mental institution as a manipulating tool. Remember she asked Marty did he tell the kids and he said no because he don't want them to worry and she said that's the whole point and she's not leaving until they come. And when they came, she told the kids what they needed/wanted to hear in order to get them back. She didn't mean it. That was more of Wendy doing what Wendy does best---whatever it takes to get the job done. Next comment: Wendy did make 1 sacrifice out of the entire series, when she and Marty left Navarro and Camila on that last prison visit, Marty said they have to get Navarro off the SDN list NOW, right away, she screamed then got in the van and called Schaefer to say his voting machines will be put in Michigan and Wisconsin, then she looked at Marty like, There! Satisfied!

[@mrgreentea4938]

Wendy never sacrificing herself for anyone else is definitely why she’s hard to root for

[@OcGurl81]

@Maester Gryphon Me too!!

[@dayman0603]

@Maester Gryphon dude. She killed Ben. She doesn't get the moral high ground because she knew him longer, if anything it makes her much worse. I'll take shallow puppy love over that any day and even Ruth acknowledged that by giving his ashes to Jonah. She knew she wasn't suffering the worst from his loss but it certainly wasn't Wendy.

[@dayman0603]

@Maester Gryphon she also didn't get dragged into the situation. Marty and Wendy decided together to get involved with the cartel. She went in with eyes open, any other interpretation is revisionist history to make her more sympathetic.

[@edytau6193]

She was my fav too

[@myeung6666]

@Maester Gryphon Yes, it was tiring seeing everyone sympathize only with Ruth and hating on Wendy. Wendy had to give Ben up or else the whole family would be in danger. It wasn't really a choice.

[@elbuhdai605]

She is a horrible person, but an excellent character. I think it's important that we appreciate that.

[@r0conscious]

I think she's not horrible at all, just excellent at surviving

[@gandfgandf5826]

@@r0conscious yes, Wendy became my favourite character in the last few episodes. She gambled, big time, and did everything that needed to be done to survive. Without her, they would have all been dead, or in jail.

[@MRHIMDOWNSTAIRS12]

@@gandfgandf5826 how? Lol

[@automnejoy5308]

@@r0conscious If she were excellent at surviving, she never would have given the green-light for Marty to start working for a drug cartel. They certainly never needed to do that. It wasn't about survival. It was power hunger from day one.

[@spilkcore-8205]

Kinda like Cersei in GoT

[@curiousworld7912]

I think Walter White and Wendy Byrde are much alike. They both use their families as excuse for their behavior, although White tries hard to convince himself that his motives are somehow 'pure'. They both allow their egos full range, and they both do what they do for themselves. Wendy probably comes across as less sympathetic, but that may be partially because WW is dying, and she's just very good at what she does - and, once finding herself and her family in this position - puts her 'talents' into action. White has been lying to himself, all along. And, then, there's the fact that 'evil women' are harder to sympathize with in our society, than men who behave in the same manner.

[@Johnnywayne5302]

I dunno she's more like a more ruthless skylar to me

[@halfsharkhalfang]

exactly!

[@aashag3192]

So true, the fact that she is a woman is what making a lot of people harder to sympathize for her imo

[@curiousworld7912]

@@aashag3192 I remember the utter vitriol actress Anna Gunn was subjected to on social media, for her role as Skylar White in 'Breaking Bad'. It wasn't just the character that came in for the attacks; Ms. Gunn was verbally attacked - even threatened - as well. Yet, Walter White was 'rooted-for' by many fans. Bryan Cranston did an amazing, remarkable job as WW, but I don't believe he dealt with the same amount of abuse, personally.

[@Cinna316]

You nailed it

[@evanward4303]

Wendy said a mouthful when she said to Marty "the only way out is forward". Her drive to power in season 4 is a survival mechanism as much as anything else imo.

[@colincnote2120]

Manipulation

[@danielimmortuos666]

I just think she’s a psychopath

[@SoulfulVeg]

I love her character. She's so against the women's long suffering narrative. I wouldn't want to be her friend, but she's incapable of being a friend. She made this show so interesting. I love watching her evil character arc.

[@p.g.1454]

Holy shit, now i know what people watch arrow and shit. How anybody can say she is a decent character is beyond me lol

[@CharleneOrtizTraining]

Me too!

[@greggoat6570]

Exactly it is beyond you as in you don’t get it. People usually blame the creator’s of something for their own inabilities to understand something, pretty common response.

[@frickfrack369]

@@charlieberry7562 what is that like female dating strategy or something lmao

[@jackchop1576]

She was the Walter White of Ozark. Marty handled the money like Skyler did.

[@MegaAthir]

Wendy is indeed the kind of character we could adore without necessary respecting or liking her. We adore her efficiency and ruthlessness as a show, that she's always indeed a villain that nails her role real well; she's fantastic!

[@ceecarter9970]

No

[@vikingodin1986]

@@ceecarter9970 yes

[@Viehdieb]

@@ceecarter9970 yes

[@isaiah7640]

So u adore her as a person but don’t like her character? Coz u can’t adore and not like something 😂

[@SuhamBello]

Wendy is very complicated and difficult to understand, but she has a real motivation that has to do with her sense of self. Wendy did sacrifice a life for her family before any of this happened. People who aren't mothers don't understand this. When she finds herself at having the opportunity to build what she've always wanted, it's just too good to let go. That's how her greatest strength becomes her greatest weakness as she crosses to the dark side, just like Walter. It's a brilliant character.

[@rushpatriot2866]

Yeah the majority of people don't understand why slutty females decided to sacrifice their family to get railed by someone that talks to them dirty. Wendy seems pretty damn real

[@petep5207]

Women were designed to be mothers. Not entrepeneurs or CEOs. When they venture out of their lane...you get a Wendy. A cunning, seemingly content but actually utterly miserable being.

[@nont18411]

Laura Linney is so great at portraying unlikable villains who ended up getting away with it, both in Mystic River and this one. Could say that it's a typecast for her.

[@greggoat6570]

Holy shit I forgot that was her in that movie

[@cyn1clcynide]

Also Truman's wife in the Truman Show

[@agbrenv]

@@cyn1clcynide damn, I knew that annoying fake smile was familiar

[@liminalcriminal_]

She is likeable. Idk why everybody's saying she isn't. She had a few unlikable moments like the ice cream and trying to get jonah arrested but overall I liked her. Also her transformation seemed natural, maybe even moreso than Walter White. While White transitions from a pushover to a complete psychopath in a span of months, I think Wendy just drops her emotion as a coping mechanism, which is far more common and relatable, and feels natural. She strikes me more as a normal person who after being put through trauma turned into a sociopath, which is usually the case with sociopaths

[@maximuscesar]

I`m not a hater of this season like everyone else. My general feeling of this season is that everyone was expecting a big plot twist that never came, the plot twist was that there were no plot twist. Everything went more or less the coherent and logical course (which is better than going lengths out of the way just for the sake of surprising the audience) and some people thought this was boring or lazy. Now seeing these Wendy's nuances I see some level of deepness and it made me like this season a little bit more.

[@indiashante1560]

I agree. I thought the ending was fitting.

[@Meanie74]

I read a lot of people say the Byrdes were going to die bc there’s no way for them to maintain and I think the writers really called the audience out in the end on why they thought/ wanted the Byrdes to die. Them dying is a resolution with predictable, and somewhat just, consequences. The audience is the P.I. saying “you can’t win” Why not?

[@that_damn_kiddo]

@@Meanie74 well, the issue is that it doesn't really give the viewer catharsis, to see characters that by all rights deserve punishment for their actions going without it. Though, I do agree that isn't always how life works out.

[@Meanie74]

@@that_damn_kiddo I liked that ultimate subversion of expectations. I was impressed how everything went pretty predictably right until the last minute and that in itself was a twist. Then to have punishment you’re torn on in the first place (bc the kids) dangled and then taken in the most brutal way possible? Pretty cool

[@alexman378]

Part of the reason we sympathize less than Walter is also that until he becomes the big bad in S05, he’s always encountering far far worse people than himself. Crazier, more ruthless, more manipulative, more violent people, until he rises to the top. Wendy in her field, was always the most ruthless and cut throat from the get go, especially after the first shock of what happened to their lives passes. The only ones who match her are the Cartel officials, and I don’t think we see anyone who’s more manipulative.

[@nont18411]

Another reason is that Walter White had his own karma moment in the end. He got punished for his own evil acts. Wendy never gets any karma. She is a villain and she wins through and through.

[@automnejoy5308]

​@@nont18411 Which looks even worse compared to how things went for Ruth, who was a more sympathetic character.

[@StandWatie1862]

No season 5 is coming the show is over

[@alexman378]

@@StandWatie1862 Breaking Bad did have a season 5.

[@StandWatie1862]

@@alexman378 yeah I was talking about Ozark

[@anthonyboyle5766]

As to Ruth losing her whole family because she met Marty, that was 100% Ruth's fault. She steals the millions of dollars that are in one of the rooms that she was being paid for and tasked with cleaning, and not stealing from them. If Ruth isn't a thief and just does her job as she was supposed to, she never comes across all that money. And even the fact that she did come across all that money, that doesn't mean she gets to try and extort the person who has the money (Marty). Ruth's involvement and getting her family killed was entirely her fault.

[@babyJes444]

*EXACTLY!*

[@BiggerR10]

you joking?

[@aurinqx]

great perspective

[@TheNavyguy44]

Ben was broken. She realized letting him live would cost her the lives of her family. Ben and her father turned their backs on Wendy. Why would she protect them now?

[@babyJes444]

Because people will hate her just because she's a woman

[@greggoat6570]

Ding ding ding! Javi was a sleazy cruel monster and I’ve yet to see the waves of people bitching out how he ruined the show

[@piomusco1020]

@@babyJes444 Oh yes, just because she is woman. Absolutely not for the fact that she's soulless, ruthless and doesn't feel an ounce of remorse for the damage she causes to other people.

[@agbrenv]

@@babyJes444 if that's so, then why do people like Ruth?

[@liminalcriminal_]

@@babyJes444 Wow totally substantiated, clever, and original social commentary. Can't wait to see the trials you used to scientifically back up this fact. Or maybe you're just talking out of your ass because victimization is seen as a virtue in today's fucked society, and it's always easy to blame bigotry

[@YourDadYoda]

Sometimes I hate her, sometimes I hate that I love her. She’s such a brilliant character. And Laura Linney was fantastic at pulling her off.

[@jorgecanalesbarrera7090]

Wendy always been a kind of villain to me since the beginning tbh

[@jorgecanalesbarrera7090]

@Maester Gryphon for sure

[@schneiderjohnson5341]

If Wendy behaved like Marthy I’m sure the Byrdes would have ended up dead and they would have made fucked up decisions….Wendy was more realistic and yes she was ambitious and that helped in making them indispensable and that was the only way to survive in their situation…sometimes you need someone with the balls to keep you moving….

[@chiraggupta2645]

​@@schneiderjohnson5341 disagree, if marty was in control of the family byrdes would have got out long ago, avoiding much of the deaths and pain them and the people around them suffered. He had a great plan to leave in the earlier seasons but Wendy seemed to like the newfound power she found at the Ozarks, and hence risked the entire family to stay. He was extremely calm and rational and genuinely a decent guy at the beginning. The problem was he never stood up to his wife and by the last season he just became completely hollow, doing whatever Wendy told him. Honestly made me so sad cause him and the kids were my favorite

[@TheBlurReturns16]

​@@chiraggupta2645I agree, Marty was getting them out in Season 2, then Wendy goes and gets closer to Narravo lol. She is the reason for alot of this stuff.

[@freegadflyathome]

I think the scenes with her father and with Ruth were as authentic. She reverted to herself as an abused teenager. The scene with Ruth was a moment of catharsis. That catharsis, plus what seemed like genuine empathy and acceptance from Ruth kind of turned that narcissism back to full volume for her. Yeah, her telling the kids that was just her last ditched effort to get them to *think* they understand her and get there full support again. I never truly know Wendy's motivations and the show seems to want it that way. She is an upper class Darlene. She acts out of pure impulse I think. She thinks of a way to work it out or an excuse afterward. I will never understand why she just decided to keep the sister close, but I guess it turned out to be advantageous for the pharmacudical company deal. Idk. Oh the first time she tried to get the hospital to commit her, I thought she might be setting up an insanity defense for herself. You never know with her lol.

[@truongphan9082]

She kept the sister close because the sister was the easier move than having to free Navarro, getting him back to Mexico, erasing his name from the high-crime list and getting him back to run the cartel. Freeing Navarro would also entail installing election fraud machines for Schafer (the politician); which was even a more despicable and immoral crime than money laundering. Wendy is a visionary and decisive player.

[@freegadflyathome]

@@truongphan9082 I guess. I don't really see it that way though. The deal was pretty much done with Navarro. I dunno about the voting machines. I mean, She ended up saying she would do it anyway. The Byrde's (especially Wendy) went through a lot of shit to gain Navarro's trust... And Marty, at least, sees that she has already f'd them over. I just don't see them building the same kind of relationship with her. That just my opinion. I see her as completely erratic. She is quite clever at figuring out how to work those decisions for her favor after though. I think the show just have them a good bit of lee way on that though. Like I said, she just happened to save the deal with pharm company making so she doesn't have to put in the machines. The way she has treated that poor woman is far worse than voter fraud imo.

[@TheOneAndOnlyDon]

This is a very good analysis, I was thinking in very similar ways about this show and the characters motivations, it was clear to me that the Byrdes were the real villains all along from season 1. Marty and Wendy were this cold ambitious selfish cunning smart manipulative entity that complement each other to create chaos, death and destruction while posing as loving and caring parents. I love how well Ruth described Wendy at Clere's office and then how Wendy described Marty during their conversation later. Even though I was expecting for them to be punished at the end, this story is not about poetic divine justice, so maybe the message of the ending is that evil people getting away with their sinful ways is more common than what we want to accept. As unfair it may seem, that's how the real world works very often.

[@SpringAngel1]

No it’s not. Stop believing in the tv program. God sees all

[@liminalcriminal_]

And evil very very often get away with what they do. Like 2/3 of the world's governments are rife with corruption and crime runs large parts of the world. Socially backwards people make up a huge percentage of us. The nazis could've won with a tiny bit more restraint. Stop acting like divinity will lead us to goodness, as that'll lead straight to our downfall.

[@AgeofWonder_7]

I have an Aunt who is in politics that reminds me a lot of her character. By the way, Laura Linney better get an Emmy for this season - she nailed it. I don’t care how many awards she already has.

[@philiplee1803]

Laura and Julia should win awards for their acting.I love these 2 characters the best.

[@peachyqueen7856]

Wendy is one of my favorite characters on the show. She was smart as hell and always found a way to get the job done. She low key loved being a Queen pin.

[@MPerfect92]

Oh yasssss girl power!!! Even if that person is a manipulative sociopath. But…girl power!!

[@petep5207]

​@@MPerfect92 - FEMALE NATURE IN A NUTSHELL. As if we needed any more examples...and like most females, Wendy didn't want to be Marty's equal. She wanted revenge on all men due to her deep-seeded daddy issues. She was always powerless against her dad. I even think she cheated on Marty as a power move. They never did clarify WHY she cheated--which to me means she just did it to do it. She also grew to want to one-up and usurp him. It began with the purchase of the riverboat casino when she allied with Helen. And make NO mistake about it...if at any point, Helen was faced with a Marty or me situation...she would not hesitate much to sacrifice him and rationalize it as she did with all of her other evil deeds. She is evil. She is Hillary Clinton. Lest we forget she CHOSE to kill her own brother to salvage her long-term plans--when witness protection was a clear option. An out for her family.

[@Heligoland360]

@@MPerfect92 lmao this

[@justinpaul3110]

The beauty of the show was the mastery of ambiguity written into the characters. It's so, damn, good. Odd, if illogical, plot points and pacing were issues at the beginning and the end of the show. However, that unsureness and open question of who is or isn't the good guy was impeccable.

[@Stellarfront]

I disagree that Wendy isn't likable, I like her throughout, possibly my favorite character

[@r0conscious]

She's fkn awesome, probably the most talented/clever character in the show, insane survival instincts, respect

[@coreybreiland7586]

Eesh. The only two comments I've seen that like her. I despised her, but her character was great for the show.

[@elmaestroco]

Oh, man, I LOVED her. Her gentle smirk when she destroys her opponent. Loved every second of it.

[@jo0rd73]

I agree, people flock all over men who are good morally grey (mostly in the dark side) characters but you don’t see it as much with women. I love characters like that and Wendy is one of my fav versions of this archetype.

[@Stellarfront]

@@jo0rd73 💯

[@shaghayeghtehrani6285]

Wow that was such a deep, comprehensive and surprisingly brief analysis of such a complicated character. Great video. Thanks for making it

[@maiasalsamendi3736]

loved this analysis! i really enjoyed how unhinged Wendy was this last season.

[@alanlei1772]

Wendy was my favorite character (alongside Marty). The entire premise of the film was getting the family out of the mess that they were in while not getting killed by drug dealers. Wendy saw that clear picture and was willing to do anything necessary to save her family. In this aspect, she is the most effective character. Marty is smart, but he’s soft in most aspects and falls easier to manipulation. Wendy, having less emotions, sees everything crystal clear. Although she made some controversial decisions, the byrdes woulda been long dead without her.

[@YouTubeUser...]

Same, Wendy was my favourite too. She didn't let anyone get in the way of the end result, which was getting the family out of the Ozarks. I do wish she had a teensy bit of empathy 😂, but most of her decisions, if not all, delivered the best outcome for her and her family.

[@phantomtq]

Wendy less emotional???? All i saw for 4 fcking season was a hysterical greedy emotional women yelling all over.

[@chiraggupta2645]

Its a miracle Wendy didnt get all the Byrdes killed. Marty was the rational calm decent one that had a conscience. Maybe you can say a conscience was a weakness, but certainly not a bigger weakness than Wendy's powerhungry and impulsive deciscions. Literally the only reason she refused to go along with Marty's plan to get the family out way earlier cause she liked the power and importance her newfound position got and didnt trly want to go back to her old life, regardless of the immense risk to her life, Marty and their poor son and daughter

[@s.e.7564]

She wasn't trust into a deadly situation "without her permission", as you say in 2:04 . She and Marty made the decision together to accept the gob for the cartel, I actually think she motivate him (which made sense since we see later that she was bored being a housewife). Yet she never accept the responsability for that decision and blame it all on Marty, who also seems to think that it was only his fault..

[@automnejoy5308]

Exactly. And as time progresses, Marty keeps coming back to the idea of throwing in the towel and going into witness protection, whereas Wendy just becomes more power-hungry. This fact, along with her endless capacity for manipulation in every interaction she has with literally anyone, is really what made her the true villain.

[@gandfgandf5826]

I think the brilliance of Laura Linney's portrayal of Wendy, and the writing, is that we don't ever really know her humanity, or lack of. Is she the soulless monster that others believe? Or an extreme pragmatist, doing whatever it takes to save those she loves? IDK, and love that I was left wondering.

[@fideletamo4292]

She's evil, she chose that life she told ben she liked this life..Bish is crazy she killed Ruth dad...

[@cinefiles2729]

I don't understand why everyone hates on Wendy like she's the only person in the show that is pure evil. Marty was too ambitious , cold, and manipulative too but can't handle his kids like a father. Ruth was a killer, manipulative, criminal and disrepectful to everyone she ever worked with. And just cuz she found love in Ben doesn't make her a good person. And she acted like she knew Ben her whole life. She took Ben out of the hospital when Wendy told her he's bipolar and that he needed medication. Ruth was selfish. Wendy is manipulative and controlling but she aims for her family's safety. And look where that brought them? They were safe. But I will not agree of how bad she was as someone who gets rid of everyone that comes her way.

[@RM-100]

Brilliant observation! Detailed & fully fleshed out! Subscribed!!!

[@patrickstiadle3857]

As the Walter White-esque anti-hero, Wendy really comes out of nowhere. Whatever else went into making that work, got give big credit to Laura Linney's performance. Just brilliant

[@mdincorporated]

Don’t know why I’m getting into Ozark now, but these videos are interesting! Thank you!

[@Ralphr203]

Thanks for creating this art. Loved the opening music!

[@uditvedantmishra9719]

Unpopular Opinion- I really liked wendy as a character, not as a person but as a character

[@maloneaqua]

Is it true? Yes. But this lets Marty completely off the hook. People believe that if Marty pouts and worries all day he’s a better human being. Marty is equally responsible for all of it - pouting is just his personality trait. He’s incapable of being happy - wasn’t happy before the smuggling, wasn’t happy when the smuggling was going well, wasn’t happy when it wasn’t - he’s just not happy as a human lol and people think that means he has a conscience. It means he’s an eeyore . That’s all. Wendy’s just trying to make the best of it and embrace it.

[@morningstar5822]

Finally someone that gets it , i think everyone hates her because she's a woman and for once she's fighting back instead of smiling and waiting for someone to save her and her family and give them a better future , plus they make her out to be the villain like she's the one going around killing people like omar and all the other psychotic characters , honestly i will forever love women like her 💖 ruthless and doesn't take shit from anyone

[@babyJes444]

@@morningstar5822 100000%

[@blackvillain4479]

The difference is that marty wasn't in it for himself. He legitimately cared about his family Wendy cared for no one but herself we dont hate her because she's a woman we hate because she legitimately a terrible person who tried to undermined all of her husband's efforts.

[@mattdaemontargaryen5256]

Yeah but Marty is a million times smarter than Wendy.

[@mattdaemontargaryen5256]

​@@morningstar5822She is unlikable. People love Ruth even though she killed her uncles but because she is likable.

[@drk_fi]

I loved her ruthlessness. I mean, if you're going into a life of crime might as well be ruthless 😆

[@will.surreal]

I don't understand how she could be so savage yet flinch at the sight of death

[@mrbeaverheaven2495]

I actually think Marty is as bad as Wendy. He just depends oh her being the bad cop to his good cop.

[@babyJes444]

Thissssssss

[@greedyinterntainment5973]

He had the chance to save the family multiple times. But if it weren't for Wendy's actions, the show would not have gone past season 2

[@user-iice]

You say “as bad” as if you really think you know how bad she is . If he is as bad as you think he wouldn’t let wendy walk all over him and disrespect him and humiliate him . She is so bad you don’t understand it , even cheated on him for no good reason and when the son of her lover came to her for consolation she hit him with the “ i didn’t even love him” . You can’t say as bad when you don’t know how BAD she is .

[@mattdaemontargaryen5256]

​@@greedyinterntainment5973True

[@wtxcrazydonut]

You're kinda picking and choosing with the Walter White comparison bro He watched Jane die when he could have saved her, he poisoned a 10 year old boy with a potentially lethal poison, he murdered Mike for no reason other than Mike damaging his ego, he ordered the gruesome deaths of a dozen people in jail and he went into crime despite being offered a place at Gray Matter because of his own pride.

[@JustanObservation]

Absolutely but he gets away with those things because we have seen other moments where he’s vulnerable or sacrifices himself

[@wtxcrazydonut]

@@JustanObservation I love when the content creator replies! Sweet engagement you've earned a sub 🙌 Yeah thats a good point, I actually found myself sympathising with Walt all the more because he did terrible things AND good things, lets you sympathise with him more cus all of us have those negative traits to a certain extent. Point made!

[@automnejoy5308]

@@wtxcrazydonut The fact that he has terminal cancer excuses everything, I guess. lol.

[@BiggerR10]

and i still like him more then here. lol

[@Dime-bz6hc]

Wendy not dying ruined Ozark for me. I was ok with everything else…even Ruth dying, which I thought was so fucking wrong, but Wendy getting to live was the worst decision.

[@JuliaHernandezRuza]

Wendy letting her brother die at the hands of the cartel was just sick, superb writing! This show is seriously underrated in my opinion. In a lot of ways it's much darker and nuanced than Breaking Bad.

[@Jonathon283]

The only people in the family that changed in the show were the kids. They were groomed into evil by their parents. Jonah took until the final moments. The power dynamics maybe shifted between Marty and Wendy a few times, and Marty went back and forth on whether to let kids make their own decisions etc, but they are both the same at the end, just better at what they do. And I can’t believe people thought Wendy was reforming, it’s not even that subtle, it’s very much telegraphed she is manipulating through her confessions and repeating/patterning behavior to simulate empathy and realization and eventually even Marty knows what she’s doing and goes along cause he also gets what he wants. Love the show beginning to end.

[@chiraggupta2645]

Charlote is not evil and Jonah's ending is ambiguous. Hell I would say even Marty at the end is not evil, he still has less deaths on his hands than Ruth I think. Wendy on the other hand.... Evil is a big word tho and the point of Ozark is not to characterize people as good and evil but that its all grey. Marty and Wendy are absolutely not the same, Marty was a pretty decent and likeable guy who had a fairly strong conscience at the start.

[@Yosemiteb]

"The villain thinks they are the hero." I just love ,Just an Observation.

[@G.LD.]

Love Wendy, I hated her at first but once s2 hit she became my favorite character...love characters that are willing to do whatever it takes

[@aaronb2955]

same! i dont get how people hate her! her family is literally alive because of her. she got the casino, she got helen killed, she got them out! wendy did go far, but thats what it takes to survive a world like that. if she was more like skylar, than theres no way the brydes would be alive.

[@morningstar5822]

@@aaronb2955 exactly ! She's realistic and doesn't lie to herself just like she said the only way out is forward plus i think most people hate her because she's a woman and for once a female character is actually fucking ruthless instead of an emotional mess

[@aaronb2955]

@@morningstar5822 yea same. Shes just as bad ass as walter white in breaking bad and all the people who hate wendy love him…🤨🤨

[@Cramerica667]

The actress did an amazing job. I often thought, this character is so unlikeable but for some reason I feel the actual person playing her is probably a great person. She sold it so well.

[@markmbaluto7365]

Great video man you hit the button every time. I really hated her character most of all her ego which drove Marty further away and even putting their lives in danger, do you know how crazy it is for Marty to tell charlotte such an issue about their marriage, but I agree with your points I don’t think she was telling the truth in the finale she merely just transformed to something else like Heisenberg in the face of losing what she cared about.

[@getrektnoobgg5043]

Apparently she wanted to build a life out of the mess for the kids. But Marty just wanted to get away from the crime to build a life for the kids. Wendy had me saying what the fuck are you doing the whole show. I felt bad for Marty because we all knew what his motives were. Safety and a new life. Wendy’s motives. Power and money.

[@prod.sixtyfour]

tbh i think that the final change is somewhat genuine because a main flaw in her diplomatic ability was her complete unableness to control her anger when she is confronted morally. Despite always knowing what to say, when somewhat calls her out on things like the ben incident, she becomes fully angered and out of control, just by the look on her face. Going from being unable to control herself after only being told that she was wrong to verbally admitting her guilt seems like a large leap, and her unmovingness is a major characteristic she has, not even a cartel leader could make her change her plans. Manipulative people have to be geniuses to b able to actually admit they are wrong, so I feel like the change is up to interpretation, she's either a next level manipulator or actually experienced a bit of a change at the end.

[@CharleneOrtizTraining]

I love Wendy's character. She's smart, resourceful, bold and ruthless when she needs to be. I don't agree that she had a choice with her brother Ben. He was unstable and unpredictable and he would've gotten the whole family killed. When they introduced her father I was more empathetic towards Wendy's because her father was a real piece of shit. She does have a conscious about what she does and I think she sincerely was trying to protect her family, but her ruthless nature does come out in the process. I love characters that are smart and complicated. They are very entertaining to watch and I enjoyed watching her character and wondering what insane decision she will make next.

[@IcedCoffeeGaming]

Great video, sad to see Ozark ending but it was really good overall :)

[@justinpaul3110]

On the contrary, I'm glad they knew when to pull the plug. It's a VERY underrated move with hit shows.

[@CiaoRooster]

This was extraordinarily well argued. Well done. If you are holding yourself to criticism of the works themselves and not their creators or culture, I’d say you are completely correct. (Very Yale of you! Boola Boola!) But, if we are stemming from the arguments on comments sections, there is one glaring and overriding reason (many) viewers hate Wendy. … drumroll… she is a woman. She is in fact maybe our first truly high profile female anti-hero. (I never watched The Shield.) And people… don’t like it. Even when given a, theoretically, leading man to play off of. This is further nuanced by arguments of action vs manipulation, the gendered nature of which stretched back at least to Macbeth.

[@carlitobrigante330]

Excellent analysis and insights.

[@sandhanitizer15]

Her admitting herself into the psychiatric center was most definitely just another strategy from Wendy to get what she wants. There's absolutely no way she actually felt remorse for anything.

[@oceansoflorewi]

The fact the actress is an Aquarius helped tremendously lol. Most detached emotionless sign in the charts.

[@Mirakelpung]

I remember me and my dad discussing the last season of Ozark and how it would end. My dad told me he hated Wendy and hoped someone would shoot her, and that he liked Ruth seeking justice for the shit that has happened to her. I personally was shocked to learn this since Marty and Wendy were my favorite characters and Ruth pissed me off to no end with her selfish behavior putting everyone at risk. I think most people such as my dad like characters that are empathetic and do something reckless because they feel right in doing so, but personally I guess I like pragmatic characters that will put their emotions aside and do the wrong thing for the right reasons.

[@caseyhart4999]

I’m right there with you man I hated Ruth and it is so baffling to me how it seems like everyone both in the show and fans of it outside the show treat the byrdes like they are just evil personified while Ruth is this sweet innocent little angel. It’s total hogwash. Ruth killed her own family. Nobody else

[@tshay7]

Same!

[@nont18411]

@@caseyhart4999 I think that fans' perception of Ruth is the same way as fans' opinion on Mike Ehrmantraut. Mike really had it coming and I'm okay with Walt killing him.

[@fideletamo4292]

@@caseyhart4999 she killed her oncles to save Marty right? Ruth was born in this life Wendy was a crazy power hungry Bish who chose illegal activity..Wendy killed Ruth dad..Marty was ok, Wendy is a prick..

[@automnejoy5308]

Ruth came from poverty and was barely an adult. She was raised in a shitty situation that the viewer experienced alongside her. That's why she was more sympathetic.

[@studiostyx7075]

I think characters like Wendy, Cersei and Claire Underwood are so powerful but so divisive because their characters behave exactly as men would in these situations, and that either makes people root for them or absolutely despise them.

[@octavianschaefer7294]

I love Wendy as a character but I can’t help but feel like she kinda stole the show a little bit in season 4, and not in the best way. It felt like Marty’s character sort of took a back seat while she took care of everything, which seems out of character because he was always sure to be on top of a situation.

[@martinelliotedwards1883]

Idc what anybody else says she’s an awful human being. The fact your solution to family issues is having your brother murdered is unacceptable. Wendy is evil

[@forcecalibration924]

Thank you for doing this🙏🏽

[@VHBEngines]

She's the only person keeping me coming back after the first couple seasons. Shows usually tend to destroy power couples and have the females usurp the spotlight but this is the one instance I was ok with it. I hated the son, the daughter frustrates me more often than not, I wanted to strangle routh by the end and I thought Marty lost his magic

[@unanimous.verdict]

She cheated her hard working husband and spoke about normalization of it after she's caught. She's simply not trustworthy person and that's not something you can change.

[@a.s.2112]

Dont forget "misogyny" Wendy gets the same kind of vitriol as Skylar did when she's closer to Walter in character.

[@mpoemp4703]

THANK YOU JEEZ !!

[@pawshands9706]

I love Wendy. Complex, vicious, and highly intuitive to a fault. And she's killer.

[@mistreated]

absolutely brilliant observation of who Wendy is.

[@Bootmahoy88]

Wendy is a very skilled Machiavellian.

[@MichaelR-rs9ls]

Actually, I thought her husband was going to kill her.

[@mishaa7263]

her refusal to rig elections was interesting compared to her lack of humanity. great show!!!!!!!!

[@SpotCam]

great analysis bro, had to finish off season 4 before watching this so ima bit late lmao

[@DRthistle]

I think people forget that she's protecting her kids first and foremost and trying to ensure the whole immediate family's survival. While some decisions may seem risky it best to remember playing to win is a lot more successful than playing not to lose (Marty). We were let down by the writers in the end because I believe Wendy was the only one that could have actually saved them. Ben was going to get them all killed. Quote that summed up Wendy: " Sometimes if you don't move forward you die."

[@jusskb5]

I liked Ruth but if I'm being honest she got on my damn nerves too, I only sided with Wendy when it came to her and Ruth falling out about Ben bc she did warn her but Wendy also told Ben to stay voiding out Marty's decision so it's on both of them

[@pizzatime8404]

I recognize that voice anywhere. I know it’s you DG, but don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. I’m enjoying this new content. Keep up the great work!

[@JustanObservation]

I told the old channel at Christmas but yeah that’s done. Thanks

[@pizzatime8404]

@@JustanObservation I didn’t see that. I just came across this new channel at random. I’m glad you’re finding success at something you enjoy :)

[@chaoticfangurl567]

I think she became borderline sociopathic over the seasons

[@emmah6454]

She reminded me of Walter , hesitant at first to work for cartel crime but got a taste of POWER and wanted more and more and more and was never enough The line “I do this for the good of this family!” Sounds so like Breaking Bad

[@SocialBobcat]

I kept watching this show to the end but really felt like it fell apart somewhere in the middle and never really got a tight footing again.

[@mrdiez8496]

Great video! I’ll personally choose windy over Skyler any day.

[@aaronb2955]

skylar was a complainer, wendy was a do-er. if walter and skylar were in the bryde’s situation, theyd have never survived season one😂

[@automnejoy5308]

​@@aaronb2955 Skylar would not have put the family in that situation in the first place, if it were up to her. She wasn't included in the decision, unlike Wendy. So there's no comparison.

[@mrdiez8496]

@@aaronb2955 very true when you look at it like that!

[@aaronb2955]

@@automnejoy5308 this comparison was brought up in the video thats why i mentioned it, and they were in similar but different situations. Wendy’s actions can be justified as they were also to protect her family, and they were in different levels of danger, so of course wendy did more than skylar

[@tanyamoso4484]

Being ruthless is absolutely necessary for that kind of life the Byrdes have.

[@WR10678]

The season begins with her cheating😂 I knew things weren’t going to get better. She’s a literal puppet master the whole show. No accountability taken and barely lifts a finger to get her own deeds done.

[@brovatucka]

Ultimately, it's not so much that she's hard to love as she's easy to hate.

[@cybersecurity336]

for snowflasks yes. she is easy to hate. but i love her. She does what needs to be done

[@rockyracune1779]

Wendy Byrde is the soccer mom from the nether region. Ruth called it most accurately. Ruth said, “Wendy you are a soulless c*nt.” Soulless? That’s putting it mildly. By the fourth and final season of “Ozark,” it is abundantly clear to most viewers that Wendy is a power-mad, sociopath opportunist. In fact, in the first episode she showed her true colors when she cheated on Marty, drained his bank accounts dry, and then prepared to abandon her two children to run off with her lover. ……Thirty-nine episodes later, she risks the lives of Marty and her two kids when she lies to Marty about the deal to free Navarro from prison, even after the drug lord promised her he would wipe out the entire Byrde family. His threat meant nothing to Wendy. She concealed Navarro’s threat from Marty - such was Wendy’s selfish quest to achieve her 150-million-dollar political empire. I was not surprised. Previously, Wendy had no qualms about killing her hapless brother; setting up her own son Jonah to go to prison; and almost leaving Darlene to die of a heart attack. How does the viewer know Wendy is lying? Simple. Her lips move. When Wendy’s warped father enters the picture and decides to remove Wendy’s two kids from a very dangerous and dysfunctional home, Wendy falls to her knees and cries and pleads with her father not to take her kids. MOTHERLY LOVE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WENDY’S DESPAIR. But what has elicited the flow of her tears? ANSWER: Wendy is more concerned that her donors will be shocked at someone who is such a dreadful parent that the children have been taken away. Thus, Wendy fears big donor money will stop flowing into the political coffers. Good-bye power. Wendy is evil to her core.

[@thatblerdoverthereb9654]

Motivation. Poverty( to avoid it), and Class. Wendy was Ruth, even if her dad had a veneer of respect, he was just as bad. Her smarts got her outta Appalachia, but she ended up in a similar place. Even knowing she's in a different place , her trauma ignites to get her out of that position.

[@samuelault4723]

Wendy byrde is similar to Walter white in the sense that I could only see their shows “ending” with them dead. Neither would stop until they died, prison or retirement or compromise was never an option for them

[@nirjhar4803]

In my headcanon Jonah misses and kills Wendy instead of Mel, and no one can convince me otherwise...

[@DaSkarekrow]

The moment I found out she cheated, she was the villain....it was Marty that saves her many time when she was the root to the problems...smh. Laura Linney did a great job, but fk Wendy lol

[@mikeysaint4368]

She was someone who was almost permanently terrified, suffered depression, and who was motivated by making the most of a bad situation. But she happened to be politically savvy, so her hitherto latent psychotic tendencies were her only defence.

[@morningstar5822]

Wendy is my favourite character she's realistic and doesn't lie to herself and despite being ruthless most of the time she still loves her kids more than the average mother , honestly her character is very interesting and by far one of the best female characters of all the shows out there

[@babyJes444]

👏👏👏

[@BiggerR10]

You Joking?

[@morningstar5822]

@@BiggerR10 why would i be joking

[@phantomtq]

Thats not love. Its obsession and sickness. In the later show it shows that her upbring had to do with how she became sociapath but it also portrayes maybe she born that way. Her family and kids were all tools and precious toys for her. Thats not a loving mother but manipulative, greedy, sociopathic monster. Very standard karen.

[@morningstar5822]

@@phantomtq I'd rather have her as my mother than the so called "good mother"

[@soakedbearrd]

Wendy was a great villain, she actually made me hate her. Funny part is the last 2 episodes had me soften my view a little about her, only to in retrospect realize that she manipulated me at the end. Now that’s manipulation lol. It’s like they took Hillary Clinton’s life story and made her a character (although I’m sure Hillary has done worse).

[@samuelfoisy]

I loved Wendy. I thought she made the show interesting. The moment I realized what type of person we were dealing with is the scene where it shows she was involved in the decision to start laundering for the cartel with Marty. I thought the ending was a full circle moment, they agreed to get involved because of their desire for higher status, perhaps not understanding the implications but ultimately becoming the villains they initially feared on their way to the top of society. The real American dream - winner takes all, win at any cost.

[@dragos-ioancraciun9810]

I hate both Wendy and Marty alike, they are both monsters in my opinion and deserve to die (in the movie). Even Darlene and Ruth seem more humane compared to them, at least Darlene and Ruth have some sort of moral compass, the Byrds just destroy everything that comes in contact with them and blame the victims afterwards. Overall, I enjoyed the show, but these two characters are very evil and I often ruthed for them to end.

[@derekrichardson7853]

I was frustrated that she didn’t die, because she annoys me so much. I hate her arrogance. I hate it because she thinks she’s really smart, but in fact every decision she made behind Marty’s back failed or completely backfired and made their situation worse. And her one “skill” in politics wasn’t even that helpful. Most, if not all, the crucial political dealings were handled by Jim Rattelsdorf, the political lawyer. Wendy was either useless or actively making things worse.

[@freegadflyathome]

I agree. Marty had them so close to getting out so many times and she would just out nowhere f everything up

[@stephanietorres5524]

Yes!!!!!

[@denziljacobs]

This is brilliant man

[@only_austin768]

Wendy makes skylar look like a good wife

[@goodolarchie]

Ruth dying while Wendy lives, and Jonah going lawful evil will always make this ending garbage to me.

[@nirjhar4803]

Jonah doing what he did made absolutely 0 sense. People will try to say "well ermm Jonah was always mentally dIStUrBrd🤓"... As if Jonah didnt have a huge rift with his mom literally an episode ago... And had an obvious clear sense of morality even at that point.

[@fendicoathelpmehidegun5021]

Great video

[@behindthespotlight7983]

For Ozark to have concluded with a raw sense of justice, for the show to leave behind a digestible theme after a family essentially kills everyone with whom they come into contact throughout four seasons of intense TV- WENDY BYRD HAD TO ⚰️in the end.

[@DontalkJushoot]

A true happy ending would have been killing off Wendy. And it Jonah or Marty should have done it

[@theoc511]

Agreed

[@cormyat07]

You said it. She's not an empathetic character. Where Marty would've been content to simply survive, Wendy's the narcissist who has to win, who isn't content with surviving with lots of money--no she also wants to be a kingmaker. Her main superpower is off-the-cuff lying. She's a good villain, but not at all likeable.

[@DontalkJushoot]

People who cheer Wendy over Ruth are everything wrong with society

[@michelleabad1874]

I totally got Wendy. So what if she made decisions that put her AND her family ahead of others. People hating on Wendy still want the woman to be the one who puts her own wants & needs aside for the sake of others. She was smart, smarter than her husband but folks wanted her to be sorry for it. She wanted to come out of all that crap ahead and with something for all their troubles. Wendy didn't sacrifice Ben for her own selfish needs. She had to do the hard thing. The thing marty or ruth could never do. Giving Ben up saved her children. The cartel would have killed them and that's the hard cold truth. Yes, Wendy should have listened to marty and let Ben leave when he first came out there. It was no act, Wendy wanted desperately to save Ruth even though she knew deep down there was no way ti save her after what she did. Wendy didn't convert her husband & children over to the dark side. She showed them how to become what they were going to have to become in order to survive the cartel. How many smarter, more cunning or ruthless or more likable characters were killed off on the show?? Why??? Because they all failed to see or admit or do what Wendy did. Without Wendy, marty & the kids would have been killed long ago. Jonah killing the private detective at the end was his price to pay for putting all of that into motion. He told Ruth who it was that killed Wyatt, he gave Ruth Ben's ashes, he kept thwarting his mom's attempts of reconciliation or getting them out of it all by opening his big mouth in order to make her mad. Yet they did survive because Wendy never gave up, because she made the impossible sacrifices that had to be made. Basically Wendy became a hard, high riding b**ch to save those she loved from the dangerous position Marty put them in. Ruth never should have helped Ben escape the hospital & she never should have killed javi. It was her actions, not Wendy, that led to Ben's & her deaths. I loved Ruth. I wanted her to live and possibly have a sequel with her & Frank Jr as the main characters. I don't think Ruth's life turned to s**t because of the Boyd's. They saved her. She would have wound up knocked up by some loser or doing serious time or most likely both. Meeting the Boyd's gave her a real chance to make something of herself but it was Ruth not Wendy who blew it.

[@gohan12991]

If marty would have become as abusive as Wendy then you would have hated this show. This show is your sad fantasy for control. Atleast in breaking bad, Walter white died in the end.

[@matiaspavezq]

Amazing channel