‘Ozark’ Fans Think The Women of the Series Are Terrifying
TV drama series have brought us some truly harrowing villains over the years. From Game of Thrones‘ Prince Joffrey to The Walking Dead‘s Negan, we’ve seen cold-blooded killers and charismatic manipulators who can make ice run up and down our spines. Fans of the dark series Ozark have been thinking about which of the show’s characters most terrifies them, and they’ve come to the overwhelming consensus that the series’ women are horrifying.
The murderous rage runs deep, and the women of the series pull it off with frightening skill and often no regrets.
Spoilers ahead.
Ozark follows a twisted web of crime
Ozark centers around the Byrdes, a seemingly ordinary family of four whose lives are upended when the patriarch’s day job gets a little more complex than he had bargained for. Marty (played by Jason Bateman) is a Chicago financial adviser who has actually been laundering money for a Mexican drug cartel. When things go awry, he gets sent to rural Missouri to set up a new operation, and he takes his wife, Wendy (portrayed by Laura Linney), and their kids, Charlotte and Jonah, with him.
What happens over the next three seasons is a whirlwind of murder, subterfuge, and chaos. Amidst this bizarre and dark backdrop of killings and terror, the Byrde family finds themselves coming together in unanticipated — and sometimes downright heartwarming — ways. It’s a fascinating mix of dark criminality and human closeness, and audiences are enthralled. The critically-acclaimed show is expected to return for a fourth season, and fans can’t wait to see what happens next.
The women on the show are particularly terrifying
While there is no shortage of brutal and conniving characters on the show and just about everyone has their morality put to the test in one way or another, the women characters stand out as particularly terrifying. On many occasions, they have shown themselves to be willing to cross every line to protect their families and their own interests. Wendy, Marty’s wife, shows an alarming penchant for her new life of crime with some fans drawing comparison to TV’s iconic anti-hero Walter White.
Darlene (played by Lisa Emery) poisons her husband’s coffee when she realizes that he’s a threat to her. Talking about the work of playing such a twisted character, Emery explains that she still believes in Darlene despite her crimes: “She has to have some kind of really strong convictions about what’s been done to the Snell family. I think she’s twisted but I think I have to believe in her. For me, it’s a joy to play that side of somebody, that scary stuff. It’s because you get to throw it all out there.”
Ruth quickly demonstrated herself to be brutally cutthroat when it came to protecting her interest in the money-laundering scheme, but her loose ends also proved to be a liability. At the end of Season 3, her standing with the Byrdes is in question and someone may need to take her place. She’s unlikely to go quietly, though — especially with all she’s done up to this point.
Fans cannot decide which character is the scariest
In a Twitter thread discussing the topic of Ozark’s frightening women, fans were quick to admit that they were all terrifying, but it was hard to come to an agreement about just who was the scariest. Darlene was mentioned most often with fans noting that she is particularly vicious. “The devil looks up to Darlene,” one wrote. Another noted that Darlene is “easily the scariest woman [I] have ever seen in my life. [E]asily.”
However, Ruth was a strong contender. Many mentioned that not only was Ruth terrifying and — pardon the pun — ruthless, but she also had a way of charming viewers into staying on her side despite her terrible deeds. Perhaps that ability to keep people enchanted is a kind of terror all its own. Whatever the case, there’s no shortage of horrifying women to watch, and the next season promises to bring even more jaw-dropping drama.
