Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Ozark season 3 finale “All In.”
WTF. That might be the best word (acronym?) to describe the final seconds of the Ozark season 3, which is really saying something. This is a series where no one is safe; not even cartel boss Omar Navarro's right hand woman, lawyer Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer), who flew too close to the sun and lost her head. And that's not a figure of speech, that's the truth.
Ozark season 3 ends with Helen getting shot as she walks side-by-side with Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney) to greet their boss. It was a shocking conclusion, but maybe shouldn't have been since Helen spend the latter part of the season trying to sabotage the couple. In the end, Helen played herself.
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Helen saw an opening to take control of the business, but she got greedy. She worked to get her name on the Missouri Belle casino, but then she decided owning part of the Byrdes' business wasn't enough. She needed to get rid of them for good and show Navarro that they could never be as loyal as she is.
Her plan was to make it look as if Marty had turned on Navarro. That he had taken the FBI's deal to testify against Navarro and would enter Witness Protection. It's not a bad plan. If Navarro had heard that Marty was a rat he would surely kill him. The problem is, Wendy had already struck up a deal with cartel boss to show how far they were willing to go to save him.
Wendy proposed that they help him end the war with the rival Lagunas cartel. Thanks to FBI Special Agent Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes), she knew that because the cartel had killed Americans on U.S. soil, the U.S. had reason to attack them on theirs. They just needed proof and thanks to Jonah's drone, they had video evidence of the Lagunas cartel killing the three Kansas City mob guys, all the more reason for the U.S. to act. They would be fighting the good fight on drugs. For Navarro, this American fought battle would mean he had won the Mexican cartel war.
Wendy and Marty's big swing let Navarro know they were as indispensable. Not to mention, this idea came after Wendy agreed to have the cartel kill her brother Ben. All of this showed that they understood what's good for Navarro is very good for them.
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Helen became so focused on sabotaging the Byrdes that she took her eye off the real prize. Heck, she acted as the couple's lawyers while putting together the FBI deal, which even the FBI thought was crazy. She represents the Navarro cartel, how isn't that a conflict of interest? Turns out it was more than that, it was her biggest mistake.
Helen risked exploiting Navarro’s operation to get back at the Byrdes. She got cocky and when you're laundering cartel money, you need to have a healthy dose of fear. Luckily, that's something Wendy and Marty still have. Who knew after all Wendy's talk about goodwill keeping them safe. Turns out, they're only as safe as their next good idea. This time they had one.
Helen's bad judgment made it clear to Navarro that she wasn’t an ally but a liability. Killing her was Navarro getting his house in order. It's fitting then that he decided to take her out at his house on the day of his baby's second christening.
Perhaps even more shocking than the murder itself is what happens right after: THAT. HUG. Where do we even start when it comes to that embrace Omar gives Wendy and Marty? He puts both his arms around them like a great big bear. I swear he even adds a little squeeze, which makes it a heartfelt embrace. Only a few episodes earlier, this guy wouldn't even say "thank you" to Marty, now he's treating them like one of his family. And that's the thing, now they officially are.
It will be interesting to see what Marty and Wendy do with all this love. Also, I want to know what tipped Navarro off to Wendy's back dealing? Not to mention, does this mean Wendy is the new Helen? Will his affections for Navarro make him weak? Could that weakness encourage Marty to team up with Maya to take Navarro down from the inside? I mean Wendy has been spouting about wanting to do some actual good. What would be better than taking down a drug dealer?
Maybe the most important question of all though is for Netflix: When is Ozark coming back for season 4? We need answers.