031: Ozark Season 2

07/31/20 • 35 min

Story Grid Showrunners

What did we think?

Randall: Great 2nd season, they kept the surprises and tension going
Parul: This show is on fire!

Beginning Hook:

Inciting Incident: Del is killed and Marty must get rid of Del's body before Cartel find out
Turning Point Progressive Complication: Cartel tasks Marty with securing reparations for Del’s death, as he was the lieutenant.
Crisis: Does Marty back down from his request for reparations from the Snells? Or does he ask for financial reparations or life for a life?
Climax: He doesn’t back down but keeps his emotions in check, and talks finance
Resolution: Darlene insists the Snells won’t pay. Jacob kills Ash as reparations

To read all of our show notes, go to www.storygrid.com or www.sgshowrunners.com.

What did we think?

Randall: Great 2nd season, they kept the surprises and tension going
Parul: This show is on fire!

Beginning Hook:

Inciting Incident: Del is killed and Marty must get rid of Del's body before Cartel find out
Turning Point Progressive Complication: Cartel tasks Marty with securing reparations for Del’s death, as he was the lieutenant.
Crisis: Does Marty back down from his request for reparations from the Snells? Or does he ask for financial reparations or life for a life?
Climax: He doesn’t back down but keeps his emotions in check, and talks finance
Resolution: Darlene insists the Snells won’t pay. Jacob kills Ash as reparations

To read all of our show notes, go to www.storygrid.com or www.sgshowrunners.com.

Previous Episode

030: Ozark Season 1 - 6 Core Questions and Foolscap

Did the Story Work?

Randall: Pretty good, some nice surprises, overall the story worked.

Parul: High stakes, constantly moving. The story worked as a thriller.

What are the Editor’s Six Core Questions?

It’s a great way to analyze any story and figure out if it works. Here are the questions. We’ll touch on them in this podcast, but the full notes can be downloaded afterward.

What’s the genre?
What are the conventions and obligatory scenes for that genre?
What’s the Point of View?
What are the objects of desire?
What’s the controlling idea/theme?
What is the Beginning Hook, the Middle Build, and Ending Payoff?

BEGINNING HOOK

We start with what appears to be a normal family: Marty is an accountant who appears to watch porn all the time. The kids are pretty normal, Charlotte is a normal teenager with attitude and Jonah seems to be pretty normal too. Then we find out that Marty knows his wife is cheating on him. All of this sets the stage for the viewers, we see the family at home, work and play and we have a good idea what they are all about.

To see the rest of our show notes go to www.storygrid.com or www.sgshowrunners.com

Next Episode

032: Ozark Season 3 - It just gets better

Randall: I totally understand the hype on this series, I can’ believe it took this long for me to watch it. It just keeps getting better.

Parul: This show is getting darker and more complex. It’s riveting.

Randall: I think this is really what makes a good thriller, the ability to have compelling subplots/ red herrings that also have equally life/ death repercussions, but at the same time reminding the viewer/ reader who the real villain is. The cartel is involved throughout the season, as Helen is present in just about every episode, but we never forget that they are the most dangerous player at the table in Marty and Wendy’s lives - they kidnap Marty, they seem to know everything that is going on, they manipulate Wendy (with the horse farm purchase). At the same time, Frank Jr. and the mob are mad at Marty, the other cartel is a danger to Marty (he could get caught in the crossfire), Darlene is becoming more dangerous with every episode, the FBI is hot on Marty’s tail - all of these have life and death endings and they are just as engaging as the main battle between Marty and the cartel. The story would have been so water-downed if these sub-plots weren’t there and not so deadly if it had just been Marty vs. the Navarro cartel.

Compare this to Killing Eve - we keep losing sight of the threat of the 12 and there aren’t many other threats to keep the characters occupied.

Read all the show notes at www.storygrid.com or www.sgshowrunners.com