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Ozark: Portraying Mental Illness

A realistic take on bipolarism.

By Ben SaundersPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Credit: Netflix

Ozark season three threw a spanner in the works when a new character with bipolarism was introduced. Minor spoilers ahead.

Amidst the Byrd family’s usual antics with the mob, the Snells, and pretty much everyone who’s wanted to kill Marty at some point, a new character is introduced: Wendy’s brother Ben. In the beginning, it seems like he’s been thrown in the mix to add another character and some minor plot points but as time goes on it’s revealed that he’s one of the most notable characters of the season.

We see him have an outburst at the beginning of the show, but don’t think much of it. At first, he turns up to spend time with Wendy and her family, and to help out with odd jobs around the business. He then takes a liking to Ruth, and Wendy isn’t happy about it. We’re led to believe that she’s unhappy with him dating Ruth as she’s a no-good local girl, but she then reveals that Ben isn’t well. She finds out that he hasn’t been taking his medication and his condition begins to show drastically. From this moment, you’re 100% invested in him; every emotion he experiences you feel connected to.

Firstly, the actor who plays Ben, Tom Pelphrey, is incredibly captivating. The way he manages to completely break himself down and then instantly switch shows that he clearly prepared and did intensive research for the role. Let’s look at the character itself, who appears to mainly suffer from Bipolar Disorder 1. A few of the symptoms of this are agitation, elevated mood swings, and mania.

Ben never wants to admit that he’s sick and he’s constantly unaware of what’s actually happening to him. The reason he stops taking his medication is because he’s struggling with sexual dysfunction and his emotions when it comes to Ruth. Then things begin to move quickly. As the medication leaves his system, he dives deep into a mental health crisis. He becomes unpredictably violent and assaults multiple people. After his incidents, he completely crashes with guilt yet still not fully understanding of the situation.

One of the biggest turning points is when his family commits him to a hospital. We’re shown that he’s already been in a Behavioural Health Centre before, so going back feels like the end of the world for him. The second he’s made aware that he’s being sent there, he crumbles and practically begs for his life. This is then followed by an incredibly emotional and draining scene where he fully breaks down.

What’s really interesting to see is his sister’s response to it all – she’s been here before with him. She knows what he’s capable of and it kills her to him like this. On top of the added stress of their money laundering and pressure from the mob, we also see her begin to decline. Ben’s interfering with her family’s safety and she knows she has to take action, but she really battles against the only option available, which is to let the cartel kill him.

After Ben is freed from the hospital against his family’s knowledge, he takes a taxi and we now see him fully emerged with the illness. This scene is unbearable to watch but you’re just glued to the screen. You’re focused on every single word he says, and every twitch and flicker in his eye. Seeing him go through the confusion of everything, and him trying to justify his actions while still not exactly sure what’s going on, is really hard to watch.

I read a review that claims that his character’s annoying and unstable, but that’s the disease. His mental state is completely fragmented and he has no control over any decision he makes. We see him phase in and out of an episode for a minute or two, and we watch him try and piece everything together, but then we lose him again. This really depicts the unpredictability of the illness.

Though, one thing I want to touch on is how throughout the series, Ben is one of the only people with a moral compass left. The Byrd family have been in the game for so long that they’re only thinking about it from a business and survival sense, whereas Ben sees everything from a different perspective. He cares about the people involved and wants to stop it from happening, even after finding out the truth about Marty’s business. This shows that there’s still a human being inside of him, even if he’s bobbing in and out of stability.

What’s also hard to swallow is that if the Byrd family weren’t so involved with the money laundering, they’d be able to help Ben, but he makes it almost impossible to make it out alive. A person without Bipolar disorder would crack under that amount of pressure.

Some might argue that Ben’s portrayal was overly-violent, and not everyone with bipolar disorder is like that, but I think that’s also the point, that the illness isn’t so black and white. He’s clearly suffering from the worst possible situation. Plus, there’s clearly a good person in there and the writers did a great job of showing such a huge contrast between the two states.

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About the Creator

Ben Saunders

Writer from the UK. Interested in drama, thriller, and tragedy.

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