Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) has been one of Ozark‘s most intriguing characters. Since the start of the series, she has been in a love-hate relationship with her husband Marty. Wendy had initially wanted to leave Marty but she was forced to stay with him after the cartel killed her lover and forced her to launder money with him.
Initially, Wendy felt trapped by the new circumstances but she grew to love her new life as a criminal. Lately, she has established herself as a ruthless risk-taker who will stop at nothing (including sacrificing her brother) to protect her own interests. Here are her best quotes from the series.
“It’s Always Better To Be The Person Holding The Gun Than The Person Running From The Gunman.”
In Season 2’s finale, Marty was planning on fleeing the Ozarks with his family since he was tired of doing the cartel’s bidding. That meant he’d have to watch his back for the rest of his life. A viable option but Wendy wasn’t seeing things that way.
After the casino deal became a reality, the ambitious Wendy suddenly saw it as a chance to do even greater things. She decided that she’d even do more business with Hellen and the cartel. She also figured that it’d do her more good to be part of the bad guys than against them. Marty was thus forced to get in line.
“Your Father’s Laundering Money For A Mexican Drug Cartel. I Sh*t You Not.”
By the first season’s second episode, Wendy had already realized that it’d be hard to keep a secret from her over-inquisitive teenage daughter Charlotte. She thus decided to tell her straight up that Marty was in business with a Mexican drug cartel.
This wasn’t particularly a wise thing to do since Charlotte would end up causing dozens of problems. She stole some of the money and as if that wasn’t enough, she kept on lashing out at her parents. Later on, she even threatened to emancipate herself.
“Anything Can Be An Omen If You’re Looking For It.”
By Season 3’s second episode titled “Civil Union,” Wendy was getting close to Navarro and the two were beginning to have frequent phone conversations. This made Marty uneasy so he installed spyware on Wendy’s phone so that he could tap into her conversations.
During one of Wendy’s conversations with Navarro, he told her how his housekeeper had been injured and that he felt it was a bad omen. Navarro was at war with another cartel and he had every reason to be worried. However, Wendy didn’t believe in superstitions so she advised him to just take it easy. It later turned out that Navarro had been right about the bad omen.
“Fighting For Your Life Makes Every Other Thing You Ever Did Before Seem Extremely Dull.”
After Ben tells Hellen’s daughter that her mother was doing business with the cartel, Hellen orders a hit on him. Wendy thus acts quickly by getting Ben out of the Ozarks before the hitman can find him. At some point during the long drive, the stops for food.
The two engage in a deep conversation. Ben asks Wendy how they ended up in the situation. Quite surprising given that he is the one responsible for the whole of it. Wendy also admits that watching her back has been kinda fun compared to the days she was safe.
“Evil Comes When The Righteous Path Is So Hidden, It Just Looks Like There’s Only One Way Out.”
When Pastor Mason’s wife got killed and his baby got taken away in the second season, he lost his mind. Believing that Wendy and Marty were responsible for everything, he kidnapped Wendy and forced Marty to bring the baby or else he would kill her.
While being held hostage, Wendy tried to talk Mason against doing anything he would regret. She began quoting the bible and even told a story about Adam and Eve. She explained to Mason that he didn’t have to kill her and there was another way out. Despite her pleas, Mason seemed like he was going to do it but luckily, Marty arrived and killed him.
“I’m So Sorry. Your Old Life Doesn’t Exist Anymore, Sweetheart.”
By the seventh episode of the first season, Charlotte was already fed up with life in the Ozarks. She was missing her friends so she was longing to go back to Chicago. She thus told her mother bluntly that she wanted them to go back to their former home.
As expected, Wendy wanted to hear none of that. In case Charlotte hadn’t gotten the memo yet, Wendy let her know that her old life was gone forever. Going forward, they would stick together as a family and do what the cartel required of them.
“Mr. Dyker Will Be Living In The Basement For A Year… Give Or Take.”
When Charlotte saw an old man standing at the window of their new home, she freaked out. She asked her mother who it was and she was told that the man would be living in the basement for a year, or maybe more. Charlotte didn’t seem too pleased.
Buddy was the man who had rented his home to the Byrdes on condition that he’d continue living in the basement. He was a war veteran who had been diagnosed with heart failure. As the series progressed, he went on to form a good strong with Jonah.
“We’re Not Looking To Get Into More Crime, Sweetheart. We’re Trying To Get Out Of It.”
Jonah has always been supportive of his parents ever since he learned about their money-laundering operations. Since he was a little genius, he even went ahead to create offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands through his computer so that he could help them launder.
In the eight-episode of the second season, Wendy went to the basement to question him about it. When he insisted that he could be of help, Wendy told him that they were trying to get out of crime, not venture more into it. Quite ironic since Jonah’s accounts proved useful shortly after and used them to blackmail the senator in order to get the casino deal. Two episodes later, she was ready to dip her toes further into the crime waters.
“There’s A Saying In Politics. Never Let A Good Crisis Go To Waste.”
When Wendy finds out about the cartel war going on in Mexico, she gets an idea of how to get more money to run the casino. She figures that they can convince Navarro to invest more in the ‘legitimate business’ just in case the cartel war gets ugly, the feds get involved and he loses all his illegal ventures.
At this point, Wendy has her dreams of being a major business player and the “face of Missouri gaming.” She tells Marty about the idea but he is totally not up for it. Unlike her, Marty has no intentions of doing even more business with the cartel
“Quite Frankly, I Don’t Give A Damn If You Like It Or Not, Cause I Feel Pretty Good About It. It’s A Good Idea, And I Did It For Our Family. What Did You Do Today… For Our Family?”
This quote deserves a round of applause. There is so much awesomeness in it considering the fact that Marty had previously refused to hear any suggestions Wendy had on how to launder the money and keep the family safe. Wendy thus decided she was going to make decisions, whether Marty liked it or not.
Without Marty’s approval, she used the money they got from selling their Chicago home and bought a half-built house at Sunrise beach. She then told money to finish building it and inflate construction costs as a way to launder the cartel money.
