Ozark season 3, episode 3 recap – what happened in “Kevin Cronin Was Here”?

This recap of Netflix Series Ozark season 3, episode 3, “Kevin Cronin Was Here” contains significant spoilers.

• Read the Season 3 review.
• Read the recap of Episode 4.
• Read the recap of the previous episode (2).
• Access the archive of all the episode recaps.

Wendy’s thirst for power is abundantly clear in Ozark Season 3, Episode 3, “Kevin Cronin Was Here”. The chapter opens up with Wendy playing catch with a dog. She sings and drives away, stops and lifts a dead dog out of the boot. Marty approaches her and she shoots him dead — it was a dream, but more concerningly, a peaceful dream.

Marty has created a monster it seems.

The next day Marty asks Wendy if she needs help negotiating the hotel for the casino and that she was yelling “I can’t” in her sleep.

The same day, Wendy addresses the staff of the new casino they’ve just bought — Anita questions their business strategy. Wendy asks for Anita’s hotel as well and Anita says no. Wendy and Helen smirk, knowing full well they’ll get the hotel.

A new FBI agent arrives, Agent Maya Milla, and she introduces herself to Marty and asks if she can look around the casino. Maya gives Marty the lowdown on what’s going to happen, including forensic accounting and looking for irregularities. Afterward, Marty tells Ruth that this FBI agent is good and it will be difficult to move money. Marty also apologizes for his outbursts. He tells Ruth to move into the other casino to move money. Ben then approaches Ruth and asks if they can hang out.

You can tell Marty is feeling the pressure due to his wife’s choices in Episode 3, “Kevin Cronin Was Here”.

It gets worse, as when Ruth goes to the other casino she sees that it is closed; she rings Marty and tells him to get his s*** together.

And Wendy is starting to understand her differences with her husband in Episode 3. Frank Cosgrave comes over and tells Wendy “he didn’t do what he did out of charity”. Wendy evidently does not know what he’s talking about but he is obviously referencing the casino fire. Wendy also asks Frank how he knew the new casino was closed — he explains that Ruth headed over to move money and used his boys. Wendy gets out a cheque and tells Frank he will work for her.

At therapy, Wendy confronts Marty about going behind her back. Marty claims he is trying to protect the family but Wendy says she is tired of that excuse, bringing back memories of that Breaking Bad bad moment — Walter White loved using that line. The therapist tells Marty that going behind Wendy’s back violates trust — Marty is angry at the therapist for keeping to their deal.

At dinner, Ben eases the tension but then Wendy gets a call from Navarro who nicely asks her about her dinner and what she cooked. He makes her aware that he has had a new baby and wonders why the new casino is closed. He tells Wendy that he wants her to get the deal done, even if it means using force.

In the diner, Wendy tries to offer Marty a lot of money for him to leave the town. Marty asks Wendy for her to come with him — she says, “I can’t”. It was another dream. Back in real life, Marty tells Helen that Wendy caused the warrant and the audit. Helen disagrees and tells Marty that all this is his fault and he needs to get his act together.

With the hotel still up for grabs, Carl meets Wendy in a diner. Carl says he would like some dignity. Wendy goes into manipulation mode and asks Carl about his 44-year-old marriage and how long he has felt insignificant. Wendy goes on to say that she took her life back in her marriage. Carl expresses that he does not think he can win this battle with his wife. She tells him if he cannot get what he wants with reason, then get it with force, repeating Navarro’s line. Wendy is truly transforming.

Helen then meets Ruth to tell her that her contributions have been exceptional recently. Helen asks Ruth if she could run the original casino if Marty was away as he would need to be at the new one.

When Ruth tells Marty what Helen said, Marty understands that Helen is looking at her options in case they need to get rid of him — he’s running out of time.

And then Wendy’s manipulation comes to fruition; Carl tells Anita that he’s putting his foot down and thinks that they should give up the hotel. Anita gets angry and antagonizes him saying he has no business sense that she should have married his brother. Carl hits her and she falls down the hill into the lake, presumably, she is dead.  Wendy rings Marty to tell him that they have the hotel to keep him updated.

Wendy then confronts Darlene and offers money for Ezekiel. Darlene gets annoyed at the suggestion and punches Wendy square in the face. Wendy then says “that ought to do it” with a smile on her face before walking off.

And then for a turning point in Ozark Season 3, Episode 3, “Kevin Cronin Was Here”; agent Maya offers Marty a job but only if he admits to an offense, spends 18 months in prison so he doesn’t look like a rat, and then help her catch criminals using his accountancy skills. Maya says the offer does not count if the other agent catches him first. Marty has a huge decision to make already.

When Marty returns home, he asks Wendy what happened to her face — she says she ran into a door. Marty walks out and she laughs. Is their marriage over?

Wendy then makes a call and Marty listens in. Wendy tells Navarro that she has the hotel and asks him what to do next. Navarro tells her to hang up as the line is compromised.

Ozark Season 3, Episode 3, “Kevin Cronin Was Here” ends at the concert that was organized by Wendy and Marty. Marty approaches Maya and agrees to the deal of 18 months in prison and in return, he works for the FBI to catch similar money launderers. He walks off but a few moments later he is escorted away and shoved into a car. Ben sees this and alerts Ruth. Ben and Ruth follow the car but then the car stops, a man gets out and pulls out a gun to threaten them before getting back into the car and driving off again.

Sherrif’s Diary

• Helen offers her condolences to Ruth about her father.
• Jonah and Ben go out on the boat but go too fast and the police stop them. Jonah introduces himself and they let them off.
• Wendy tells Jonah that she’s going to get Ezekiel back from Darlene.
• Wendy tells Ben about her affair and moving here to start over. She misses out a lot of details.
• Wendy tells Ben to stay.
• Erin asks Helen for any news on her father.
• Ben asks Ruth if she’d like dinner, lunch, a snack or a glass of water. She accepts a date.