TV's Most Shocking Sex Scenes: Darlene and Wyatt's unsettling romp in ‘Ozark’ made weirder by 40-year age gap
Spoilers for ‘Ozark’ Season 3 Episodes 1-10
Dark, delirious, and disgusting - the unpredictable tale of ‘Ozark’ meanders into unthinkable territories right from the beginning. The series begins with Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) staring into his laptop screen, watching his wife Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) f**k another man.
It's literally the first scene but hardly the most shocking one. Fast forward to the third season, where relationship dynamics start with a clean sheet and mind you, it's not always pleasing to the eye. The evil, twisted Darlene Snell (Lisa Emery) plays a new game and ensnares Wyatt Langmore (Charlie Tahan) into a honey trap.
The newly-widowed Darlene develops an endearing bond with the young boy, gives him a roof to stay under, food to eat, and even scrubs his hair. The real jolt comes in Episode 5, ‘It Came From Michoacán’, when Wendy takes Darlene to court and Wyatt stands up for her in an unexpected twist. That night, when the two come close to each other, something changes. “I can't thank you enough for today. Did you mean what you said?” Darlene asks him with a glint in her eye and gives him a tight hug.
The two melt in each other's arms and come closer for a kiss. Never before would have a kiss made one feel disgusted and so wildly uncomfortable. And for heaven's sake, it's not just the age difference — Darlene might be in her 60s and Wyatt is in his 20s which makes it a whopping 40-year age gap [she could be his grandma, couldn't she?!!] — but there is barely any chemistry between them. The intimacy seems rushed and forced. As the two unbutton their clothes, it only gets more gross and disgusting. For a whole five minutes, there is a sense of awkwardness that never really leaves you.
Not only is it repulsive and disturbing, but the picture of a sexual relationship between a granny-grandson stays in your mind long after it is over. The dialogue after the act, when Wyatt says, “That was... awesome,” makes you chuckle. The entire fiasco makes you wonder if Wyatt's love for Darlene is a case of Stockholm Syndrome.
Perhaps, Wyatt is blinded by her nurturing nature right now but it won't take him long to betray her. Evil and cold-hearted, Darlene has already killed Del from the Cartel and even her husband, Jacob. Will it take much time for her to plot revenge or stick a knife in his back?
Is it just a grown woman taking advantage of a boy who’s still basically a child? Fans clearly feel so. "I thought Darlene was going to adopt him or treat him as a son to take care or the farm as she must be nearing 70 and Zeke can't take care of the farm for another 20 years... Guess not," one fan wrote and another said, "It was funny for sure, but it was more uncomfortable. It vastly outweighed it for me because she is a fucking psycho and I hate that Wyatt is getting sucked into her craziness."
Some, however, feel it was a good twist. "The ending of the last episode is fricken awesome!! Didn’t see the Wyatt and Darlene relationship happening but I thought it was a cool twist and...kinda hot!! Darlene is bat-shit crazy but that confidence, ambition, control...all very sexy traits! Just my opinion." one said and another posted, "Society, in general, is socially conditioned to find older women repulsive and unattractive, hence the fan reaction."
"Was it unexpected? Yes. Would I have said this in the past seasons? Hell no. Is it an unhealthy relationship? Might be, we don't have the complete information. But right now both characters seem to be happy with it, so why spend time hating it," one fan opined.
Good or bad, no one can really say and it's better we leave that up to the characters. One thing is for sure: the scene will make you jump out of your skin and stop dead in the track, all at the same time, and that's what makes it one of the most shocking sex scenes of all time.
This is a part of a column on TV's Most Shocking Sex Scenes where we take a walk through some of the most intimate scenes that went viral on social media and became a talking point among fans after the show aired