I put off starting this series even though I kept hearing great things (and Netflix kept pushing it). I finally decided to take the plunge knowing I'd likely binge watch it (which I did in just over a day or two I think). Anyway, I did enjoy it but must admit I was a bit shocked to see it rated so highly here. For me a couple of things were at play:

1. Especially early in the series, it felt a bit "Breaking Bad-ish". Now maybe it's the similar-while-not-quite-the-same story line or whatever, I just felt like it was treading some ground that has already been done in such an excellent way, but in the end I decided to press on.
2. The characters were pretty over-the-top. Not just their lines but their appearance and mannerisms. It was more cliche than character. Plus there were a whole bunch of "wow-that-was-convenient" moments and decisions to move the plot along.
3. I kept trying to geo-locate the film's happenings, I mean, after all it is in the title. Now I know this is fiction, and a real movie about the Ozarks would be pretty boring, but some of the stuff is so outlandish I wonder how often other locations are so radically misrepresented. And, yeah, I know the real Ozarks, so that's likely the problem.

All that being said, I did finish season 1, and I'd say that about 2/3 of the way through some of the goofy characters began to calm down a bit, or perhaps I just normalized them in my mind. Characters like the poppy farmer have become such a trope (heck the Mexican cartel leader too) that they could be straight out of BB, Longmire or Sons of Anarchy. It seems to be getting blatantly formulaic, or maybe I have just watched too many recent series at this point. But in the end...an 8.1?

I'm hoping Season 2 can step up the game somehow, I'm just not sure how. Anyone else feel this way?