Warning: the following contains SPOILERS for Ozark.
Ozark introduces Ben Davis (Tom Pelphrey) in season 3, and even though he ends up being a liability to his sister Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) and Marty’s (Jason Bateman) schemes, the deeply troubled Ben actually ends up saving the Byrdes. In many ways, Ben, who suffers from bipolar disorder, represents the conflicting faces of the Byrde family. Although Ben’s actions are emotional rather than rational, in the end, Ben’s romance with Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner) paved the way for Ben to actually help save the family in the finale of Ozark season 3.
Ozark season 3 episode 2, “Civil Union,” is Ben Davis’ first appearance on the show. In Ozark season 3 episode 6, “Su Casa Es Mi Casa,” Ben’s inability to sexually perform for Ruth prompts him to stop taking his bipolar disorder medication. After Ben finds out about Wendy and Marty’s cartel ties, Ben confronts cartel lawyer Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer) and reveals Helen’s cartel ties to her daughter Erin (Madison Thompson). This causes Helen to order Ben’s death in Ozark season 3 episode 9, “Fire Pink.”
Ozark season 3 episode 10, “All In,” immediately redeems Ben as a useful member of the Byrde family when the results of Ben's actions are revealed. Marty and Wendy end the cartel war for Navarro by using drone footage of the Lagunas cartel operating on U.S. soil, forcing the FBI to go after the Navarro cartel’s rivals in Mexico. This is essentially why Omar Navarro (Felix Solis) chooses the Byrdes over Helen. And the only reason why the Byrdes have this footage is because in Ozark season 3 episode 6, “Su Casa Es Mi Casa,” a concerned Ben convinced Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) to use his drone to follow Ruth, prior to the Lagunas cartel attack. Although it was risky of Ben to follow Ruth during a cash drop, especially since Ben also involved Jonah, the drone was never detected by either the cartels or the FBI. More importantly, the drone footage of the Lagunas cartel attack became integral to how the Byrdes proved their loyalty to Omar Navarro.
Furthermore, Ben also outed Helen to her daughter Erin as a cartel lawyer, which started Helen on the path to making rash emotional decisions, such as forging evidence that Marty betrayed Navarro. However, as Navarro is able to monitor the calls and actions of most of Ozark season 3’s main cast, Helen only succeeded in making herself a liability to the cartel, as Marty and Wendy have become essential to Navarro’s future plans. Without Ben’s rash actions, Helen wouldn’t have inadvertently sabotaged her own future in the Navarro cartel and gotten herself executed in the process.
Ozark season 4: Part 1 will be released on Netflix on January 21, 2022 and will be composed of 7 new episodes. Meanwhile, Part 2 will be released sometime in late 2022, and will also be composed of 7 episodes – a total of 14 new episodes for the 4th and final season. Although Ben’s no longer around to witness what’s next for the Byrdes, there’s no doubt that his actions have allowed his family to survive and make it to Ozark season 4. Moreover, since Ben’s dead body was never shown onscreen, there’s a small but very real chance that Ben could return for the last season.