Competition is good for businesses. It builds character!

Right after Marty Barde bought the Kitty Bar, a strip club, from Bobby Dean, all hell broke loose. Marty had gotten himself into something he was clearly not aware of. He did not know who Dean's employer was, he did not even bother to check. At this point, he was already frustrated over how to launder the remaining $5 million he had in his possession.
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Notwithstanding, he used Dean's secrets to force him to sell the Bar to him, and all worked out until Dean's employer showed up. It turned out, that Jacob Snell, Dean's Employer, did not take the sale lightly. It meant his business would be disrupted and he may not be able to launder his drug money smoothly anymore.

Snell had his wife play a great host while fishing for an opportunity to kill Bobby Dean. They succeeded. The next morning, he introduced himself to Marty Barde and he went further to show his cards. He did not do that as gentlemanly as possible, no, he did so with a form of threat in his voice. He told Marty Barde who was listening on wheels while he stood outside his car window that;

The folks who thrive around here make a point of easing their neighbor's burden. Jacob Snell - Ozark.

Marty Barde politely told him that whatever it was he was suggesting, his employer would not allow it. This answer although as polite as possible did not sit well with Snell. Therefore, he sent the dead body of Dean to the shores of Marty's home, which meant attention was drawn to him in every way possible. Since he was innocent, the Feds had nothing on him, and he was let off the hook.

In another turn of events, Marty Barde allows Ruth Langmore to run the Kitty Bar while he concentrates on running the Gas Bar where he first invested Del's money. Ruth is of course happy to do this, since, she has her own plans under her sleeves. However, some of the workers aren't pleased with this development, given the history with her family. On her first night, she innovated and employed more hands to help move the bar. The girl whose position seemed to be threatened did not take it lightly, and she confronted Ruth. Ruth emphatically told her that she had nothing to worry about, but that she should understand that;

Competition is good for you. It builds character. Ruth Langmore - Ozark.

It was funny but it was the truth, although the girl in question did not take this lightly, she received blows from Ruth to put her in her place.

But I am not sharing two scenes to confuse you, no, I am running around in circles because I want to buttress a point.

Not long after Marty Barde is threatened by Snell on account of rejecting his offer to help with his illegal dealings, and the body is sent as a warning to him, Marty decides he needs to stay clear of Snell's path from then on. He finally understood why no one wanted to do business with him the moment he stepped foot in the Ozark. It was because Jacob Snell was running things in the place and now he came around and took one of his businesses off his hands.

What Marty did not know was that while trying to launder his remaining $5 million, he was still going to step into Snell's path. While he discussed the next line of action with his wife and both of them decided, that avoiding Snell Jacob was going to be the best decision, they decided to look for other ways they could launder money without the IRS sniffing them out.

In the end, they choose the church. They went ahead and offered to build a church for the only existing gathering of Christians close to them. Even though, the pastor and his wife did not agree at first while trying to argue that the church isn't a building, Marty's wife is able to convince them through an emotional story that it would be good for everyone if he helped them with the building where everyone is welcome to worship any day, any time, instead of being opened to those who own boats.

Once an agreement was reached, Marty Barde will find out the shock of his life, during the first service where he was introduced as the benefactor, I saw, Snell's boy distributing Bibles and Hymnals to church members. Inside of them were drugs. I laughed hard. Marty Barde on the verge of avoiding Snell's business still ends up inside of it.

I am not worried for him. He's a wise man and I am sure he will be able to navigate whatever Snell will have under his sleeve for him.

But I'd like to bring this to a close. Snell Jacob might be pissed to see Marty meddling in his business again but just as Ruth Langmore told that strip dancer, competition is good for everyone because it builds character.

Maybe this new development with Snell's business paths will humble him or take him completely out of the picture. Everyone already feared him in the Ozark so this could be their chance to be freed of him and his tyranny or it could be his chance to put his character in check if he intends to keep making money.

Even with businesses, we see how those industries that are monopolized tend to breed bad characters. They mostly don't care about their customer's experience because they know no matter where they turn, the customers are stuck with them. So they stay in business and they pull the prices up and down as it favors them without considering the overall consumers.

It is almost the way Robert Greene puts it in Law 2.

Without enemies around us, we grow lazy. An enemy at our heels sharpens our wits, keeping us focused and alert. Robert Greene - 48 Laws of Power.

Indeed, competition is good for any business, this will put them in check. They will learn to innovate and offer value if they intend to stay in business and of course, make a profit.

So this is a win-win situation for both Marty Barde and Jacob Snell. Both of them have to strive harder to bring better services to the Ozark or meet their untimely end. For Marty Barde, an untimely end is not part of the deal because Del will kill his entire family in his presence before finally ending his life.