The much-beloved television series Ozark is about to come to a close with the finale that will be revealed in the show’s final season. As a result of this, there are definitely some viewers who are confused about who Baby Zeke is.
This is due to the significant time gap between seasons 3 and 4, which caused many viewers to forget what happened in the prior seasons.
Because of this, it is recommended that you review the information once more. Who exactly is this Baby Zeke, and how did Darlene get into the custody of him?
So, Who Is Baby Zeke In Ozark? Pastor Mason Young and Grace, his wife, are the proud parents of their baby, Baby Zeke. However, Grace was seized by the Snells when she was pregnant with their child. Mason abducted Wendy under the mistaken impression that she was involved in the state’s decision to take Zeke; nevertheless, the pastor ended up being murdered in a fight with Marty. Afterward, though, Darlene removed the infant from the care of the Byrdes.
It is essential to keep in mind that Ozark has already seen a great deal of development prior to the fourth season’s premiere.
As a result, it is essential to refresh one’s memory on the occurrences that took place, as this will make it much simpler to follow what is going on in episodes 1 and 2 of the 4th season. This is why we’re here to shed light on the identity and significance of Baby Zeke.
Who Is Ozark’s Baby Zeke, and What Does He Do?
Baby Zeke, who is a figurative and literal newborn at the time of the happenings of Ozark, is a member of the cast of supplementary characters who became involved with the Byrdes.
Regardless of the fact that he is so little that he cannot even communicate, this infant has a significant part to play in the series. That is something that, as we continue to speak on Zeke, we will ultimately wind up understanding more about. Who exactly is Ozark’s Baby Zeke, though?
The characters of Pastor Mason Young and his wife, Grace, were presented to audiences in the 1st season of Ozark.
During the course of the show, Grace was pregnant, yet she and her unborn child were both slain by Darlene and Jacob Snell. However before they killed Grace, they had her give birth to the kid, who they later determined to be named Zeke.
They decided to put an end to Grace in order to convey a warning to Mason, who had ceased preaching on the water, which was the medium through which the Snells pushed their heroine.
That confirms that Pastor Mason and Grace are the parents of Baby Zeke and that he is their son. As you keep reading this text, however, the life of the newborn will grow far more difficult.
When you learn about the struggles Zeke had as a child, it’s possible that you won’t even remember who his parents are by the time you’ve finished reading this.
Zeke’s Birth: How Did Darlene Get Him?
When season 4 began, Darlene Snell, the exact same lady who had been responsible for the death of Zeke’s mother, was also awarded legal custody of the infant.
It is important to point out that Darlene does not have the healthiest mental condition, and due to her general manner and character, she is not exactly appropriate to be a mother.
This is something that should be taken into consideration. And besides, she is known to peddle narcotics and is responsible for the murder of both her own mother and her husband.
After which, let’s take a look at how the mother came to get custody of the child in this series on Netflix.
As was previously stated, the Snells took the life of Grace in order to convey a message to Pastor Mason.
Mason, on the other hand, was completely unaware of the Snells’ enterprise; in fact, he didn’t learn about it until after Marty and Wendy Byrde had promised to construct a church for him.
The Byrdes intended to conceal their assets via the church, however, when Grace vanished, they wound up on Pastor Mason’s bad side. The Byrdes sought to utilize the church as a front for their scheme.
Mason fell into a deep depression after the death of his wife and the challenges of raising his children as a single father. He even tried to cheer himself up by preaching in public at one point.
After seeing his mental condition, the authorities from the state decided that it would be preferable to remove Zeke from the pastor’s care since the pastor’s home was a potentially hazardous environment for the infant.
Mason had been given a prior warning by Wendy that this event would take place, which is why he first suspected that she was the person accountable for Grace’s abduction and the reason why the government was forced to separate Zeke from his parents.
In this sense, Mason is responsible for kidnapping Wendy and holding her hostage for ransom. He informed Marty that he was ready to sell Wendy for Zeke and that Marty had just one day to accomplish the transaction.
And with the assistance of a politician, Marty was allowed to cajole the authorities into handing him Zeke till Pastor Mason had been healthy enough to be a parent.
The pastor had earlier referred to Marty as “the devil,” but after Marty handed Zeke to Mason, he shifted his opinion since he didn’t wish Marty to “toxic” Wendy and since he handed Zeke to Mason.
As a consequence of this, an emotionally distraught Marty eventually ended up killing Pastor Mason in an effort to rescue his wife.
The Byrdes kidnapped Zeke after discovering that Mason had passed away, claiming that they were going to look after the baby when Mason was abroad, whereas, in reality, Mason had already passed away. However, Darlene was aware of this, and she really put it to her own benefit.
Because Darlene had long harbored the desire to become a mother, she successfully coerced the Byrdes into giving her custody of Zeke. She also desired to have somebody to whom she could pass on her drug dealing business, which is another reason why she desired to foster Zeke as her very own child.
Even further, Darlene goes to the point of assuring the Byrdes that she’d cherish the kid more than they ever could, which may have made sense given that neither Marty nor Wendy has been a decent parent to their kids.
Even though she was mentally unstable and had a propensity for murder, Darlene was able to provide adequate care for Baby Zeke because Marty had pulled some strings to ensure that Darlene would be awarded custody of the child. As a result, Baby Zeke was ultimately placed in Darlene’s care, where he remained until his death.
The Importance of Baby Zeke
Even though Baby Zeke is simply a minor character, there is a cause why the youngster was brought up in a dispute and why the Byrdes insisted on taking custody of him.
This is not due to the infant being exceptional in any way, shape, or form. Rather, it’s due to the premise that all of the various parties engaged desired the youngster to take full advantage of a position in which they could turn things to their advantage and that’s the only explanation for why this happened.
The Byrdes were able to create a casino because of Baby Zeke, which they utilized as a negotiating weapon. The Byrdes viewed this as a chance.
Because of this, the Byrdes considered the youngster to be a significant asset in the method that they were using to launder money.
Darlene, on the other hand, was aware of the events that led to Baby Zeke’s death and actually attempted to halt the construction of the casino.
She made it very apparent to the Byrdes that she wouldn’t divulge any information on Zeke’s whereabouts or condition if they would grant her custody of him. And as was just indicated, Marty was left with no other option except to hand up the infant to the mentally unstable mother.
What Happens To Baby Zeke During The Fourth Season Of Ozark?
The first episode of the fourth season of Ozark gave us a glimpse of Darlene, who developed into a caring mother to Zeke. And it is something that not a single spectator ever anticipated since she is a killer and is notorious for growing opium and dealing narcotics.
Despite this, she continued to care for the kid in a satisfactory manner despite the circumstances.
After Darlene and Wyatt were married, things began to look up for Zeke since they were now in a position to provide the boy with a secure home that would, in all likelihood, appear to be sufficient for his needs throughout the course of his life.
The trouble, however, is that Javi ultimately ended up killing both Darlene and Wyatt, which resulted in Zeke being left all by himself in the world once again.
At the conclusion of the first episode of the fourth season of Ozark, Ruth comes and makes the decision to raise the infant as her own child. And despite the fact that Zeke now has a new father figure, it’s possible that this is the greatest scenario for both him and Ruth, as they’ve both gone through a lot by this point in the series.
Due to the fact that Ruth’s custody of the infant has already been transferred many times after the child’s birth, it isn’t apparent whether or not Ruth will continue to have custody of the infant.
Nevertheless, since Ruth has shown that she is a trustworthy person who will always be available to the individuals she cares about, staying with Ruth may be the most advantageous circumstance for Zeke.
Throughout the entirety of the series, she served as a positive role model for her younger siblings and cousins, despite the fact that she is not yet old enough to have children of her own. And during the third season, while she was in a romance with Ben, we got to see how kind she could be.
Alternately, Zeke may wind up back in the custody of the Byrdes in part 2 of season 4, albeit this is very improbable given that we didn’t witness Zeke in the blink sequence when the Byrdes were heading to Chicago.
In addition, taking into consideration the fact that the Byrdes were involved in some way with Ben’s death, it is quite improbable that Ruth would desire the kid to be raised by them.
As a result of this, it is quite possible that Ruth will foster Zeke and provide him with the loving and stable environment that he so richly deserves.
In the meantime, the arrival of Zeke into Ruth’s life will provide her with a purpose in life, as she will now carry a significant burden on her shoulders.
Because of all that Baby Zeke and Ruth have been through throughout the show’s run, being together is the greatest possible outcome for both of them at this point in their lives.
