I love it when an episode of TV produces a series of complications that flow naturally one upon the next. When it's done well it seems so easy, and it's so damn hard.
OZARK 405, "Ellie", written by Paul Kolsby, has a great example of this, and I thought I would just lay it out. I don't know if this is true for you, but for me listing the beats of a great (or not so great) sequence really helps me understand what the writer is doing.
WHERE WE START: Coming out of 404, Marty thinks he's solved his drug shortage by turning to Ruth, who has access to Darlene's heroin--although she has not spoken to Darlene about it.
INCITING INCIDENT: Darlene gives Frank Jr. her drugs to sell.
Meanwhile Ruth has let Marty's buyer test her sample, and they are all in.
Ruth and Marty find out there are no drugs to sell. Marty's client freaks.
NEW GOAL: GET THE DRUGS BACK.
This is the basic formula for the start of any story, right? The character has a problem, and sets a goal to respond to it.
Ruth finds out what Darlene has done and tells Marty. She agrees to get it back for a price. But Frank Jr. has already sold it to two different buyers.
COMPLICATION: NOW THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH TWO SETS OF STRANGERS.
Such a great complication. And believable. Darlene told Frank Jr. to sell her drugs. And he has.
Frank Jr., Ruth and Marty meet the first buyer, no problem. PARTIAL SUCCESS!
But then the second buyer gets spooked and leaves.
COMPLICATION: THEY ARE SHIT OUT OF LUCK.
NEW GOAL: FIND AND CONVINCE THE SECOND BUYER.
See how the complication creates the need for a more focused version of the goal, but it's really still the same goal--get the drugs back.
Also, while this complication doesn't immediately seem connected to Marty and Ruth, we'll learn soon that the buyers freaked once they caught a glimpse of them. So without knowing it they've created this problem. (As much as you can it's always great to let your characters create their own complications...)
Ruth gets the contact information from Frank Jr. on the second buyer.
Ruth, Marty and his buyer's commando guy go to the location of the second buyer. Commando wants to handle it. Marty wants no violence. Ruth insists she will handle it. Marty relents.
But the Commando is going in five minutes.
COMPLICATION: NOW THERE'S A TICKING CLOCK.
Such a great wrinkle to add. A ticking clock creates urgency.
Ruth demands the drugs from the buyers. They get pissed. She gets hit.
Ruth tries a different approach, explains who Marty is and that this is going to cost him money. He gets more pissed off at her.
Meanwhile time is up and the commando is going to go in. Marty tries to stop him by taking his gun. It fails.
COMPLICATION: TIME IS UP.
Ruth's scene is really two parts--she goes in hot, more or less threatening them and demanding the drugs. When that doesn't work she changes her appeal.
Marty trying to stop the commando is a nice touch, too. It's a big bold choice.
Ruth shows up with the drugs. GOAL ACHIEVED.
If there is any flaw in this sequence, it's the deus ex machina of this moment. It seems like a cheat--we've had nothing suggesting Ruth will win out. But what we have had is a steady stream of bold choices from Ruth, and that in itself earns her the win. The audience will often accept rewarding characters if they've taken big risks.
In a sense the ending also tells us what this sequence was all about on a personal level. It's about Ruth taking ownership of her own destiny. She starts with Darlene's actions really questioning whether she's up to the task of being a major player in the scene. And the arc sees her over and over doing the things to prove that she is.
