Ruth's motive to steal from Marty?

Question

In Ozark (2017-22), Ruth gets waterboarded by Helen and her associates when it appears she may have been an informant.

After this, Ruth (with the urging of her father) attempts to steal "Marty's money" by breaking into the funeral home.

Is this realistic to think that Ruth actually believes it's Marty's money and not the Cartel's? Surely she knows what her fate will be if she tries to steal from the Cartel. Is she doing it brazenly to try to appease her father? I'm trying to get into her mind to understand her understanding of the situation, and this one act is gumming it up for me.

Also, I should say I am only at the first episode of Season 3, so I don't know if further information comes about in a later episode.

Answer 1

Without trying to spoil too much,

1. Ruth is trying to repair her relationship with her father, because she feels guilty about what happened to his brothers AND becuase, well, he's still her dad and he did raise her up until the point he landed in prison.
2. Ruth's dad is also super manipulative/abusive/controlling and he's trying to teach her 'The Langmore Way' of doing things...
3. Which leads us to the idea that many of the characters, including the Langmores don't often do the practical/logical/conventional thing, because they are either petty, jealous, or are trying to prove themselves. This is what adds a lot of suspense to the series, because a good chunk of the characters are just plain nuts!