Netflix’s original series,Ozark, has concluded after four award-winning seasons. The crime thriller follows theByrde familyas they relocate to the Lake of the Ozarks in a desperate attempt to appease a drug cartel by setting up a massive money laundering operation. With every decision and gamble they make, the Byrdes find themselves getting dragged deeper into the dark.
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As the conclusion to the phenomenal series,Ozark’s final episode needed to be exceptional. And although it certainly isn’t flawless, the series finale is incredible and provides a satisfying end to the story so many enjoyed. Let’s look back on the last episode’s five best moments and its five worst.
10WORST: The Car Accident
Viewers were waiting for this scene to make a reappearance after being used to open the show’s final season. Thoughthe car crashbeing simply a dream would have been far more frustrating, the moment coming to fruition but having no consequences or real impact on the plot makes the scene feel more like a device to inject shock value than to offer real substance.
There is undeniably a symbolic point being made in this scene, that no matter what happens, the Byrdes will crawl their way out. Perhaps this symbolism would’ve felt more genuine if it wasn’t tossed in the viewer’s faces, yanked back, then hastily thrown in during the finale.
9BEST: Ruth And Wendy’s Heart To Heart
After a season spent despising each other, it is something akin to heartwarming to see theOzark’s two leading ladies have some form of reconciliation, with both of them admitting to having wronged the other. The moment is especially emotional given that despite Ruth being closer to Marty throughout the series, she and Wendy are the most alike of the main cast.
Both come from poor backgrounds, with abusive fathers and absent mothers and lovable but difficult family members. The tragedy is that despite similar beginnings, their endings are very different.
8WORST: Nathan Davis’ Offscreen Confrontation
One of the most frustrating aspects of not only the finale butOzark’s final season is the unexplained lack of communication between the Byrde parents and their children regarding Wendy’s abusive upbringing. It’s understandable that Wendy doesn’t want her children to know about the trauma she endured but it’s hard to believe that she, pragmatic as she is, wouldn’t divulge her father’s true nature when her children are running into his arms.
Even when Jonah and Charlotte are seemingly about to discover how horriblytheir grandfather has treated their mother, the scene is cut short and the audience is deprived of the satisfaction of seeing the truth being revealed or even knowing what information Jonah and Charlotte now have.
7BEST: Wendy Finally Being Honest
Wendy Byrde is easily the most manipulative character in the show, constantlylying through her teetheven to her loved ones if it means getting them to bend to her will. However, by the finale, she reaches her wit’s end and checks herself into the same mental facility she once committed Ben into.
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It’s not explicitly clear what flips the switch in Wendy but when her children come to visit her, she’s finally willing to let them decide what they want for their lives. She even admits to the full extent of responsibility she holds in Ben’s death, despite the reality that this confession could push her children even further away.
6WORST: Sam Leaving The Ozarks
The show’s lovable idiot saying goodbye to the town that he had long called home was not only sudden but disappointing. It isn’t that Sam leaving the Ozarks is a bad choice, it’ll more than likely increase his lifespan. It’s that as always, Sam’s decisions are being made by the people around him. Before by his mother, by the Byrdes for the duration of the show, and now by a church group with at least a questionable member.
To see Sam depart completely on his own terms would have made for a rare, but appreciated happy moment in the series.
5BEST: Ruth’s Family Fantasy
One of the most bittersweet moments in the entirety ofOzark, Ruth’s daydream references the question she poses toward Killer Mike regarding whether rapper Nas would give up his success if it meant not having to endure the pain that inspired his music. Juxtaposing an imagined (and perhaps slightly romanticized) barbecue with herdeceased family membersagainst the construction of a mansion paid for with money that was earned with their deaths, it’s clear that Ruth is torn between missing her old life while being proud of accomplishing what no one thought she ever could.
After a sweet conversation with Three, Ruth seems ready to move on and embrace her bright future with her last surviving family member. Which only makes what comes next all the more heartbreaking.
4WORST: Camila’s Confusing FBI Deal
By the conclusion of the series, Camila is fully aware that her brother wasn’t responsible for her son’s death, yet she makes no moves to prevent his murder by the FBI. It isn’t implausible that Camila is simply power-hungry enough to take Omar’s place as head of the Navarro cartel at the price of his life, but it is strange that there wouldn’t be a hint of hesitation upon learning the truth.
Especially since there was clearly much love between Camila and Omar as siblings, and there was no indication she had ever desired his demise until she falsely believed that he had killed her sin.
3BEST: Ruth’s Death
As sad as it is to watch a beloved character meet their bitter end, Ruth embodies everything audiences loved about her in her final moments. She stares her executioner in the eyes, standing her ground and firing off her trademark biting remarks even in the face of death.
Related:Ozark: Worst Decisions Made By The Byrde Family
And like any good death scene, the moment hurts. The audience has seen Ruth bury her demons and start taking advantage of the fresh start her loss has afforded her. And in the last leg, it’s all ripped away from her. Forever.
2WORST: Mel’s Last Stand
Mel is admittingly one of the few characters inOzarkwho could be described as a good person. In fact, Mel has far more of the characteristics of an archetypical protagonist than Marty, Wendy, or even Ruth.
Good qualities aside, for a character that spent half of his minimal screentime asking for a signature to be at the center ofOzark’s final moments feels incredibly random and lazy. It’s also difficult to believe that Mel is smart enough to figure out Ben’s ashes are in the ceramic goat but thinks that confronting the Byrdes in the middle of the night with no backup is a good idea.
1BEST: Jonah’s Closing Shot
These final frames ofOzarkformed amagnificent endto the series. Although Mel should have been better implemented into the series, there is a reason why the writers chose him to be the final antagonist. It’s to emphasize that the Byrdes, as much as they’d like to be,are not good people. That they end up destroying the good ones. That the moral and righteous will always come second to their well-being.
To have Jonah, the Byrde who pushed back the most against his parents this season, be the one to pull the trigger (something he tried to do in the first season) confirms to the audience that the Byrdes will always still be in it and they will always stick together. No matter whose expense it’s at.
