Spoiler Warning: Ozark Seasons 1 - 4The 2017 Netflix series, Ozark had everyone on their toes through all four seasons. The constant shock and awe value of the show ran parallel with the ongoing public interest. The story of the Byrde and Langmore families became so deeply mottled with lies, theft, bribery, corruption, and drugs that no one should have guessed the series would end any differently than we were used to at that point.
Ultimately, we hoped that Ruth would find some peace and move forward with her life, bringing it from being rooted in crime to being that of a law-abiding American citizen. We also all hoped that the Byrde kids would finally get a break from being their parents' pawns and lead a normal life — however, we didn't want any of these things to happen. Instead, we were left rather devastated by the series finale and even more so by the last few scenes.
The Byrdes Have a Bleak Ending
Why were we all tossed to the wolves in such a way that left us wondering why we ever watched the show to start with? Did Ruth have to die? Why did the Byrdes get away with everything? These are all excellent questions for anyone who spent time falling in love with the show and cheering on the underdogs. Ozark had to end the way it did because it was the only thing that made sense.
In order for the dirty Byrde family to escape prosecution and frolic off extravagantly into the mountain sunset, they had to be free. With Javi on their backs, owning them, and dictating business going forward, there would never be a way out for any of them. Javi Navarro was a very bad apple, and his mother, Camila, sister of head drug kingpin Omar Navarro, didn't end up being all that great either but was never as bad as his nephew.
Everyone knew from the start that the entire drug cartel family would not be toyed with, but the Byrdes did so anyway. With time, some of the cartel took care of themselves, and the Byrdes were granted a tiny bit of grace, that is until Javi took over. Omar was not a kind man, but he was fair for the most part. Javi, the nephew of Omar, never wanted to be fair. He never cared about anything except money and power, and Omar knew that towards the end, but everyone everywhere throughout the entire series had connections all over the world and in the most guarded prisons. Omar was never safe when his family had those connections; he died knowing that.
Ruth Meets a Tragic, But Expected, End
In the Ozark finale, many things happen, and many loose ends are finally tied. Ruth Langmore is murdered by Javi's mother, Camila, on her way home from the Byrde Foundation's gala. Camila threatened the Byrdes' partner and one of the last people to see Javier alive, pharmaceutical CEO Clare Shaw in order to find out who killed her son. When a car blocks the road, Ruth exits her vehicle to see what the hold-up is. Camila steps out of the woods to bring what she believes to be vengeance for the woman who murdered her son. She does not try to run or hide and is certainly not unwelcoming of death.
After the recent murder of her cousin and best friend, Wyatt, and the less recent murder of her love, Ben Davis, she has nothing left. She tried to fix her life by getting her record expunged, but it was half-hearted. She begged Marty Byrde to kill her because she couldn't stand being in this kind of pain anymore. Ultimately, she would never escape the Navarro cartel and would be running for the remainder of her life. Not only would she be running without direction, but she would be doing so alone. The cartel had punished everyone that crossed it, and letting Ruth Langmore go would have made for an awkwardly fluffy ending. It had to happen.
But Ozark Doesn't End There
Ruth is dead, yet the story continues to spin out of control as the Byrdes realize someone has broken into their home and is sitting on their back porch. That person is Mel Sattem, a private investigator they believed they'd gotten rid of by having him reinstated as a police officer. He couldn't give up until he knew the truth and had always suspected Ruth's goat cookie jar of holding something other than cookies since none were ever found to be inside. He is sitting on the porch holding the goat cookie jar containing Ben Davis, Wendy's brother's ashes that the Byrdes cremated him into at their newly purchased crematorium.
Johan Byrde, in the end, sides with his now-free family and kills Sattem, who had planned to bust their whole story wide open and imprison them for Ben's murder. He does not get the chance because Jonah shoots and kills him in the ending scene, thus creating a clear break for his family to escape and put the entire thing behind them.
Jonah Sealed His Family's Fate
Jonah was a troubled kid, and his corrupt parents made his life hellish. He should never have had to grow up as quickly as he did, and it would have made sense if he'd thrown them all under the bus, but he didn't because they were his family. If anything, family meant almost as much as money to all the different last names in the show. Sadly, as his parents look at him proudly, he seals his fate and the fate of his family because they will all need to continue to run or find a way to cover it up. Young Jonah just killed a federal agent and will never be able to wipe that away from his conscience.
Ultimately, Ozark concluded as darkly as it began and did not falter in its heartlessness. But is this just the beginning of the Byrdes' story?