While Netflix churns out new titles like none other, it’s precious gems like Ozark that truly stand as testimony to the streamer’s potential. Just like how Marty Byrde was unwittingly roped into working for a cartel, fans too have found themselves enthralled time and again, returning to the show during its five-year run.
But like all good things, Ozark, too, has come to an end and it definitely answered that question we had right from Episode 1.
In the Ozark series finale, the Byrdes are finally able to cut ties from the Navarro cartel, as Camila Navarro takes over as the head.
I’m sure most of you gobbled the episodes as soon as they were dropped. If, during that adrenaline rush, you got fuzzy on the details, here is a recap on all the major events that happen in Ozark S4 Part 2, right up to the series finale.
Hell hath no fury like Ruth Langmore scorned. After discovering that it was Javi who killed her cousin Wyatt and his wife Darlene, the grief and anger Ruth feels immediately sets her off.
She ends up getting Marty and Wendy to ambush Javi through a meeting where she immediately shoots him.
Javi’s death sends a rumble through the cartel. The circumstances of Javi’s death are kept a secret between the Byrdes, Ruth, and Clare, all of whom lie to Javi’s uncle Omar and mother Camila about what really happened to him.
Omar and Camila have a political tussle of their own for the cartel. It isn’t clear at the get-go that Camila wants to have control. But when Omar first gets attacked in prison, the bigger picture comes into play.
Once again, the Byrdes recognize that at the moment, Camila is a more formidable enemy than Omar (who can’t really do much from jail) and ultimately help her in disposing off Omar for good.
2. Ruth’s Revenge Spree
So after Ruth kills Javi, Wendy coerces her into blackmailing Nathan. Why exactly?
Nathan actually takes custody of Jonah and Charlotte just to spite Wendy, and also because he’s generally a horrible person. Ruth meets him to discuss the situation, first with sweet words, then with scare tactics. She gets him to confess to the kids why he really wants to bring them to his home.
Once they learn the truth, they rush to Wendy who has checked herself into rehab in protest. (Yes, that happens!) After a rather emotional bonding, the Byrdes walk out of the rehab, more united than ever.
On Ruth’s front, though, the troubles are far from over. She makes sure that Nelsen meets his end for being the one who shot Ben and very eeriely has him buried in her swimming pool that was just being constructed.
This is where it seems like Ruth may finally have her own happy ending. But alas, Camila corners Clare to confess what really happened to Javi. Once that comes to light, it’s only a matter of time before we say goodbye to Ruth.
The scene is quite something—Camila in all black, emerging from Ruth’s driveway to face her in all white, and of course, the red from the bloodstains. What I am happy about is that Ruth died as she lived—unapologetic till the end.
3. Do the Byrdes survive S4 Part 1’s car crash?
I know one pivotal moment from S4 Part 1 is the flash forward scene involving the Byrdes in a car crash. A lot of us thought that perhaps this was how Ozark would end. If it did, it would’ve been an absolutely gut-wrenching sting.
But that’s not what happens. For one, I don’t think Ozark would even reveal a single second of the ending a moment before it’s due. So this had to be a red herring. As expected, the Byrdes survive… but their problems are far from over.
4. Ben’s Death Haunts the Byrdes
While there were many shocking deaths in Ozark, Ben’s demise in S3 was quite the emotional rollercoaster.
Since he suffered from bipolar disorder and vehemently disliked the cartel world his sister Wendy had gotten herself into, he was more than prone to rat the whole operation out to the police. Because of this, Wendy had to make sure he was “taken care of.”
But PI Mel Sattem simply couldn’t shake off Ben’s missing case and made it his life’s mission to bring justice to the man.
Wendy and Marty first tried to bribe Sattem by offering him back his job as a police officer. But while he initially dropped the case, he returned back with even more determination. So much so that he uncovered what actually happened to Ben.
When he confronts the Byrdes about this in the final moments of the series finale, they’re devastated—they finally have what they need to leave the cartel life but one wrong move could jeopardize it. If Sattem uses Ben’s death against them, they’ll be trapped forever.
Remember, this is the point where the Byrdes have taken care of virtually everything and can begin a new life: Camila has taken over the cartel with a deal to run things smoothly in tandem with the FBI and Rachel, who is handling the Missouri Belle.
Then comes out Jonah with his shotgun and straight aim. The Byrdes light up with one last smile as he points the gun at Sattem. The screen goes back and we hear a final sound of the gunshot. It is done—Ozark has come to an end, and the Byrdes have won their freedom through some really bloody means, indeed.
While the curtains have closed on the Byrdes, the show has ensured we keep pondering about their fate.
5. About Ozark
Ozark is an American crime drama starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney. It is a crime drama mixed with family concept and is created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Willaims. Bateman also serves as a co-producer of the show.
Ozark debuted on Netflix in 2017 and soon received favorable reviews, becoming a favorite. It received 32 Emmy Award nominations, including two for Outstanding Drama Series. It even earned Bateman an Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Julia Garner an Outstanding Supporting Actress twice in a row.
The plot revolves the Byrde family, with Marty and Wendy losing a money laundering scheme for a Mexican drug cartel and relocating to Missouri, with their family. Things start turning for the worse as they get entangled deeper into the organized crime world, including the biggest mafias.
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