The end of the story of the Byrds goes against the expectations of the audience, and it is impossible to justify the dubious decisions of the creators. The Byrd family makes one last attempt at a life of crime in Season 2, Part 4 of The Ozarks. We talk about the controversial ending of the popular crime show by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams in our review.
A tense and interesting road to the latest series
The plot of the 2nd half of Ozark season 4 brings us back to Marty and Wendy Birdam, who are trying to implement a comprehensive plan and get out of the clutches of the underworld and the FBI. Meanwhile, a heartbroken Ruth prepares to exact revenge on Javi for the death of her cousin Wyatt. Byrds’ persistent attempts to dissuade the girl from a desperate step do not end in success. A sharp turn of events forces Marty and Wendy to release Navarro by any means and return him to power over the cartel, but a new heroine suddenly intervenes in their changed plans.
The Ozark, in its tough and uncompromising manner, takes Javi out of the game, absolutely without ceremony with one of the main characters of the previous half of the season. On the chessboard heated by tension, he is replaced by another unpredictable and dangerous piece – Camila Elisonndro. A cunning woman with unbridled ambitions, played by the talented Veronica Falcon, enters the struggle for power, calmly crossing the path of her brother Navarro.
In the final part of the series, Marty must once again turn to the darkest sides of his personality in order to fix Navarro’s affairs. Faced with the threat of losing her children, Wendy, with all her inner demons, finds herself on the verge of insanity, but finds the strength not to cross the red line and prevent the final destruction of her life. Meanwhile, a desperate Ruth clings to the fragile sprouts of hope and tries to start a new life.
The storylines of the leading characters are harmoniously and effectively combined, boldly leading us to the long-awaited denouement. The cast perfectly embodies their carefully crafted characters, and the directors skillfully maintain the viscous and gloomy atmosphere of the Ozark. It would seem that all this in a chic way led us to a powerful and really worthy denouement for each hero. However, the Ozark series finale raises serious questions.
Controversial ending, or the fall of the Byrd family
The problem with the denouement of Ozark is by no means that the heroes of the series and a number of minor characters did not get a happy ending. Seen solely from the perspective of the Byrds’ physical survival, they are doing relatively well. All four survived, their situation improved against the backdrop of the hopelessness in which they remained for most of the series. The show diligently led some characters to a chance for redemption, and others to a new life, but in the end, the leading characters of the Ozark, each in their own way, simply stepped into the abyss.
“Ozark”, unlike the show “Breaking Bad”, which the authors of the Netflix project clearly inspired, turned out not to be a story about redemption, but a story of survival. Survival is hard, desperate and ultimately inhuman and vile. The Byrds, especially Wendy, have done a lot of bad, even terrible things. However, conscience still periodically forced Marty and the children to look for a more difficult way out and remain human in the most difficult situations. In the last episode, by silence and inaction, the Byrds doom Ruth to death, putting their own survival at the forefront. Following in the final scene of the series, Jonah shoots the detective, thereby finally renouncing normal life.
The Byrds, in fact, got away with it without paying for their misdeeds, without even trying to atone for the guilt and help the person who deserved to be saved. From people trying to get out of an exceptionally difficult situation, at times not in the most pure moral ways, they turned into inhuman criminals, ready to destroy everything in their path for the sake of the survival of their family. The message of the authors is understandable, but it completely destroys the remnants of human sympathy for the leading characters of the show. Because of this, the finale of the Ozark does not allow you to survive the catharsis, causing only a bitter aftertaste and rejection.
The tragic ending of Ruth
The death of Ruth at the hands of the new head of the cartel, Camila, also raises questions. The heroine in the brilliant performance of Julia Garner, suffering from the loss of the closest people in her life, still gathers her strength to get out of the suffocating conditions in which she found herself because of her relatives. However, this attempt to survive grief, “reborn” and become better, the authors cut off with a bullet in the chest from an immoral and unprincipled criminal. By this, the creators seem to be saying that no matter how loyal, smart and enterprising you may be, in certain circumstances you simply will not be able to get a second chance.
Disappointing ending to a great crime series
The authors of Ozark completed their project with a defiant ending: to punish the characters who deserved the best ending, and give life to those who showed the worst human qualities. Against the background of the brilliant ending of Breaking Bad, such an outcome looks immature, questionable in terms of the underlying meanings, and generally disappointing. This is not the finale that Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams’ excellent series deserved.
Ozark ending explained
As you remember, the Ozark outcome revolves around a confrontation with Mel ( Adam Rothenberg ), who doesn’t want to give in to any blackmail to knock Wendy ( Laura Linney ) as Marty ( Jason Batman ), but Jonah ( Skylar Gertner ) shows up with a shotgun, which is a reference to the end of the first season, he fires it and ends the threat to his parents.
Mundy noted that he chose Jonas because he was the last member of the family who was hesitant to commit crime, especially after what happened to Ben in the fourth season, which means “ that the family was reunited through this act of violence .” In addition, he reveals what reaction he wanted to evoke from the public:
We wanted people to think about the reality of what happened, not only in the context of watching the series, but also about the reality in which these characters will continue to live.
The future of the Bird family
Regarding how the story of the Berds continued, Mundy notes that “ I think they went further. They have everything they think they want. But I think they carry a curse, to be honest ,” as Bateman expands on his vision for the future of the Ozark protagonists:
I bet they’ll go to Chicago and test Wendy’s theory, which is: Do we have enough political power to do things that help people? Acquiring this capital was difficult, but does the end justify the means? I think even though they are smarter now than when we first met them, I still think that their arrogance and arrogance will continue to confuse them. I think humility will probably lead them to better solutions, but I don’t think they’re still there unfortunately.
Why did Ruth have to die?
Much more tragic was the end of Ruth’s journey, because the character embodied by Julia Garnier was shot dead by Camila ( Veronica Falcon ), Javi’s widow ( Alphonse Herrera ). Mandi admits that they thought about keeping her alive until the last moment, but it started to look a little off. we writers wanted instead of what would actually be .”
Mundy notes that ” it was too pure for anyone to have a damaged but happy ending, it was like a fairy tale ending with something we didn’t try to turn into this” , further clarifying the following about why it made sense for Ruth to break up with life in the latest episode of The Ozark :
I wanted everyone to make active decisions in the last seven episodes. Ruth may or may not have retaliated, but she knew that if she did, she would do many things that could hurt her.
Ozark: 10 questions left after the series finale
The Ozarks ended two weeks ago, and I still can’t get my head together. Something, probably, needs to be written, but I still have not decided on my attitude to what I saw – if you saw my attempts to predict the final, then you understand that I missed all the targets. Does this mean that the ending did not suit me? No. You just need to live with it for a while. In the meantime, it is worth noting that such an unexpected denouement left too many questions unanswered. These are not script flaws and storylines not brought together, on the contrary, the last episode gave out a whole bunch of possible sequels. Or at least, as I like it, reasons to fantasize about what happened next.
Who did John shoot?
For five years, a very non-trivial character has grown out of Jonah Byrd. Unlike his sister, the son of Wendy and Marty did not want to accept the criminal web that envelops his family more and more every day. The last shots of the series leave a slight understatement – it seems that Jon points the muzzle of a gun at Mal, a private detective who has stuck his nose too deeply into the Byrds’ personal life, however, the show goes into a blackout before we are shown who took the bullet. On the one hand, it seems obvious that the boy shot at the one who poses a threat to the family, only John himself always considered his own mother to be the main threat. So didn’t the son take the opportunity to close the matter once and for all?
How will Rachel’s life turn out?
Rachel is one of the most humanly sympathetic and most unfortunate heroines of the series. She has her shortcomings, but it was the arrival of the Byrds that almost completely destroyed her life, pouring a thousand different troubles on the girl’s lot. The series ends with the fact that Ruth manages to win Rachel over to her side, and the heroine who was running becomes the main owner of the casino built by Marty. But we don’t know if this is the future Rachel wanted for herself? Yes, she helped Ruth, she agreed to take the risks, but now Rachel was left alone against the Byrds and Navarro. That’s another choice.
What will be the actions of Camille?
Camilla, the new head of the cartel, showed herself to be an unexpectedly ruthless woman in the final season. Until recently, we believed that the unfortunate woman is completely dependent on her brother and son, but now she has already taken over the cartel and undertook to methodically remove any obstacles in her path. She got revenge on Ruth and scared the Byrds so much that Marty and Wendy were speechless. So far, the main characters have been given a chance to leave the party home without consequences, but will Camilla be as kind tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. There is every reason to believe that the new Navarro will one day want to get rid of the remnants of the past – from the same Marty.
Will Marty want to avenge Ruth?
On the other hand, Marty Bird is also put in an unenviable position by Camille – the head of the cartel killed the girl, whom Jason Bateman’s character always treated with respect and special warmth. Marty is a kind and fair man, but we know that he is incredibly brave and ruthless at the same time. And in tandem, Berds acquire redoubled strength and purposefulness. Will Marty want to answer Camille? Should he punish the killer of his partner and girlfriend? Will he use conventional weapons, or will Wendy try to use the political influence she has gained?
Will the Byrds be able to live in Chicago?
If we assume that Jonah shot the detective, then we come to the conclusion that the Byrds still returned to Chicago. This raises several questions at once that could expand the universe of the series in the future. Will Marty and Wendy be able to switch to some other activity? Will Wendy make a political manager? Will Marty want to get back to doing what he does best – money laundering? A big city means big opportunities, but also big troubles. And trouble, as you know, awaits.
Who will inherit Ruth’s inheritance?
Ruth gradually got out almost into the main characters of the series, hence her sudden death made many think about it. But not over whether this girl was a bad or good person, but over the mercantile issue of inheritance. Ruth was able to get out of the vicious circle of eternal poverty and dependence by the series finale, she began to build a house, she managed a motel and a casino, she finally had to take care of Wyatt’s child. Who will get Ruth’s legacy? Will things, money and real estate cause a new round of violence in the vicinity of the Ozarks?
Will the police investigate Ruth’s death?
Ruth’s death at the hands of Camille is probably the most dramatic scene in the final episode, and perhaps the entire final part of the Ozark series. Yes, somewhere deep inside, like many others, I understood that everything was heading towards this. However, I did not want to believe in this until the very end. And the more interesting is that the shot of the head of the cartel launched in the secret mechanisms of local authorities. Kill something Camilla Ruth killed, but what about the body? Ruth was found by passers-by and the police? Or is she gone forever, like Ben? For her town, the girl is too prominent a person for no one to notice her disappearance. But how deep is the new sheriff willing to dig?
Will Wendy and Marty save their marriage?
The Birds had to go through a lot during the time that Marty fell under the influence of the cartel – they were in for trouble, danger, dramatic losses, but also happy gains. All this time, the relationship between the spouses was under constant pressure. Not every marriage can handle that. And although closer to the finale, the heroes quite sincerely again confessed their love to each other, I would be careful not to give them a big chance to continue to live together. There are too many corrosive spots on this relationship, this family carries too many secrets to continue playing cloudless happiness.
Will the children stay with their parents?
Again, assuming the Byrds are all four of them going to Chicago after the final scene, one can’t help but wonder what Charlotte and Jonah are going to do next. The Byrd children showed themselves to be smart guys, but they managed to see enough “boxwood” to feel not like teenagers, but like fifty-year-old experienced gangsters. How will this affect their fate? Will they find themselves in Chicago? Will the dramatic experience help them avoid bad company and dangerous situations in the future, or, on the contrary, will they be drawn to adventure? Will they repeat the mistakes of Wendy and Marty?
Will the Byrds be able to move on from their past?
Continuing the previous topic – are Marty and Wendy themselves ready to become good citizens and law-abiding residents of Chicago? This couple has been working for four seasons to build a comfortable future for themselves and protect children from the problems of the evil outside world. Sometimes the road to this real or imaginary happiness, power, influence was not too direct, bright and open. Sometimes Marty and Wendy had to do not the best things. So were they able to leave this period of life behind them? Can the Byrds give up the thrill of fighting for life and big money? Or did this style of literal day-to-day survival change their guts forever? What awaits the spouses ahead – a calm old age or a new blade run?
Once again, this is not how I expected to see the finale of this series. And I would not call it a disappointment, rather, a lot remained incomprehensible to me. Hence the stupid questions. I hope you can clarify something for me in your comments, my channel is a two-way street if you follow the obvious rules. And in anticipation of the dialogue, I will continue to work solo – on new materials. There are many interesting premieres and cool releases ahead – I want to have time to write about everything. Drop in to the film expert in civilian clothes, it will be interesting. Read, watch, don’t get sick, take care of yourself and your loved ones, and…
