S04.E14: A Hard Way to Go

[Bluesky]

On 4/30/2022 at 9:25 PM, Pike Ludwell said:

I don't care about the PI - he was a bit of a dick. And he was constantly acting annoying, trespassing, scaring people to death, and this time he also broke and entered their house. His obsessive thinking wasn't aware  of what a dangerous nutcase of a person Ben was (and not just a danger to the Byrdes). So the killing of Ben wasn't nearly as evil as the depraved killing of a total innocent.  And now he was going to destroy their lives.  I say way to go Jonah!!

Plus the cookie jar as his big clue was ridiculous. There were several instances of him making a big deal of it over the season, but none of it was really merited..

Ben wasn’t dangerous or a “nut case”.   They said had a mental illness but the character played like he had an intellectual disability.  His inability to keep quiet and not understanding that he was surrounded by dangerous people was the problem.   

[Bluesky]

On 5/1/2022 at 10:26 PM, EllaWycliffe said:

I really don't know that I would characterize the PI who got fired for stealing coke and who routinely harassed people and who pretty openly commited breaking and entering as "a good guy". Agree it would scar Jonah but all things considered I can see it being justified as saving the family. 

Getting addicted to a drug and stealing it from an evidence room isn’t exactly exemplary behavior for a cop but people recover from addictions and go straight. That doesn’t make them bad people.  He probably could have opened a window or picked a lock but he purposely broke that window, he hated them so much for the lowlifes they had become.  
 

If the Private Investigator was a policeman instead would Jonah be justified in murdering him for saving his family from being arrested for a crime?

[SuprSuprElevated]

4 hours ago, Bluesky said:

he had an intellectual disability.

He had been a school teacher until he quit (or was dismissed) in the middle of some sort of psychotic break, and found his sister.  He had been institutionalized on at least one prior occasion, before Wendy placed him in the local Ozark hospital.  His issues appeared to be mental and deep, the least of which was an utter lack of impulse control.  Or, I could be misremembering the whole thing, lol.

[DoctorAtomic]

He got into a bar fight in S3 too iirc, and Wendy had to bail him out. 

[Bluesky]

4 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

He had been a school teacher until he quit (or was dismissed) in the middle of some sort of psychotic break, and found his sister.  He had been institutionalized on at least one prior occasion, before Wendy placed him in the local Ozark hospital.  His issues appeared to be mental and deep, the least of which was an utter lack of impulse control.  Or, I could be misremembering the whole thing, lol.

No, he they did say he was mentally ill  and needed medication.  But they made him seem so simple.   People who have a mental illness have average to above average intelligence.  I found it extremely annoying.  

[SuprSuprElevated]

5 hours ago, Bluesky said:

But they made him seem so simple.

They did do that.

[Avabelle]

Ruth’s been in survival mode the last two episodes. She knew something was wrong when she drove into the house yet she got out of the car and approached the vehicle rather than drive the fuck away from there.

Also, I found it a really hard sell that Wendy was the one suggesting options to Marty on how to save Ruth. Was it a last chance ditch at redemption for her? 

[Biggie B]

What happened to the baby? Last I recall, Ruth's friend brought him back to Ruth, but what did Ruth do with him after that?

I, too, am scarred for life by John Boy's "blessed fucking day"!! What would Grandpa have said about that???

I very much wanted Ruth to have her new life, but yeah - her days were numbered. Still, she was my favorite character. The actress who played her was truly terrific.

What will happen to Three? Will he inherit all of Ruth's assets?

Overall, I enjoyed the show. It was intense and dark; my husband and I usually could only watch one episode at a time. The few times we watched two back-to back, it was too much. Still, we were captivated and engrossed. The show definitely kept our attention and spurred much discussion. I'm OK with it ending - that was enough - but I'll miss looking forward to it. 

 

[Avabelle]

The kid who plays Wyatt looked so Ill in those flashbacks. I know he was always scrawny but he looked significantly moreso since he was last on.

13 hours ago, Biggie B said:

What will happen to Three? Will he inherit all of Ruth's assets?

Poor Three - he was such an afterthought in the show. Like Ruth he also lost Wyatt but now he’s lost her too. I hope he gets her money and has a nice life.  

[Chicago Redshirt]

18 hours ago, Biggie B said:

What happened to the baby? Last I recall, Ruth's friend brought him back to Ruth, but what did Ruth do with him after that?

I, too, am scarred for life by John Boy's "blessed fucking day"!! What would Grandpa have said about that???

I very much wanted Ruth to have her new life, but yeah - her days were numbered. Still, she was my favorite character. The actress who played her was truly terrific.

What will happen to Three? Will he inherit all of Ruth's assets?

Overall, I enjoyed the show. It was intense and dark; my husband and I usually could only watch one episode at a time. The few times we watched two back-to back, it was too much. Still, we were captivated and engrossed. The show definitely kept our attention and spurred much discussion. I'm OK with it ending - that was enough - but I'll miss looking forward to it. 

 

I think Ruth brought the baby to a foster care person and said whatever you do, don't let Wendy Byrde get her hands on this kid." And that was the last we saw of Baby Zeke.

Three presumably inherits all of Ruth's property (the Snell estate, the Missouri Belle controlling interest, the motel, the cash) unless Ruth made out a will designating property to others. I tend to doubt that Ruth would have had a will done or that if she did, she would have designated any beneficiaries other than Three. 

[IslandGirl]

20 hours ago, Avabelle said:

Ruth’s been in survival mode the last two episodes. She knew something was wrong when she drove into the house yet she got out of the car and approached the vehicle rather than drive the fuck away from there.

Also, I found it a really hard sell that Wendy was the one suggesting options to Marty on how to save Ruth. Was it a last chance ditch at redemption for her? 

I think Ruth was suicidal when she approached that vehicle. 

 

And yes, I was also shocked to see Wendy trying so hard to figure out a way to keep Ruth from being killed. Very off brand for her…

[IslandGirl]

19 hours ago, Biggie B said:

What happened to the baby? Last I recall, Ruth's friend brought him back to Ruth, but what did Ruth do with him after that?

I, too, am scarred for life by John Boy's "blessed fucking day"!! What would Grandpa have said about that???

What will happen to Three? Will he inherit all of Ruth's assets?

I like to imagine Three inherits everything, marries a wonderful person & they adopt Baby Zeek, then give birth to a little girl named Ruth; all while the Byrdes’ Teflon coating wears off & they finally have to pay the piper…

JohnBoy’s performance sent shivers up & down my spine 😳🫣

[aghst]

On 4/29/2022 at 4:09 PM, DiabLOL said:

I’m so angry and disappointed. I wanted Ruth to be the only survivor of the bunch. I desperately needed to see the Byrdes either killed or in prison. Ruined. Also the episode was just plain bad. No way would Ruthie who was born ready just walk up to that car like that no gun nothing. No way. 
I feel so cheated.

Even if Ruth escaped this time, they'd be coming after her over and over.

Her killing Javi was just as impulsive as the shit Darlene did until it caught up to her.  She had to know she wasn't going to get away with it either but she didn't care.

Her character was a fan favorite, defiant and spunky even in the end.  Doesn't mean she was an innocent either, more deserving to live her best life than the other characters.

 

The whole plotting was so cynical, about the FBI being as corrupt as the cartel.  Because basically, they not only executed Omar, they executed a guard to justify executing Omar.

And of course the Byrdes as power brokers behind their foundation are rotten to the core.

But are they really free?  Because they just replaced Omar with psycho dragon bitch, who wanted to kill Ruth herself.  Clare and the Byrdes have to look over their shoulder all their lives.

Camilla is even more ruthless and psychopathic than Omar or Javi.

 

 

 

 

[SlovakPrincess]

Ah, well.  You annoyed me a lot, Ruth, but I'm still sad to see you go out like that.  

I was a little surprised at how quickly Clare threw Ruth right under the bus, though - not that she had much reason to be loyal to Ruth, but damn!

I thought Ruth was going to record Nathan on her phone without him realizing, and then play his damning words for Jonah and Charlotte ... but they decided to go a dumber route with it.  And would Marty really have gotten Ruth killed if she didn't help keep his (nearly adult) children from leaving town?  Seems out of character ... in fact, he was urging her to change her identity and run away later in the episode.  

Did Wendy really need to check herself into a mental health facility to finally admit to her children how wrong she'd been?  Also, my understanding is that once you check in to that kind of facility because you declare you're a danger to yourself or others ... they don't just let you leave the second you want to. 🙄  Also, the car crash was pointless, other than making Wendy even more insufferable.

Not my sweet Mel getting shot at the end by that little twerp Jonah. 😪

Anyways ... it's been real (weird and often convoluted), Ozark!  "Have a blessed fucking day!" 😃

[SlovakPrincess]

On 5/1/2022 at 2:19 PM, cdnalor said:

I'd rather think that Jonah shot the cookie jar, scattering the ashes, and then they chased the PI away while they cleaned up the ashes.

Now that's an interesting theory -- destroying the only evidence Mel had, chasing him off and probably nobody believing he broke in because Ben's ashes were in a cookie jar.  

A more interesting way to go would've been Mel breaking in or otherwise creating a situation where the cops have to show up and he guides them to the cookie jar evidence without getting his own fingerprints all over it or stealing it.  

I feel like there were so many other, more satisfying endings they could have had than "the bad guys get away with everything" (which, at this point, is no longer novel).  I guess the big twist here is the Byrdes all finally accepting that they are, in fact, bad.  Two sort of chilling moments: (a) Marty telling Wendy that they can, in fact, live with knowing Ruth is about to be killed ... because he's realized by this point that you can learn to rationalize anything; and (b) the creepily serene looks on the parents' faces as Jonah aimed his gun at Mel.    

I think I would've been happier with an ending more like The Americans (the main characters escape, but they lose their kids, home, and the lives they knew).  Here, I thought a fitting end might be losing the Byrde foundation and their reputation, Marty taking a far less favorable FBI deal (but possibly being relieved with that), with Wendy being bitter that they have to go back to surviving normal, boring life (kind of like the Good Fellas ending).  

But I guess the surprise ending here is Marty -- who the audience has been hoping is remorseful and really wants to be clean -- apparently finally makes his peace with being evil and selfish.  

Edited May 24, 2022 by SlovakPrincess

[DoctorAtomic]

29 minutes ago, SlovakPrincess said:

And would Marty really have gotten Ruth killed if she didn't help keep his (nearly adult) children from leaving town?  Seems out of character ... in fact, he was urging her to change her identity and run away later in the episode.

That was the point of being so ooc for Marty. He said to her basically, I have no other option. 

[aghst]

They weren't going to be able to keep it a secret forever.

If not Camilla making overt threats, other cartel people were going to put pressure on Clare -- I know she was desperate to keep her company alive but after the kinds of explicit and implied threats she's been subject to, she should have run away from the deal with the cartel.

And Ruth was behaving like Marty and Wendy were going to keep her secret no matter what.

Yeah she should have gone into hiding, not build a big home (how do they own such prime lakefront land anyways?) and taking over the casino, which means she has to be around the cartel all the time, no matter how she may refuse to launder the money.

[SlovakPrincess]

41 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

That was the point of being so ooc for Marty. He said to her basically, I have no other option. 

It just seemed weird to me that Marty and Wendy were willing to risk everything pulling weird stunts (him threatening Ruth, her hospitalizing herself and potentially missing the critical Byrde foundation party) to stop Charlotte and Jonah from going to NC for a while ... instead of simply clearly telling Charlotte and Jonah "hey, grandpa was physically abusive and alcoholic during mom's childhood!  This is a very bad idea!  But if you feel the need to go and learn what grandpa is really like, you better plan to jump in Charlotte's van and book it out of there the second Nathan starts getting controlling!"   

Edited May 24, 2022 by SlovakPrincess

[DoctorAtomic]

There's a point where kids aren't just going to listen anymore and have to figure it out themselves. This is a hyper version of that. 

[Carmel Cub]

In hindsight the cartel should have just killed Marty when they killed his business partner in the very first episode.

[Redrum]

Hindsight is 20/20.

[AZChristian]

3 hours ago, Carmel Cub said:

In hindsight the cartel should have just killed Marty when they killed his business partner in the very first episode.

I think they chose which business partner was smart enough to run the money laundering on his own - and they eliminated the other guy in such a way that Marty would be afraid NOT to continue.

[MJ Frog]

On 5/1/2022 at 6:25 PM, mishap said:

But  I wonder, since they were showing her remembering her family,   seeing them, talking to Wyatt, was that foreshadowing that she would be joining them soon?  Or was she missing them and just tired of it all.  Money and power don't mean much if you have lost your whole family.

This was the key to it, I think. Ruth has always had a self-destructive streak -- a strong survival instinct, yes, but I think some part of her, like Wyatt, has always believed in the Langmore curse, that a better life could never really be hers. Of course she knew EXACTLY what was going on when she saw that SUV, and knew well enough to turn around and drive off. But I think she was tired of waiting for the inevitable. And lonely. And unlike the Byrds, she was on some level okay with her crimes catching up to her.

Ruth had a good death, and she faced it head on, with her usual courage and honesty. Many seem to think she was behaving out of character, but I don't think so. Ruth was my favorite, and I really didn't want her to die, but when she got out of her truck and walked up to the Cartel Brand SUV I knew that was precisely what was going to happen, and I knew that she knew.

[MJ Frog]

On 5/19/2022 at 2:48 PM, IslandGirl said:

And yes, I was also shocked to see Wendy trying so hard to figure out a way to keep Ruth from being killed. Very off brand for her…

That was about Marty, not Wendy. Wendy knew how much Ruth meant to him. Like she said, she was terrified this would be too much, that she would lose him. And for me, that moment was the climax of the whole series. Marty may not have always shown it, but losing Ruth to all this would be second only to losing Wendy or the kids. Could he bear it? As it turned out, Wendy was right, nothing is unbearable.

Poor little Ruthie. She was a nut, but I wanted good things for her. Wasn't meant to be, though. The little people are ground under the machinations of the powerful. 'Twas ever thus.

The sickening irony of it all is that the Byrds might actually be able to accomplish some good. I couldn't help but love the fact that Wendy was partnering with the FBI to quash voting machine election fraud. Maybe the Mayas of the world really do get in their own way, and maybe this queasy intermingling of good and evil really is the way things get done. According to Ozark this certainly is a fallen world, and the show has been completely consistent on that score from the start.

[IslandGirl]

3 hours ago, MJ Frog said:

That was about Marty, not Wendy. Wendy knew how much Ruth meant to him. Like she said, she was terrified this would be too much, that she would lose him. And for me, that moment was the climax of the whole series. Marty may not have always shown it, but losing Ruth to all this would be second only to losing Wendy or the kids. Could he bear it? As it turned out, Wendy was right, nothing is unbearable.

Poor little Ruthie. She was a nut, but I wanted good things for her. Wasn't meant to be, though. The little people are ground under the machinations of the powerful. 'Twas ever thus.

The sickening irony of it all is that the Byrds might actually be able to accomplish some good. I couldn't help but love the fact that Wendy was partnering with the FBI to quash voting machine election fraud. Maybe the Mayas of the world really do get in their own way, and maybe this queasy intermingling of good and evil really is the way things get done. According to Ozark this certainly is a fallen world, and the show has been completely consistent on that score from the start.

You’re right, that was for Marty; somehow I missed that!

I read an interview with I think the show runner. He said the ending showed that rich people get away with a lot in the US, & bad rich people get away with even more. In another interview Jason Bateman said if the series had continued for another year the Byrdes would end up either dead or in jail. They both said Jonah did shoot the detective, not Wendy or the goat urn.

Edited June 4, 2022 by IslandGirl
You can’t kill a goat urn!

[tennisgurl]

I really wish that Ruth had made it out, but I have assumed she was toast since she killed Javi. Camilla was too smart not to figure out that something was up with his death, and no way could she let someone who killed her son live. Plus, she had that bittersweet fantasy of her family being alive and she finally made some kind of peace with the Byrids, it all was screaming "time for death" but it still sucks. 

A bit of a weird ending for the show, going for their own "cut to black" Sopranos style ending with the kids fully breaking bad. I don't hate it, but it left me cold, it didn't feel like a series finale so much as a season finale, with next season being the real ending. I guess its supposed to show how crime affects generation after generation, that despite Marty and Wendy's best efforts their kids are already corrupted, but I think we could have landed harder. 

I know that Wendy is a terrible person, even on a show filled with people ranging from petty crooks to monsters, but I do like her setting her dead psycho eyes on people that also suck, like the election fixer and her dad. 

Half the reasons people on this show die is because they cant just leave well enough alone. Ben at least had his mental health issues as an excuse for pushing the buttons of dangerous people, the PI just showed up at the house of people who he thinks murdered someone and then hung around just to brag about how he was going to bust them? Was he even being paid to investigate them at that point? The main reason the Bryrids are probably alive is because Marty never takes risks when he doesn't have to, tries not to piss off scary people, and never sticks around to gloat. 

[SoMuchTV]

Not exactly related to events of the episode, but can I just say, whenever the episode title comes up in my unread threads, I can't stop the earworm... I think the song was actually part of the episode in some way - someone was performing it?.  I think I'm mostly remembering the Bonnie Raitt version but I guess credit goes to John Prine.

[DoctorAtomic]

48 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

The main reason the Bryrids are probably alive is because Marty never takes risks when he doesn't have to, tries not to piss off scary people, and never sticks around to gloat.

48 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Half the reasons people on this show die is because they cant just leave well enough alone.

That's similar to Game of Thrones when someone does something remarkably stupid and soon they're got. 

Marty has been consistently risk averse and the lowest of low key criminals since the start of the show. He told Wendy the timing wasn't right for the second 'clean' casino, and she decided she didn't like that. As soon as they kicked off the casino, the FBI rolls in, and there's the rest of the show. 

[Shermie]

On 5/11/2022 at 5:53 AM, millennium said:

Hope Lisa Linney takes a good long rest after this.  Ozark seems to have aged her before her time.

No, Laura Linney looks like a normal 58-year-old woman. We’re too used to seeing actresses freeze, shave, slice and dice their faces into unnatural forms.

Besides the accident being unrealistic because they all walked away with nary a scratch, it was also unrealistic that no passersby stopped to help. Every single accident I’ve ever seen, the first few cars stop immediately and people run over to help. The highway was busy and there were many witnesses, yet nobody stopped and ran over? That was bad writing.

Quote

I, too, am scarred for life by John Boy's "blessed fucking day"!! What would Grandpa have said about that???

Grandpa and Pa Walton would have had a secret chuckle over it. Grandma would have had another stroke, and Olivia would have called Pastor John Ritter.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Shermie

[DoctorAtomic]

I thought she was 8-10 younger. She looks just fine to me, and if she's looking for a rest, she can hit me up and hang out on my porch. 

[millennium]

2 hours ago, Shermie said:

No, Laura Linney looks like a normal 58-year-old woman. We’re too used to seeing actresses freeze, shave, slice and dice their faces into unnatural forms.

I know what Hollywood requires of older women.   I was comparing her to women of the same age (and older) of my close personal acquaintance.   To me, she looks older than they do.

[Jax7917]

On 5/6/2022 at 8:35 PM, Soobs said:

Was he back on the evidence locker cocaine? If anyone knew that the ashes are not admissible because he broke in to get them, it's him!

Other complaints - Walking away from the car crash and going home and getting dressed for the party. No ER to check internal injuries or a concussion for Wendy who passed out? Did not like how no one told Jonah to put down the gun.

Things I liked - Ruth drinking with Wendy's dad was a fun scene. When she said, "you beat her" meaning bested her and he looked shocked/ guilty, I loled. She knew how to play him. Her mouthing off at Camilla before her death was very in character for her too. I think she was not willing to run or duck from the cartel and had a let the chips fall where they may attitude.

The ending didn't feel like a show ending to me. It felt like the end of another season. I would not be surprised if this show reappears in a couple of years with a real ending.

That was what I was thinking. Nowadays shows never really end because there's always the possibility of a reboot or continuation so a lot of shows leave things off as unfinished . Series finales used to be final, giving the audience all the answers. Now a lot of shows don't do that because then they risk not being able to profit from it down the road again. I didn't like this finale. I wanted to see the Byrde's lives post- cartel and I just wanted it wrapped in a more definitive bow. Also, the two shootings were left pretty open-ended because yes, Ruth likely died from the gunshot BUT they deliberately didn't shoot her in the head because then she would have definitely been dead. She was shot in the chest and Camilla was standing over her for some reason instead of running away. And with Jonah, did he shoot the FBI agent or did he shoot Wendy who he couldn't stand anymore? Maybe he just shot the thing with the ashes in it to scare the agent. All of these things weren't shown purposely I believe so they have the possibility of returning one day.

[BasilSeal]

Late to the party here but this is my take on the the Ozark ending

The car crash is foreshadowing, but not in the way it first appears when we first see it as a flash forward. At first it appears that even though we learn from their conversation that they've apparently got clear of the cartel and the FBI, they still don't get to walk away scot free because they have a terrible accident. But in fact the accident is symbolic of their predicament, a violent and chaotic event that was due to Marty's misjudgment but despite all the destruction they still walk away unscathed.  

The question is at what price? Wendy says everything is bearable, that no burden is too great to bear, but up until the very end the Byrds have some control over events, they're always able to come up with some get out or manipulation that gives them some semblance of being on the right side of things. at the very end they come up against a situation that they can't fix and have to sit back and let Camilla murder Ruth because the price of stopping her means they wouldn't get what they wanted. As Agent Maya tells Marty 'you always had a choice'

the choice here is to warn Ruth and have Camilla killed by Omar's hit man. Marty just told Ruth he can get new identities, so he could do this for him and his family once the FBI deal was scuppered by Omar and Camilla both being dead. But they choose not to do this for purely selfish reasons, which marks the point where they totally embrace the 'dark side', and ultimately Charlotte and Jonah are on board with this too. We see Charlotte cross the line when she threatens Helen's daughter when the two of them meet in Chicago,a at first they're a couple of teenage friends catching up, but then charlotte tells her that if she doesn't forget that her mom was a cartel lawyer who got murdered by their associates then she will end up dead too. Jonah is the only one who hasn't gone over, but in the end, it's him who kills Mel Saddam to protect the secret about Ben.

When Jonah shoots Mel, it's a call back to season 2 where Jonah has got the guy with downs who worked at the blue cat to buy an assault rifle on his behalf, because he realises that the family are in danger. Buddy sees him hide the gun and secretly removes the firing pin, to save Jonah from the burden of killing someone, Buddy, as a Vietnam vet, understands this.

When they are held at gunpoint by Del's assassin who is going to kill them, Jonah has the rifle pointed at the hit man but the hit man assumes he will not pull the trigger because killing someone is not easy, and Jonah is a child. Wendy tells him to do it. and he does pull the trigger, but obviously the gun does not work, at this point Buddy comes in and shoots the hit man with his shotgun. the final scene is a callback to this except this time it's Jonah with the shotgun.

On 6/5/2022 at 12:11 AM, IslandGirl said:

He said the ending showed that rich people get away with a lot in the US, & bad rich people get away with even more.

Hell Yes. The wealthy and well-connected will carry on as normal, whilst the poor paid the price. It's symbolic that Ruth's fate is sealed by Claire Shaw, her pharmaceutical company, a clear proxy for Purdue Pharma, has already been responsible for the deaths of thousands of rural poor via opioid addiction..

So yeah, in summary i think the ending works. It's a subversion of the normal conventions in these types of show, where we follow the bad guys (who often think they're really the good guys,) but they ultimately fail in their goals. see The Shield, sons of Anarchy etc. The  bad guys and their machinations are good drama, but storytelling convention dictates that the bad guys can't win, at least not without a lengthy redemption arc, Mel states this right at the end, he actually says 'you can't win', he has them banged to rights, and there's a momentary look of genuine surprise on his face when Jonah racks the shotgun.

Here the bad guys do win, they get what they want, they crawl clear of the car crash they've caused unharmed, but at what cost?

[SlovakPrincess]

On 6/6/2022 at 5:09 PM, tennisgurl said:

A bit of a weird ending for the show, going for their own "cut to black" Sopranos style ending with the kids fully breaking bad. I don't hate it, but it left me cold, it didn't feel like a series finale so much as a season finale, with next season being the real ending. I guess its supposed to show how crime affects generation after generation, that despite Marty and Wendy's best efforts their kids are already corrupted, but I think we could have landed harder. 

Yeah, I didn't love the ending, either.  I get what they were going for (everyone eventually gets corrupted, the Byrdes have wealth and privilege on their side and skate while everyone else suffers, etc.).  But it was so heavy handed and contrived in a lot of ways that whatever gritty realism they were going for is lost.  The Byrdes skate only because the FBI that hounded them for seasons suddenly wants to supervise and enable a drug cartel so they can seize its money.  Wendy merrily checks herself in and out of a mental hospital and the obvious manipulation not only works like a charm on the family the hated her in the prior episode, but it causes no consequences for a family jealously guarding their political reputation.  Mel has to turn into a grandstanding idiot for the big Jonah's-a-murderer-now-and-the-whole-family-is-fine-with-it shock ending.  

[pfk505]

Holy shit that was fucking TERRIBLE. Like Dexter-level bad. So many plot contrivances to get us to that big giant pile of dogshit. So disappointing.

[Craigcodybazhate]

Consequences Ruth had to get what was coming to her for Javi. That’s the rule. This is street shlit. She was gonna get dealt with. Three told her don’t do it. She didn’t listen to her cousin. She could lived in wealth with three and have her dream house. 
 

Ruth is a loud street gangsta a hot head. She’s not polished like Wendy. Wendy said yes looked all soft and unassuming and got the trust of the Cartel and then set him up for his own sister to have him killed. That was all Wendy’s plan. Let Carmela run the cartel. Who cares that’s what she said. FBI will still have thier person to go through. 
 

Wendy was smart. It’s a cold show. She had her brother killed. But she tried begged Ben to get help. He refused then this guy gets out doesn’t go to his girls house but goes right to the Cartels lawyer and tells the woman’s daughter she runs drugs. What did he think was gonna happen he put them all at risk. 
 

then he calls the lawyer and gives them their location. Wendy was right. What are you trying to get them killed? She was right on. Ben was an idiot. Wendy tried to keep him alive. 
 

The blood was on Ruth’s hands for going around to Darlene and having Darlene get him out and Darlene was always up for messing Wendy up. 
 

Darlene had to get dealt with because her consequences were from season one whacking a cartel boss. Javie even mentioned that. The smalls weren’t getting away with that. But even her husband knew Darlene was an idiot. 
 

Wyatt had consequences he should’ve left with Ruth. He would’ve had all his money and been with his cousin. Darlene had too much heat on her. Javie even apologized. Sarcastically of course. But he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. No witnesses. 
 

the whole episode was Ruth dealing with what should she do? Revenge get back or go with Three? She even met Killer mike. Nothing could stop her. 
 

Marty was trying to tell her don’t do it there. That’s sloppy messy. They don’t know Claire like that. She’s not steet. No street shlit, so when she got some heat on her she snitched. That wasn’t Wendy or Marty. 
 

they could’ve set javie up to get whacked by his own uncle and nothing would’ve got back to Ruth. Maybe Marty would’ve told his uncle he has a person who would do it where it wouldn’t come back to them. And then let Ruth do it so she could pull the trigger. That’s how it should’ve been done. But she was hot and wanted right there and that was the consequences. Killing Javier in Claire’s office and Clair was shook. 
 

Real talk everybody talks about Wendy but at the end Wendy actually wanted to protect Ruth it was Marty who said no stand down. The whole series it was Wendy saying why do you always protect Ruth? She’s not family. At the end it was Wendy saying why aren’t we protecting Ruth? And Marty putting that gangster card up. And that is brilliant writing. Marty is the coldest gangster. Walter white would never kill Jessy Pinkman. But Marty Byrd would kill Ruth Langmore. 
 

this show was a masterpiece. Jonah switching it up and protecting his family was the ultimate surprise because we were lead to believe he hated his family. And everybody thought he would be like do it. He was like nah. Everybody thought Charlotte was the one that was gonna be pulling the trigger cause she seemed like she understood what they had to do. But Jonah turned into Marty. And that was Marty’s pain and punishment. His son that he was trying to keep out of it. Turned into him. Brilliant writing. Brilliant show. 

Edited September 8, 2022 by Craigcodybazhate

[paramitch]

Yay! I finished the show!

But good lord, so depressing. And I'm not  sure the emotion is deserved. I mostly felt tired and angry.

In the end, I feel like this was a beautifully produced, acted, and presented show that in the end was very slight in terms of actual content. What was it about? Nihilism. When I compare it to "Breaking Bad," for instance, which has been a constant, or "The Sopranos," it's markedly less successful or important.

In the end, the only thing that matters is that this family is a toxic invader, an alien species that exterminated everything it encountered. I mean, I get the idea, but how is this appealing? Looking over the show's history, the death they leave in their wake is staggering. Every major character they encountered upon arrival is dead. But the impact for me is lessened because unlike The Sopranos, they fell sideways into this and have never, ever, quite owned it! Marty almost does but not. Wendy thinks playing the role exonerates her while pinning her hopes on politics and power. Etc. Charlotte loses all sense of ethics while Jonah learns that anything can be solved with a gun.

I wanted people to lose something, and be aware of it. All of them. So ending the show with Byrds in their miraculously safe glass house, disposing of one more good person, when Ruth has died for all their sins -- didn't feel like resolution to me, it just felt smug, and silly. I didn't buy it. 

The irony is, some of this season was great. It turned Wendy from a potentially cardboard Lady Macbeth into a superbly fascinating character -- one who was wounded, abused, and rose from that, and who knew who she was. Wendy admitting to Marty "I know I'm hard to love," and his instant "no you're not" enhanced so much for me. I'd kept expecting Marty to leave or align himself against her but while he didn't agree with everything she did, I realized that Marty loves Wendy. Loves her forever. Unconditionally. He will never, ever leave.

Further, this season finally allowed Wendy to reconnect with other characters, to even reconnect with and empathize with Ruth (easily the most powerful aspect of the season for me). When she went to Ruth about her abusive dad (brilliantly played by Richard Thomas), this broke me. Ruth could have told her to go to hell. But Ruth was STILL a loving person, still cared about Wendy and Marty. She remembered Wendy's kindness. And she remembered what it was like to get beaten by a relative.

So Ruth being a superhero who valued family, who still had love, she risked her own life to help Wendy, to save the kids from an abusive life with their grandfather. I cried many times there. And I loved that in the final episode, we saw Wendy destroyed at the party when Camilla told them Ruth was doomed. (Even if it broke me). Last but not least, I loved Ruth's deep friendship with Rachel, but think it needed to be brought in a year earlier to be believable. It just felt too fast-tracked, although I loved both of them together.

I just think Wendy is indicative of a potentially richer show than what we got. Jonah pulling the trigger is tragic, but it doesn't interest me much. Like, okay, they win. At the cost of the soul of the one child who still had hope. And Ruth getting out of her car at the SIGHT of that black (trademark Drug Lord) SUV will never be right with me. She would've seen that parked car, backed out, and headed for the hills (calling Rachel on the way). That entire scene was just silly and badly scripted/choreographed.

On 5/1/2022 at 7:26 PM, EllaWycliffe said:

I really don't know that I would characterize the PI who got fired for stealing coke and who routinely harassed people and who pretty openly commited breaking and entering as "a good guy". Agree it would scar Jonah but all things considered I can see it being justified as saving the family. 

Seriously?? On this show, he was practically Mother Theresa. So he had an addiction. He was still consistently brilliant at his job and also tried not to hurt people and save who he could. I hated that the finale brought him down in such a shallow way.

On 5/1/2022 at 7:47 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

I don't think he was a good guy either. I'm doubtful this was the first time he was breaking and entering for a case. I don't know if he thought his sanctimony would somehow intimidate the Byrdes. For someone who was such a great cop he sure didn't do his homework. 

His superpower was his homework, his genuine ability in his work. I don't buy that he'd show up alone and drunk in the end, providing the pat ending we got. I do buy that he brought them down. In my dreams, the gunshot hit no one. It's far more interesting.

On 5/2/2022 at 10:17 AM, gesundheit said:

 I was fine with Jonah killing him, though. Completes the arc, nobody gets out of this uncorrupted. They made their kid a killer so they could "get away clean." Perfect.

I get the attraction of it for the arc and overall story, I just think they failed in execution. I felt nothing but contempt for the show when it was over for that choice.

On 5/2/2022 at 4:59 PM, UnknownK said:

Ruth was dead girl walking as soon as she killed the cartel guy in front of witnesses. You can pretty much kill anybody in the Ozarks and get rid of the body without the local corrupt law enforcement figuring anything out if there are no witnesses. I mean the acting sheriff pinned a dual homicide on a farm worker who stole a couple of trinkets worth next to nothing for drug money. If he had killed those two for money he would have taken anything of value in the house. Ruths problem was she was hillbilly smart in that she could learn how to do middle management yet wasn't smart enough to take the cash and run when things were going downhill. You can say family is everything but when yours is getting smaller and smaller every year because of violence till you have none why bother staying.

My beef is that Ruth stayed around and decided to compete with the Byrds. Once she'd lost Wyatt, I do not think her real thought would be, "I want to be Darlene." I think she would've cashed out, hard, taken care of Three and Rachel, and run for the hills. Period. Her staying -- and competing with the cartel -- I just found frustrating and badly written.

On 5/3/2022 at 10:03 AM, Anela said:

I'm also pissed that the PI ended up doing something I hoped he would do, and then he waited around to explain in great detail, what he planned to do with it. I thought about the evidence being *right there*, so take the damn thing, or get a warrant, don't tell them, like the villain in a stupid book or movie.

It was bad writing for me. Period.

On 5/3/2022 at 8:07 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

He could have shot the cookie jar. No more evidence for Mel. 

If he shot the cookie jar, which many fans suggest as a "get out of jail" option, I just want to point out that this would have scattered a TON of biological evidence he just outlined was improperly fully cremated (teeth, bone, etc., full of DNA) all over the Byrds' lawn. It would have damned them, not saved them.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 9/17/2022 at 9:44 AM, paramitch said:

If he shot the cookie jar, which many fans suggest as a "get out of jail" option, I just want to point out that this would have scattered a TON of biological evidence he just outlined was improperly fully cremated (teeth, bone, etc., full of DNA) all over the Byrds' lawn. It would have damned them, not saved them.

With the intact cookie jar, the PI had a decent story about how he put the pieces of the puzzle together, had he documented his actions and the find, and if people are willing to overlook both his sketchy past and the sketchy steps that he took to get the cookie jar.

With the cookie jar destroyed, it is going to be yet another set of hurdles for him to convince anyone of what he found and that it should be taken seriously. And that's of course assuming that the Byrdes aren't able to use the time between when he goes to the authorities and when someone comes back with an actual warrant to cover up any pieces of bone or to contaminate things so much that it isn't usable as evidence against them.

Just picture him going to an actual cop with the following:

"So I'm an experienced ex-homicide detective who got fired by CPD for my coke habit and stealing from evidence lockers. And I figured I'd be a PI, and I got hired to try to find out what happened to this one woman, and I came to suspect that she was the victim of foul play by these Byrdes. But that job ended. And then I got myself hired by the father of one of the Byrdes who has a strained relationship with his daughter who wanted to find his son. And I came to suspect that the Byrdes were part of a coke cartel and had this Wendy Byrde her brother Ben killed. And I learned that the brother had a girlfriend and an affinity for pigs. And the girlfriend had a pig cookie jar, so I figured that there might be evidence in there and sure enough, there were cremains in the cookie jar. And the Byrdes have a crematorium. So I figured that the only possibility was that those cremains were those of the Ben. And instead of having the cremains tested or telling anybody at that point, I went to the Byrdes and confronted them about this theory of mine, showing up for like the third or fourth time without invitation. I showed them the smoking cookie jar, and the little kid shot it right out of my hand. The jar shattered, and its contents went all over the lawn. And then I left so I could tell you all this and we could arrest the Byrdes."

Who would believe that in the face of "Uh, this guy is crazy and has a vendetta against us for some reason."?

[spikespiegal2020]

Spoiler Warning for the final episode of the final season of Ozark, S4:E14

 

Ok so spoiler warning is done.

 

Sorry this is my first time posting/joining this forum, I did not see any threads or stickies to discuss the season overall or the show overall.

If this is not allowed please remove and message me where I can discuss the entire show especially the show finale S4:E14.

 

Ok here goes:  I loved the show until the last episode.  They killed her?  HER?  ReallY???  The best character on the show?

 

I will never be able to rewatch this show because its a waste of time.  The Byrds got away with everything.  Ruth's entire family got murdered.

I cannot believe they let Ruth die (they being the showrunners/writers). 

what the heck was the point of the show then? Ruth was the only character I was rooting for.

letting her die ruined the entire show.  great show until the finale, though I guess you can say all of season 4 was Water Treading.