Ozark: The Final Season's Biggest Surprises

Ozark, Netflix's superbly thrilling crime drama about a family who launders money for drug cartels in the Ozark mountains, came to an absolutely explosive end this past year after four seasons. The story follows Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney) Byrde, as they set up a new money laundering scheme in the Ozark mountains for the Mexican Cartel, after their previous scheme went downhill. Akin to shows such as Breaking Bad and Dexter, Ozark's morally-inept characters, along with some fantastic storytelling, made the show successful for critics and audiences alike. The show has gained thirty-two Emmy nominations; multiple for Outstanding Drama Series, along with back-to-back wins for Best Supporting Actress.

For such a show with high stakes and shocking cliffhangers, expectations were high for Ozark going into it's fourth and final season. Released in two parts (the first seven episodes premiered January 1st, 2022, with the second seven releasing months later on April 9th, 2022) of fourteen episodes, the showrunners of Ozark delivered on those expectations, creating one of the most high-octane series finishes in television history. Here are the biggest surprises from the final season of Ozark.

4 The Foreshadowed Car Crash

With such a turbulent and dangerous premise, it's hard to see a family come to some level of peace such as the Byrdes did near the end of season four. It all comes crashing down, however, as the family gets into a severe car crash, which was hinted at and foreshadowed all the way back at the first episode of the season. Marty and Jonah (their son) come out relatively fine, but it's Wendy that causes worry for audiences. After what feels like forever to both the fans and the family, Wendy escapes from the vehicle, shaken up. Taken to Father Benitez's house for check-up, he tells them that the crash was a warning from God, that being around so much death is not a good thing. Wendy thinks the opposite, that if they can be okay after a car accident, they'll be okay after everything. Eventually, she was right.

3 Jonah Kills Detective Melvin

An innocent kid at the start of the series, Jonah Byrde becomes more and more like his parents, after learning what they do to make money. He tries to help them learn how to launder money better, learns to shoot a gun to protect themselves, threatens people, even starts laundering money himself, etc. The build-up of moments and decisions reaches its boiling point in the season finale, as Jonah shoots and kills Detective Melvin (though it does cut to black, and we hear a gunshot; it is assumed it is Detective Melvin). Melvin had threatened to oust the Byrde family for having their own relative, Ben Davis, killed; but alas, despite all the wrongs his family had done him, Jonah chose to pull the trigger.

2 Ruth Kills Javi Navarro

The liaison between the Mexican Cartel and the drug runners in the Ozarks, Javi Navarro had many run-ins with the Byrde family and their rivals/associates. But after he kills Wyatt Langmore (Ruth's cousin), Ruth sets out for blood and vengeance against Javi. And she ends up successful, while also causing more problems in the wake of the murder. Camila Navarro, sister of Javi, comes and investigates her brother's murder; which causes a chain of events that leads to Marty being temporarily in charge of the Cartel, while Omar Navarro (Head of the Cartel) gets involved in the situation. Ruth does get away, but is later hunted down, and killed by Camila, in the show's series finale.

1 The Byrde Family Wins

In season one of Ozark, Marty (who is an accountant in Chicago at the time) only agrees to help the Cartel launder money in order to protect his family from getting killed. But by the time season four rolls around, Marty and the entire Byrde family are deeply wrapped up into the Cartel and their crimes. Drugs, murder, previous crimes; the Byrdes do it all in their time in the Ozarks, figuratively poisoning their kids and the others in their path. After even more scheming, lying, and sneaking, the Byrde family manages to get fully out of the Cartel, and make their way back to Chicago for a new life. Detective Melvin, the last obstacle in their path, and the man who knows of Ben's murder, tries to stop them, saying, "You don't get to win. You don't get to be the Kochs or the Kennedys, world doesn't work that way." However, the world does work that way, as Melvin is killed by Jonah, and the Byrdes escape. It's not often we see morally repugnant and antagonistic people win, and it's more so disturbing to witness as it happens here in Ozark.

Ozark was one of the best original series on Netflix, and one of the best shows on television, for all four seasons that it aired. It consistently garnered more than 75% of critical and audience approval for each season it produced. And though the series finale divided fans, Ozark became one of Netflix's best television shows.