What I’m Watching: Ozark (Series Finale)

Ozark: Season 4, Episode 14 “A Hard Way to Go”

I wasn’t sure how all this was going to end, with so much deception and the possibility that, after the credits roll, all the characters we’ve come to know could just be killed by the next Javi or Camila. It’s strange to think that pretty much everyone survived this episode except for Ruth, and that she was killed as direct payback for the person she killed, which was retribution for another killing. All that Marty and Wendy have done had almost no relevance to any of those deaths, since Darlene brought her fate on herself and somehow Clare was able to bluntly confess the truth about who killed Javi while exonerating the Byrdes, even though they were directly responsible for bringing Javi there at Ruth’s unflinching request. I’m not sure what that means for the new FBI deal, which was put together in a rather businesslike manner with signed agreements for Ruth and Rachel and a verbal but binding agreement for Camila, which came from Graves in a less unpleasant manner than the last time he showed up. Fortunately for Wendy, Ruth managed to hold up her end of the deal that Marty forced her into to get Nathan to pack up and leave, and the entire family survived that car crash, which Wendy saw as an assurance that they would make it out alive. Having Mel show up at the end of the episode did put a damper on the coronation, and the fade to black as Jonah was about to pull the trigger on him was a slightly more satisfying way of making the same point that “The Sopranos” did, which is that they’ll always be looking over their shoulders, unable to predict where the next threat will come from, even if for now, they may be headed back to a happy ending in Chicago. While I wasn’t on board with this show at the start and only started watching regularly by season three, I do feel it has very strong performances and would be happy to see those rewarded come Emmy time. Because I haven’t seen all of the first two seasons, I’ll forego my typical series ratings below.

Series finale: B+
Series grade: B+
Season MVP: Julia Garner
Season grade: A-
Series MVP: Julia Garner
Best Season: Season 4
Best Episode: “Sanctified”