Will the Byrdes survive "Ozark"? Will the cartel or the FBI catch up with Marty first? Or will Ruth
kill just about everyone? What you need to know about "Ozark" Season 4 Part 2, straight ahead.
Season 4 is the first season of "Ozark" to be split into two parts,
but fans fearing an extended half-time hiatus needn't worry too much.
Instead of making us wait for the back half of the final "Ozark" season, Netflix is gearing up
to drop the second set of episodes on April 29, a mere three months after Part 1 aired.
"Ozark" premiered its first season in July 2017, and returned for its sophomore season in August
of the next year. The third season arrived on March 27, 2020. Considering "Ozark" wrapped
production on Season 4 back in October 2020, it was always a possibility that we'd see an
accelerated release schedule, but nobody thought we'd be watching the end of Marty Byrde's journey
as early as April 2022. Netflix definitely deserves a big pat on the back for this one.
The second half of "Ozark" Season 4 is expected to feature all of the regular
cast members from the first half, with the obvious exception of those who did
not make it out of the first seven episodes alive. All four members of
the Byrde family are expected to return, including Marty, played by Jason Bateman,
Wendy, played by Laura Linney, and the couple's children, Charlotte and Jonah.
Season 4's seventh episode, "Sanctified," saw the untimely deaths of Wyatt Langmore and
Darlene Snell-Langmore. This sadly leaves Ruth Langmore as one of the last members
of her clan left standing. Julia Garner has won praise for her portrayal of Ruth,
earning two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
We also think it's safe to say that Wyatt's younger brother,
Three, will make an appearance at some point in the final seven episodes.
It's unclear if Omar Navarro or Special Agent Maya Miller will reappear,
especially as Navarro was arrested by Miller in the mid-season finale.
"Don't forget about me."
But even if they don't return, plenty of emissaries of the FBI and the Navarro cartel
remain. Additional characters we expect to see back in the final seven episodes of the series
include Javi Elizonndro, private investigator Mel Sattem, Jim Rattelsdorf, and Hannah Clay.
We also wouldn't be shocked to see Richard Thomas return once more as Wendy's father, Nathan Davis.
The final seven episodes of "Ozark" have a lot hanging on the line for the Byrde family.
While the FBI's deal with Javi would seem to be working for them at the moment,
a closer inspection would probably reveal that the deal is only hanging on by a thread.
"And I really wanna kill you, you know?"
Ruth has never been more distant from Marty than she is after Javi murders Wyatt in the
mid-season finale. After she finds Wyatt and Darlene's bodies, Ruth holds Marty at gunpoint
and demands that he tells her who killed them. Marty and Wendy refuse to tell her,
but Jonah quickly outs his parents' boss as a murderer.
"His name is Javi Elizonndro."
In the final scene of the episode, Ruth promises to kill Javi and screams,
"If you want to stop me, you're gonna have to f—ing kill me!"
While Ruth, Marty, and Wendy have tussled in the past,
this seems like a definitive breaking point for the two. Wendy and Marty are also going to have
to deal with Jonah's continued rebelliousness. The young money launderer has previously shown
that he is more loyal to Ruth than his own parents, something that seems to bother
Wendy even more than Marty. We also expect plenty of political machinations by Wendy,
along with the family lawyer, Jim Rattelsdorf. Since the beginning of Season 4, Wendy has led
the Byrde Foundation as a means of growing the family's wealth, power, and influence.
At some point, "Ozark" will also have to catch up to the Season 4
opening scene which shows a disastrous car crash involving all four members of
the Byrde family. Do you really think they're all going to make it out alive?
Mel Sattem, played by Adam Rothenberg, is relentless, yet he somehow manages to stay calm,
cool, and collected in the process. The former cop turned private investigator will stop at nothing
to track down Helen Pierce as he was hired by her estranged husband to discover her whereabouts.
As a refresher, Helen was the Navarro cartel's attorney when Omar decided to have her killed,
allowing the Byrde family to live. All the same, Mel continuously talks to anyone who
will hear him out as he presumably just needs to know where Helen is, alive or dead.
Perhaps most intriguing of all is the fact that Mel has been talking to the FBI.
Though it would be ideal to see the Byrde family make it out alive,
they have dug themselves some pretty big holes throughout "Ozark," and it's seemingly only a
matter of time before they get caught for one of their many crimes. Still, fans will have to wait
and see if Mel gets his signature, or whether he might play a role in sinking the Byrde family.
Ruth is, for better or worse, on a rampage. She's lost virtually all of her family members,
and Wyatt's death is her breaking point. After all, she threatens the Byrdes with a gun,
and viewers last see her on the verge of seeking revenge.
Though Javi is vicious, ill-tempered, and seemingly thinks he's untouchable,
audience members have come to discover that you don't mess with Ruth Langmore,
and a showdown between the two would be pretty sweet, assuming Ruth comes out on top.
If she did, however, actually pull off her revenge, chaos and madness would likely ensue.
First and foremost, killing the head of the cartel is typically frowned upon. Secondly,
the Byrde family has a deal with the FBI, which could be jeopardized if Javi was to go down.
At that point, would the FBI have any reason not to take Marty and Wendy down too?
Ruth may have been a trusted ally at one point, but Marty and Wendy likely don't
want their deal to collapse, despite Javi being arguably the most savage
enemy of the Byrde family to date. Only time will tell if Ruth gets her revenge.
This family's tensions aren't due to everyday elements. Wendy and Jonah aren't at odds
because Wendy won't let Jonah, say, extend his curfew. Life-altering mistakes have been made,
trust has been destroyed, and people have died.
"I think you have Stockholm Syndrome."
Jonah has rightfully been rebellious in Season 4, and he wants nothing to do with his mother,
to boot, since he believes she had his uncle killed. Wendy didn't make matters any better
when she tried to have Jonah arrested, but Marty luckily was able to put out that familial fire.
Surely, Jonah giving up Javi's name to Ruth won't sit well with the family.
Although Charlotte seems to be all-in on the family business,
this has only further pushed Jonah away. Wendy might be more concerned
with her political ambitions right now, but her family has seemingly witnessed irreparable damage.
One thing is for sure, and that's that no one is safe. The car crash at the beginning
of Season 4 looked fatal. It's largely speculation right now, but it would be
a shame if the Byrdes finally reunited, just for one of them to be taken out by that crash.
In a 2022 interview, Laura Linney was asked if her character, Wendy,
still loved Marty, and if she thought her family would survive. She told Elle,
"Yes, she does love Marty. She does love Marty. I think their relationship goes through many
different incarnations, and they are bound to each other, and they're sort of all they have.
They just have each other, really. And I think Wendy feels that way."
Linney also revealed that she relates to Wendy in many ways, telling Elle,
"Very much like Wendy, I believe in that family, as messed up as they are.
As an actress, I root for the family. As an actress, I root for that marriage,
whether it survives or not, whether the family stays together or not, I root for them."
Though Linney's words don't guarantee Marty and Wendy will make it out alive, we, too,
are rooting for the Byrde family.
Charlotte Byrde is apparently all-in on her family's business. She's even
reconsidering going to college. After all,
why should she go when her family already has a spot for her in their company? Nonetheless,
we're all wondering how her change of mind will play into the final seven episodes of the series.
Though actress Sofia Hublitz, who plays Charlotte, doesn't give too much away,
she has said something utterly intriguing regarding the Byrde family's ending.
In a 2022 interview with Elle, she revealed,
"It's a different experience for me because it is my first major role. When we wrapped, we wrapped
our final scene together as a family — I won't say what it was, obviously — the scene that we
filmed together was a scene as a family. That was my last scene. It was Wendy's last scene."
It's still largely speculative, but the fact that the actors filmed their
final scene together could mean that they were all still alive in the end.
It's not entirely Marty's fault that his family is working for the cartel,
but one way or another, he got them into this mess. For four seasons,
he has been trying to make what he believes are the best decisions to keep his family alive.
Needless to say, it's been a rip-roaring roller coaster, and we all want to know if
the series can stick the landing. Bateman said in a 2020 IndieWire interview,
"I do know where everything is going to end [...] I was interested in the big
question [showrunner Chris Mundy] has the opportunity to answer:
Are they going to get away with it, or are they going to pay a bill? What does he want
to message to the audience about the consequences of what the Byrdes have done – or lack thereof?"
Viewers have similar questions, as it seems
unlikely that this family will receive a happily-ever-after. Bateman also revealed,
"We had some great conversations about that, and he's got really good ideas about that.
Specifically, what kind of happens at the end of the last episode: I know, and it's great."
If Bateman believes the ending is great,
then we'll take his word for it. The countdown to the end is on.
In a 2022 interview with The Hollywood Reporter,
showrunner Chris Mundy teased what's to come in the final batch of episodes, explaining,
"I always want closure. I don't want to feel messed with. I want to feel like,
'OK, that was the end.' So hopefully people will
feel closure by the end — whether they like it or not, I don't know."
Mundy also opened up about the show's central relationship, saying,
"In terms of tone, we're going deeper into the family and their bonds. Is family the
ultimate bond? Is friendship? Is marriage? At what point is it almost unhealthy to stay,
even if you love somebody? We're going to delve into that with Marty and Wendy. Hopefully,
the back half will still be fun and exciting, but also really emotional for the Byrdes and Ruth."
Thankfully, Netflix has already released a teaser trailer for "Ozark" Season 4, Part 2, which
mostly features a distressed Ruth on the verge of blowing everything up. It also touches on events
that plagued the Byrdes and the Langmores in the first half of Season 4. Ruth says in the trailer,
"My childhood traumas are not like yours."
If this is any indication, Ruth will likely seek vengeance for everything that's happened to her.
"You see, I'm a cursed Langmore."
It remains to be seen what's in store for Marty and his family,
but it would be a miracle if everyone makes it out alive. The reign of the Byrdes and the
Langmores is coming to a conclusion with the final batch of "Ozark" episodes on April 29.
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