Ozark ended after four seasons with a bang, quite literally. The ending might not have been what some fans expected, but it was a beautiful way to close out the story of the Byrde family and their quest to both succeed in and get out of, the criminal drug underworld.
Every character’s story was wrapped up in some way, some satisfying, others heartbreaking. Not every main character survived, and some may spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders. Whatever the case, they each came full circle in one way or another. Note: spoilers ahead for the series finale of Ozark.
Marty
Despite the misdirected scene at the beginning of season 7 suggesting that the entire Byrde family might have perished in a car accident, Marty was very much alive right until the end. While he was often accused of going along with whatever Wendy wanted to do, even when the decisions were rash, Marty showed in the end that he was fully devoted to his wife, no matter what. Not to mention many quotes prove Marty was the smartest on Ozark.
In the end, Marty and Wendy managed to arrange for Omar’s murder, put Camila in charge, and onboard with the FBI, and their foundation was thriving. Marty was in a good spot to finally make it out of his illegal work and back to Chicago to start a new life.
Wendy
Wendy was in a much better place at the end than she was before, finally feeling a sense of relief. Not only did they do what needed to be done to get out of their work with the cartel, but she also got some things off her chest by admitting her part in Ben’s death to her kids.
Happily running her foundation, Wendy was not about to let anything get in her way. Though both she and Marty would now have to live with Ruth’s blood on their hands.
Ruth
Sadly, Ruth was killed in the end by Camila who, after threatening Clare, learned that Ruth was the one who killed her son Javi. Camila did not hesitate to wait at Ruth’s home to shoot her in the chest.
It was a heartbreaking ending given that Ruth had finally come into her own, breaking the cycle of crime that plagued the Langmore name for so many generations. She owned a hotel, was building a house with a pool, had her criminal record expunged, and was now running the casino as well. She had everything she ever wanted, but never got the opportunity to enjoy it.
Charlotte
Charlotte was relieved and happy to be getting back to Chicago and her old life. She had always been by her parents’ side, helping out with the business. But for a short while, she agreed with Jonah that maybe it was a good idea to move to North Carolina with their grandfather.
In the end, Charlotte was at peace and happy to leave the life of crime behind her to become a “normal” teenager. She had matured leaps and bounds from the beginning of the series, as seen via pictures of Charlotte’s transformation over the seasons on Ozark.
Jonah
Jonah had arguably one of the most interesting and telling endings of all the characters. After finally being okay with her parents once he saw they were making good on their promise to get them out of the criminal underworld and back to normality, Jonah joked to Ruth that he would “go legitimate” for a while, at least until he was done high school.
But in the end, when he saw the possibility of safety being ripped from under his family, Jonah showed up with a rifle. He pointed and aimed it straight at Mel, who was threatening his parents with revealing the truth about Ben’s death. While the screen went black, a gunshot is heard and it’s implied that Jonah pulled the trigger and killed the man. It marked both a young man desperate to get back to the old life he once knew and one who had changed so much that it might be impossible for him to do so.
Darlene
Darlene was one of the most complicated and terrifying characters in Ozark. She killed her husband, shot off Frank Cosgrove Jr.’s private parts, and stole a baby to claim as her own. When she struck up a romance with the much younger Wyatt, she seemed to have mellowed. But it was clear whenever her temper struck that she was still the same cruel and calculating Darlene.
Her life came to an end in the first half of the final seventh season when she and Wyatt were confronted by a very annoyed Javi. As he had done with so many others, he killed them both instantly, not even giving them a chance to defend themselves and their actions.
Wyatt
Wyatt was a lost soul from the beginning, simply getting by each day with his younger brother Three and cousin Ruth. But when he met Darlene, something clicked between them, despite the immense age difference. He felt like he finally had a home and someone to love him. So, the two began a business and romantic partnership.
It ended brutally, however, with Javi executing both of them while sitting on the couch in their home, in retaliation for them sticking their nose in the pharmaceuticals deal. Their death was among the most brutal deaths on Ozark. For the remainder of the series, Ruth made sure her cousin didn’t die in vain by doing the best she could to turn her own life around.
Sam
Sam found solace in Nathan’s girlfriend, who helped him find religion and God. She urged him to get baptized, which she did in a ceremony at the pool of the Lazy-O Motel, complete with an audience.
Sam also asked Mel for advice about Alcoholics Anonymous, wondering if he might join a group to treat his gambling addiction. By the end, Sam seemed to have been doing much better, dealing with all the terrible things that happened to him through the seasons. He even decided to move to North Carolina to join the congregation there in hopes of finding a better life.
Omar
Omar believed he was in charge until he was surprised by being arrested. Even so, he still kept his trust in Marty and Wendy and believed that they had nothing to do with it and would work with him to get him out. Stuck in prison and framed for the murder of his nephew, there was friction between him and his sister Camila.
In the end, Marty, Wendy, Camila, and even the FBI turned on Omar. They ordered a surprise transport which was a ruse to get Omar out of the prison, into the woods, and murdered. He realized his fate and that he had been duped in his final moments.
Mel
Mel was faced with a moral dilemma between his conscience and his career once he was finally able to get closer to figuring out what the Byrdes were up to: leave town for Chicago where he has been reinstated as a police investigator, or stay around to testify against them in court.
Being the crafty investigator he was, after mulling over the decision, Mel decided to move and take the job. Except the situation continued to haunt him and Mel returned to the Ozarks to follow a hunch about that weird goat-shaped cookie jar Ruth had that kept changing hands. It’s implied that Mel is killed in the end by Jonah, who is desperate to protect his family.
Javier
While many predicted that Javi would be the main antagonist through to the end, particularly since he was one of the best villains on Ozark, he was killed fairly quickly in the second half of the final season episodes. Ruth made good on her promise to avenge the death of her cousin Wyatt. She fantasized about killing Javi and came close to doing it once, but eventually found her courage after blackmailing Marty and Wendy.
While they lured him into Clare’s office under the guise of signing papers for stock options, Ruth snuck out of a corner and shot him multiple times, killing him before he was even able to finish his first sentence.
