Warning! Spoilers ahead for Ozark season 4 part 2.
Ozark’s long-anticipated finale answered whether the Byrdes would survive the car crash, but its aftermath was predicted as early as the pilot episode. The Netflix crime series follows Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) as they climb up the ranks of the criminal world. In Ozark season 4, the Byrde children became fully involved in the family's criminal affairs, too, but a nasty car crash threatens the family unit in the season finale. Everyone survives - but this shouldn't be a surprise.
Ozark season 1 introduces Marty Byrde as a calculated financial advisor with exceptional expertise, and this gets him entangled with Camino Del Rio or Del (Esai Morales). He uses his wits and persuasion skills to escape Del's death threat after Bruce (Josh Randall) betrays the cartel, and convinces Del to start a money laundering business in the Ozarks. Marty's intelligence and persuasive discourses simultaneously keep his family safe and lead the cartel to give him ever more dangerous tasks. One such moment in Ozark's first episode exemplifies this.
In Ozark season 1 episode 1, Marty liquidates his assets to cover for Bruce's stolen $8 million. He comes $6,950 short, so he offers to sell Del his Honda Odyssey. He praises it as the "top-ranked minivan in the US" and Del agrees to buy it off of him for $27,000 and lease it back for $1,000/month. In season 2, Marty once again praises the minivan for its high safety standards. Then, in the Ozark season 4 finale, the Byrdes have a car crash, their Honda tumbling a few times before landing upside-down. The shocked Byrdes crawl out unscathed, generating some disappointment among viewers who expected some karma for the criminal family (the Ozark finale was exceptionally divisive). But the pilot episode proves Marty's meticulousness in choosing the family car - none of his decisions are random, and buying the "top-ranked minivan in the US" eventually keeps his family safe, which is his top priority throughout the show.
Throughout Ozark's four fast-paced seasons, the Byrdes turn from a boring (and severely unfulfilled) suburban family into a team of ruthless and politically influential team of villains. However, not all four characters' transformations are the same. While Wendy becomes ever-more impulsive and criminally ambitious, Marty remains dedicated to escaping the cartel's grip and starting afresh. He also remains remarkably calm and calculated, trying to find the most rational solution to every problematic situation. Marty and Wendy's relationship is often strained by their diverging views on business and parenting but in some cases, Marty's ability to think ahead is literally a lifesaver and even Wendy recognizes it. Marty buying the Honda Odyssey is such a case.
The Ozark writers have been consistently good at remembering details from previous seasons and making them useful later on in the show. All central characters have great, complex story arcs, and even a sentence they once spoke in the pilot episode can add a layer to their story. Marty's minivan choice is yet another example of his relentless work to protect his family, from the Navarro cartel and from a car crash alike.