Warning: the following contains SPOILERS for Ozark.
Ozark’s series finale has been met with backlash for the beloved show's divisive attempt at a bittersweet ending that just wound up feeling bitter. While critics remained enamored by the show's final season, a significant portion of the general audience was disappointed. This assertion especially holds true for its last episode, “A Hard Way to Go,” which has by far the lowest rating on IMBD than any of the show's other episodes with a score of 6.8. Its brutal and disheartening ending was a hard way to go indeed.
Throughout Ozark’s four seasons, viewers witnessed the Byrdes transform from a boring suburban family to a ruthless, powerful one before these heroes of the story slowly turned into villains. A family the audience once rooted and feared for became a force to be feared and hated. While some family members like Marty (Jason Bateman) and Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) tiptoed the line between light and dark, they undoubtedly stepped into their family role by the end of the series and embraced the dark side.
The Ozark series finale is so divisive because it was wholly unsatisfying yet beautifully symbolic. The opening scene of season 4, episode 1, “The Beginning of the End,” was a flash-forward that showed the Byrde family getting in a horrendous car accident. A truck swerved into their lane, and Marty veered off the road to prevent a head-on collision. The van flipped multiple times until coming to an unnerving standstill upside down, with the Byrde family seemingly unconscious. The decision to show this scene at the start of Ozark season 4: Part 1 was calculated, not to start the season with a bang but to give the audience a foreboding sense that not all the Byrdes would survive. However, when the scene finally came to fruition during the finale, the entire family miraculously (and unbelievably) escaped unscathed. The car crash was a metaphor for the Byrde’s continuous dance with death during the entire series. The audience has spent the whole series worried for this family when in reality, they were untouchable. The Byrde family unceremoniously became the villains, and their happy ending felt undeserved, leading to the divisive reception.
Another reason for the division is that Ruth’s tragic end was somehow both predictable and egregious. Her arc was the complete opposite of Laura Linney's Wendy. In season 1, Ruth was a hardened criminal who believed a life of crime was all she could ever amount to, and by season 4, she did everything in her power to escape a criminal life. She had inherited Darlene’s money, owned two businesses, and had her record expunged. After everything her own family and Byrdes put her through, Ruth finally escaped the endless cycle of the Langmore curse and became the character to root for the most. However, Ruth sealed her fate the moment she pulled the trigger and shot the Cartel leader, Javi. Ruth’s character was a favorite of the series thanks to Julia Garner’s mesmerizing and scene-stealing performance, and the permanent and tragic end to her character was heartbreaking. The actress won an Emmy for both her season 2 and season 3 performances and will likely add a 3rd Emmy nomination for her phenomenal performance in Ozark season 4.
Finally, Jonah's shocking twist in the last scene of the series might have felt out of character and led to further divisiveness over the final episode. Jonah had spent the majority of the previous two seasons trying to distance himself from his corrupt family but seemed to do a keel turn in the finale. Jonah murdering Mel to protect his family's secrets was the final nail in the coffin that bound him to his family's crimes forever. Jonah was the last Byrde to come around to the family’s criminality with an act that secured his family's safety. In an interview with showrunner Chris Mundy via (Vanity Fair), he explains, "Jonah killing Mel signifies the family being brought back together through this act of violence.” While the finale of Ozark might have felt unsatisfying, there was also poetic beauty to its corrupt, brutal end.