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By Samuel Spencer
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Ozark has now come to an end on Netflix—and that final scene of Season 4, Part 2 has got fans talking.
The Netflix show ends with Marty (played by Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) finally free from the cartel and ready to leave the Ozarks. Until, that is, private investigator Mel Sattem (Adam Rothenberg) confronts them with the goat cookie jar that he has stolen from their house, which contains the remains of Ben Davis (Tom Pelphrey).
In that Ozark Season 4, Episode 14 scene, Mel is ready to hand in this evidence, that the Byrdes knew that Ben was dead, to the police. Jonah Byrde (Skylar Gaertner), however, then enters the scene and threatens him with a gun. We hear a gunshot, but the screen cuts to black before we see who gets shot.
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The series is trying to keep things somewhat ambiguous by cutting to black here (though they do not go the full Sopranos). However, interviews that Jason Bateman gave before the episode came out seem to confirm exactly what happens in those final moments.
The 'Ozark' Season 4 Ending Is a 'happy' One According to Jason Bateman
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In a Tonight Show interview, Bateman called the final scene (before it had come to Netflix): "A happy ending, but [with a] little of a, 'Well, is it happy for them?'"
He later added: "Hopefully the audience will think, 'Ah, they've kind of threaded the needle between a happy ending—but they're limping.'"
This seems to confirm the most obvious reading of that final scene—that Jonah kills Mel. After all, they have their happy ending (they still get to leave the Ozarks for good), but it is not the clean break they wanted. After all, they now need to hide Mel's body, which could be discovered at any time.
The fact that it is Jonah who commits the murder in this reading is important. Throughout Ozark, the Byrdes have tried to shelter their children from their dirty dealings. However, they have failed—Jonah is now a murderer and a money launderer, following exactly in his parents' footsteps. The ending is happy for now, but Jonah looks set to been drawn into the same world that has taken the souls of his parents.
'Ozark's' Showrunner Wanted Final Scene to Be Emotionally Ambiguous
Chris Mundy broke down the scene in a Vanity Fair interview, in which he admitted that he designed the final scene to give viewers mixed feelings.
He called Jonah killing Mel, "the family being brought back together through this act of violence," adding that he wanted to leave audience uncertain as to whether it was, "a thing to cheer for or not."
He explained: "We wanted people to think about the reality of what happened, not just in the context of watching a TV show, but also in whatever reality these characters are going to keep living in."
Ozark Seasons 1 to 4 are streaming now on Netflix.
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