‘Ozark’ Creator Says There’s No Ambiguity to the Series’ Final Shot: ‘They Get Away With It’

variety.com:

Charna Flam SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for the fourth and final season of “Ozark.” At the final “Ozark” panel, the series creator and cast finally brought some clarity to the show’s final minutes and the demise of a fan-favorite character.

Speaking at the Netflix-hosted Q&A panel in Hollywood on Friday, the Emmy Award-nominated creator Bill Dubuque divulged with his SAG-nominated actors, Jason Bateman and Julia Garner, exactly how and why the series ended with two surprise deaths in the final scenes.

Dubuque explained that finalizing the last 14 episodes brought upon loads of creative strife, as he understood the need to stick to a thematic intention of exploring the Byrdes’ motivation of “building a myth” and how, as a result, they were ultimately “creating a curse.”  In regards to the final two deaths of the series, first with Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner) and then with Mel Sattem (Adam Rothenberg), Bateman explained, “the Byrdes have to pay a bill of some sort.” After the Byrdes (Bateman, Laura Linney) become liable for the death of their partner, Ruth, the couple watches as their teenage son, Jonah (Skylar Gaertner), kills private investigator, Mel Sattem.

Dubuque added, that “it would have been false if there weren’t consequences.” Bateman adds that the finale provided a “bittersweet” ending, that ultimately brought clarity for the audience to finally answer the question, “are the Byrdes going to get away with it or not?” Bateman says that although “they get away with it,” the Byrdes have received a karmic consequence.