Biggest Winners And Losers Of Ozark
When crime dramas come to a close and the dust settles, you're either a winner or a loser. In "Ozark," the hit Netflix show about a seemingly ordinary family laundering money for a cartel, pretty much every character is in grave danger at one point or another. Former cartel lawyer Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer) perished during the third season, leaving her daughter Erin (Madison Thompson) without a mother. Mobster Frank Cosgrove (John Bedford Lloyd), bodyguard/hitman Nelson (Nelson Bonilla), and even Ben Davis (Tom Pelphrey), the brother of Laura Linney's Wendy Byrde, all lost their lives.
Clare Shaw (Katrina Lenk) made it out of Season 4 alive, but it's hard to say if she won or lost the game of "Ozark." Her family-owned pharmaceutical company was already receiving bad press, and though she promised to correct the previous wrongs, she ended up cutting a deal with the cartel to save money, making her business shadier than ever. It's tough to pinpoint the people who came out on top following the fourth and final season of "Ozark," as most of the survivors will live with loss for the rest of their lives. Yet, some of them definitely have it better than others. Here are the biggest winners and losers of "Ozark."
Loser: Darlene Snell
Throughout "Ozark," Darlene Snell (Lisa Emery) proved to be her own worst enemy. She didn't like to play nice, lashing out at anyone who got in her way or simply said something she didn't agree with. She killed a cartel member, a mobster (the leader of the Kansas City Mob, in fact), and even her husband. She seemed like an unstoppable force at times, but there's always a bigger fish, and Darlene met her maker after crossing the wrong criminal.
What finally got Darlene killed was her continuing her drug operation when the cartel wanted her to stop. This led to Javier Elizonndro (Alfonso Herrera) shooting and killing her, no questions asked. Sadly, he showed up just after Darlene and Wyatt Langmore (Charlie Tahan) tied the knot, and her young husband was also murdered. One wrong turn sometimes leads to the entire ship going down in the world of "Ozark," but Darlene knew that she was playing with fire, so it's no surprise that she eventually got burned.
Winner: Rachel Garrison
Rachel Garrison (Jordana Spiro) returned to the fold when Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner) brought her back to the Missouri Ozarks to work for her at the casino. Not only did this lead to Ruth getting a fresh start with a clean record, but it also meant that Ruth and Rachel — who were wronged by Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde on numerous occasions — got one over on the criminal couple. Rachel presumably received a healthy salary working for Ruth, not to mention a high level of responsibility as one of the top employees.
By the end of Season 4, Ruth has met her demise (more about that later) and it's anyone's guess what Rachel did in the aftermath. She might have stayed and outright ran the casino, fled the Ozarks with Three Langmore (Carson Holmes), or maybe even worked for the Byrdes once again — yet all three scenarios are based on speculation. At the very least, Rachel lived to talk about the maddening events of "Ozark," which is all anyone can ask for on a show that routinely kills off its characters.
Loser: Nathan Davis
Nathan Davis (Richard Thomas), Wendy and Ben's father, came to the Ozarks to find out what happened to his son. At least, that's what he was doing on paper. In reality, it was just as much about scoring sympathy points with his congregation. He gained those points and also found out what happened to Ben, and neither were as rewarding as he originally thought they'd be. He also tried to take Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) and Charlotte Byrde (Sofia Hublitz) back to North Carolina for their own good — and to get one up on Wendy. Though he's supposedly a holy man, Nathan is a pretty vile guy with questionable methods and opinions.
It all came to a head when Ruth and Nathan had a drunken heart-to-heart in his motel room. She threatened him at gunpoint, leading to Jonah and Charlotte staying with their parents. Though Nathan left Missouri still breathing, which is more than a lot of characters can say, in the end, Wendy got the best of him and he left a broken man. Being held at gunpoint is an experience that will likely stay with him for some time.
Winner: Sam Dermody
The happy-go-lucky Sam Dermody (Kevin L. Johnson) could never seem to find his way in life. That was largely due to the likes of Marty, Wendy, and Ruth manipulating him, getting him to do their bidding. Mostly, they had him partake in crimes he didn't even know he was committing. When he did get an inkling that something wasn't quite right, Sam was willing to look the other way, not wanting to believe that he was aiding and abetting in wrongdoings.
In Season 4, Sam ended up joining the congregation. He decided to get baptized and found light at the end of the "Ozark" tunnel by having faith in a higher power. He leaves the Ozarks mostly untouched (though even he dealt with a plethora of problems in earlier seasons) and, unlike pretty much every other character, he was actually happy at the end, whether he was yet again being influenced or not. He left Missouri with a classic Sam smile, too naive to question what actually went down during his time working for criminal masterminds. It's the closest thing to a happily-ever-after in the world of "Ozark."
Losers: Javi Elizonndro and Omar Navarro
Javi Elizonndro and Omar Navarro (Felix Solis) were the most powerful villains on "Ozark," but those types of characters typically don't make it out of crime dramas alive. Ruth killed Javi after finding out that he murdered her cousin Wyatt, and Omar went down in the final hour during his prison transfer. The latter was taken to the middle of nowhere and given temporary hope as a guard shot his co-worker, set Omar free, and even gave him a gun. However, this man was setting Omar up, making it appear as if he had escaped himself.
The insider proceeded to shoot and kill Omar, clearing the way for Camila Elizonndro (Veronica Falcón) to take over the cartel without any snags. Both Omar and Javi were hoping for a deal with the FBI that would allow them to run the cartel without any issues from authorities, yet both deals ended up faltering. Both men were so close to making it out alive and with some serious perks, but they ended up six feet under instead.
Winner: Camila Elizonndro
With her brother Omar and her son Javi both dead, Camila Elizonndro took control of the cartel and cut a deal with the FBI. She was allowed to do pretty much whatever she wanted as long as she continued to play ball with the authorities. Though Camila lost two of her closest relatives, she finished the fourth and final season of "Ozark" in a position of great power, making her one of the show's big winners. The cherry on the cake was that she also got to avenge the death of her son.
After initially believing that Omar had Javi killed, Camila discovered that it was actually Ruth who gunned him down. Camila wasn't about to let that go, so she set about making things right. She also made a lucrative deal with Clare and her company. Unlike so many other characters, she finished Season 4 with no questions hanging over her. Sure, her son and brother were murdered, but she got closure and ended up in full control of the family business.
Losers: Mel Sattem and Maya Miller
FBI agent Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes) had her day in the sun when she arrested Omar. Unfortunately, this move went over the heads of her superiors and temporarily messed up Marty and Wendy's deal with the FBI. This also led to her essentially being a lame duck at a job she seemingly planned on working at forever. Maya rightfully took down the Navarro cartel boss, but she didn't receive the credit she deserved for it. Cop-turned-private investigator Mel Sattem (Adam Rothenberg) was full of praise, but that was it. Maya's story should have been a cautionary one for Mel, as uncovering the truth in the Ozarks tends to benefit the bad guys.
Mel was eventually hired by Nathan to discover what happened to Ben. Though it initially appeared that the Byrdes had won him over by getting him his old job as a Chicago cop back, Mel returned in the closing moments with evidence linking the Byrdes to Ben's death. Sadly, at least in Mel's case, Jonah pulled a gun on him. The screen then cut to black and a shot rang out, implying that Jonah killed Mel. Maya at least escaped with her life, but Mel lost everything trying to do the right thing.
Winners: The Byrdes
The Byrdes will have to live with their many sins, but at least they all made it out alive. The family somehow managed to make a deal with the FBI and settled up with the cartel in the process. They even managed to walk away from a bad car accident totally unharmed. They were free to return to Chicago and do whatever they wanted with their time, having been let off the hook for the countless crimes they committed. Of course, there's always a "but," and that came in the form of Mel.
Jonah presumably killed Mel as the clock on the series ran out. Not only does Jonah have to live with the fact that he killed an innocent person, but his parents and sister also have to swallow that pill every day. And since the FBI is no longer working with the Byrdes, who knows if they'll go down for Mel's death. To get away with this latest murder, they'll have to hide the body (though this is something Marty has done on multiple occasions). Unlike Mel, they have the rest of their lives ahead of them — assuming they can brush one more murder under the rug.
Loser: Ruth Langmore
Ruth was always a big favorite with "Ozark" viewers. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind to anyone, she had a fiery spirit, and, despite the connotations that come with her last name, she was intelligent with a bright future ahead of her. Marty warned her that taking out Javi wouldn't work in her favor in the end, but she couldn't let the murder of her cousin go unpunished. It did initially seem like she was going to make it out of the series still standing — with a thriving casino business, to boot — but Camila bullied Clare into telling her who really killed Javi, because she didn't believe her brother Omar could do such a thing.
Clare cracked and gave up Ruth, and then Camila ambushed her at her home. Ruth being Ruth, she didn't give Camila the satisfaction of begging for her life. She was brave right until the end, telling the cartel matriarch to get on with it already. Her death meant that most of the Langmores perished during the course of the series, with Three being the sole survivor. Ultimately, every character had their scars when the final curtain went down on "Ozark" — some wounds were just deeper than others.