Ozark Showrunner Makes Clear What Happened in Show’s Controversial Finale

It’s been nearly a year since Ozark came to an end on Netflix, with the finale confirming the depressing fate for the Byrde family, but creator Chris Mundy recently expressed his surprise that some fans have been debating the details of the final shot, which he didn’t believe contained any ambiguity. Mundy confirmed at a Netflix event that the final shot definitively featured Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) killing detective Mel (Adam Rothenberg), even though some fans theorized Jonah might have killed his parents, given that the sound of the gun being fired came after the sequence cut to black and was followed by the credits rolling.

“Definitively in my mind, and anyone’s free to think whatever they want, but in my mind, he absolutely shot Mel and Mel is dead. And that’s that,” Mundy shared at the event, per Variety. “I just didn’t want to see it. It was over. If you shot him then you’re in the blood and the guts… but the show was over. He did it.”

The series finale was frustrating to some audiences, to say the least, in that the Byrde family was able to get away with covering up multiple murders and a number of other crimes, seemingly getting away without much consequence. While some fans might think the characters got away without consequence, star Jason Bateman detailed the real punishment for their deeds.

Bateman explained how even though “they get away with it,” Marty and Wendy Byrde have to face how “their son has become a murderer” and that their son now has the “scarlet letter.”

Arguably the most devastating moment of the series finale was the death of Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner), who proved to be a fan-favorite character throughout the entire run of the show. Mundy expressed how challenging it was to develop how the death would unfold, despite knowing how integral it would be to the narrative.

“Ruth was almost a stronger character in death than she would have been if she was off living somewhere,” Mundy expressed. “That was our hope for the show. As everyone’s favorite character — Jason’s favorite character, my favorite character — you just wanted to do it justice.”

While reports have emerged that the series could get spinoffs, no substantial reports of those projects have been clarified.

What did you think of the series finale? Let us know in the comments!