SPOILER ALERT: The following article contains a spoiler for the series finale of “Ozark”.
“Ozark”‘s fourth and final season has come to an end and fans may still be shocked over show writers’ decision to kill perhaps the series’ most liked character in Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner).
The decision to have Ruth shot in the final moments of the last episode didn’t come easy, however, as showrunner Chris Mundy wants fans to know that “there was a debate” in the writers’ room on Langmore’s fate.
READ MORE: Jason Bateman Teases ‘Ozark’ Finale: ‘A Happy Ending — But They’re Limping’
“Half of the writers, or maybe a little under half, felt that there was something nice to knowing that Ruth would be out there in the world and doing well,” Mundy told TVLine.
Although the other half won, the screenwriter noted that Langmore “was going to be alive” at first, until Netflix ordered an additional four episodes to the final season, changing the 10-episode plan to 14 episodes, which ultimately shifted the entire outcome of the series finale.
Cancelling Langmore’s happy ending simply came down to the story’s lack of honesty “if everyone just gets off too easily.”
READ MORE: Ruth Has Scores To Settle In ‘Ozark’ Final Season Trailer
Speaking on the series’ conclusion of the Byrdes, Mundy points out that Marty and Wendy “don’t get away clean karma-wise, but they do get away clean in terms of their lives and their success,” as they quite literally dodge one last bullet.
“It started to feel like the writers were just imposing a happy ending on things because we’re kind of like surrogate parents of the characters. Are we telling a true story if something [tragic] doesn’t happen?” he explained. “It was really hard and emotional trying to figure out what the right decision for the show was.”
“Capitalism doesn’t work unless there is a winner and a loser,” Mundy further noted. “And there’s a degree to which the Langmores are going to be the losers of that equation, while somebody else [the Byrdes] builds their fortune. There’s something about it that’s cynical and there’s something about it that’s very, just, true. So we were trying to write into that truth.”
READ MORE: Julia Garner Thinks Anna Delvey And Ruth Langmore Could Be ‘Best Friends’
Viewers may argue that an official confirmation of Langmore’s death wasn’t very clear, however Mundy is “sorry” to break the news that “she totally, absolutely is.”
In another interview with TheWrap, Mundy reveals that Langmore’s original ending, prior to extending the series, saw her “alive and had moved out of state and we find her halfway across the country.”
“There was a lot of impassioned arguing from everyone,” Mundy joked.
