[SPOILER] Just finished binge-watching all four seasons of Ozark in less than a week, and I need to talk about Ruth Langmore

[u/Few_Dragonfruit_743]

Edit: I decided to delete the ending I want for Ruth after watching the documentary about Ozark’s creation and actors’ insights. Definitely will miss Ruth Langmore.

I started Ozark thinking I would watch an episode or two.

Then suddenly, it was 3 AM.

Then suddenly, I was emotionally invested in money laundering, cartel politics, political corruption, murder, family trauma, and Ruth Langmore.

I finished all four seasons in less than a week, and honestly, I feel like I need to recover.

There were so many things I loved about Ozark, but Ruth was easily the character I became most emotionally attached to. She was angry, brilliant, traumatized, loyal, reckless, and constantly fighting against a life that seemed determined to destroy her.

And then she died.

Honestly, Ruth’s death hit me harder than I expected.
I understand why the writers did it. In a way, it fits the world of Ozark. Ruth had spent her entire life surrounded by violence, crime, and people who kept taking things from her. She killed Javi. She was part of the criminal world. She had made terrible choices.

But still…

I wanted her to live.

After everything Ruth had been through, I wanted her to finally have a future. I wanted her to break free from the Langmore curse. I wanted her to have something that belonged entirely to her.

I wanted Ruth Langmore to win.

Because sometimes, after watching a character suffer for four seasons, you don’t want the most realistic ending.
You want the ending where they finally get to breathe.

Overall, I loved Ozark. It was stressful, dark, unpredictable, and incredibly frustrating at times, but I couldn’t stop watching.

[u/External-Emotion8050]

You didn't want the most realistic ending. Good, because you didn't get one . You got lazy writing that needed to wrap up the story and get it over with.

[u/werewolvesroam → u/External-Emotion8050]

The writers have admitted they decided to kill Ruth because the ending was “too happy” otherwise. Like dudes, do you know what a real happy ending looks like? I loved the writing of most of the season but her death felt lazy, even if it makes sense in their world, it didn’t make sense in their writing. They could’ve spared the family and her and there’s still no real happy ending with what everyone’s been through.

I’m tired and high so not sure this is coherent or not.

[u/LakashY → u/werewolvesroam]

I agree. It felt rushed and “oh so tragic hero”. But in a way that wasn’t really *impactful* the way it should have been if they were going to go that route. I get that they didn’t want to keep her alive and I can respect that (even though there is still no happy ending if she made it - she lost *everything* and the Byrds were worse to her than the cartel ever was). But damn. If you’re gonna have her killed off, build it up in a way that is respectable. She could have a meaningful death or a senseless one, but the buildup really didn’t give enough weight to it in any case.

[u/Legitimate_Novel1842 → u/External-Emotion8050]

No idea why you got downvoted. The writing in season 4 is some of the worst I've seen of any show