MovieChat Forums > Ozark (2017) Discussion > Question re Final Episode (SPOILER)

Question re Final Episode (SPOILER)


Needless to say, amazing series and great ending to a great show —

One thing that stuck out to me that I can’t reconcile is the car rollover scene…what was the significance of this scene? Other than something for S4 E1 to foreshadow, I really don’t think this rollover had any other effect in the final episode — ie, it could’ve been cut out completely, as it didn’t have any consequence to anything else that happened in the episode.

And rather literally too - from that scene to the next (where the Byrdes go into their next meeting after the accident), there’s zero acknowledgment by them that the traumatic accident even happened. That’s aside from the fact they were all physically fine, able to walk away from such a terrifying accident without a scratch, or anything. No police, 911, bystanders offering to help…nada.

Anyone have any thoughts? I read on a FB post that it’s supposed to be symbolic of something else, but that seems a stretch to me…

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I think the car rollover scene was meant to show that the Byrds are fated to live no matter what life throws at them. That wreck was brutal, and would have destroyed anyone else. But they just get up, dust themselves off, and walk away as if nothing happened at all. They're untouchable, or as Wendy so aptly put it: "they're bulletproof".

"Nothing seems to kill me no matter how hard I try
Nothing is closing my eyes
Nothing can beat me down for your pain or delight
And nothing seems to break me
No matter how hard I fall
Nothing can break me at all"

--Soundgarden - Blow Up The Outside World

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I have been wondering about that too. Especially because when you first see Wendy in the car, there's a pool of blood underneath her head. When she gets out of the car, she looks a bit dusty but not much blood. When she gets home, she's pristine, not even a scratch. At first I was thinking, maybe they really did die, and the rest of the episode is them actually being in hell. But lots of important things happened after the car crash which made me think, ok, real things are happening, so they must be alive.

There was a lot of religious talk in the last season. For example, I don't know if you noticed this, but when Omar Navarro made his confession in, I think, the first episode of the last season, his priest did the absolution with the words "I absolve you for these sins." (The correct words for the sacrament are something like, "I absolve you of these and all your sins.") The priest knows that Omar is not confessing the murders he has ordered. He's confessing things like, he yelled at his dog. So the priest is communicating to Omar that he is not forgiven of the murders until he confesses them, which also means he has to commit to stop committing murders, which means he has to stop being the cartel boss. I think Omar was afraid that he would go to hell eventually and I think he was willing to hand the cartel to Javi so he could extricate himself from the cycle of murder.

If you watch the last season with this in mind, there are religious references all over the place.

I think what is happening is that Wendy has chosen the side of the devil and therefore the devil will protect her and keep her alive. But when she does die, she will go to hell and drag her whole family with her.

I think this also funnels into Ruth's death. Camila was wearing black and Ruth was wearing white. So I think that tells us that even though Ruth has done many bad things in her life, she is going to heaven because she has done good at the last, as best as her bad upbringing allowed.

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And it may not be a literal heaven and hell, but more a commentary on the question of whether you can truly have happiness if you choose the kind of evil that Marty and Wendy have chosen for their family. So I think that speaks to why Jonah looked so unhappy in the car before the crash. Jonah might be willing to shoot the detective so the family can stay together and his parents not get jailed (and probably executed, they have done some bad stuff!), but he's not really happy, he's just stuck in the cycle of violence created for him by his parents, from which he will likely never be able to extricate himself for his whole life.

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So many great observations Iffy! I’ve been skeptical on the Wendy symbolism theories, but your point about Jonah here does make it sound more solid.

And you know - for half a second, I thought Ruth’s choice of the white dress was a bit different for her (when was the last time we ever saw her in anything white?!). Definitely will watch again with the religious references in mind.

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Yes this is the point of that scene.
1. to scare the audience: "No, everything ends with a shitty accident?"
2. then to let them resurrect (they are untouchable)
3. after the accident when you see the family hugging it is a very touching moment. Especially for Jonah it is the last move to be conviced to stay with the parents. Without this scene he would not have shot the detective at the very end.

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Totally agree.

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It was to make you wonder if the entire Bryd family was actually going to survive.

The actual crash outcome was symbolic, as stated above, that they are "bulletproof" and invincible. Also, tragedy and "near-death" experiences always serve to bring an estranged family closer together. That's exactly what it did, as Jonah obviously backed them up at the end.

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