TV Ozark cast sounds off on whether their characters can — or should — be redeemed in show's finale Stars Laura Linney, Julia Garner, Jason Bateman and showrunner Chris Mundy join EW for a conversation about the final season. By Lauren Huff Lauren Huff Lauren Huff is a writer at Entertainment Weekly with over a decade of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry. After graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook 'em, Horns!), Lauren wrote about film, television, awards season, music, and more for the likes of The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood, Us Weekly, Awards Circuit, and others before landing at EW in May 2019. EW's editorial guidelines Published on April 28, 2022 12:00PM EDT There are antiheroes, and then there are the characters on Netflix's Ozark. Over the course of the show's four seasons (which wrap up with seven final episodes releasing April 29), the audience has watched as the Byrde family and their associates further and further devolve into lawlessness with money-laundering schemes and their efforts to get out from under a dangerous Mexican drug cartel. As the end approaches for Marty (Jason Bateman), Wendy (Laura Linney), their family, and their ruthless one-time business partner Ruth (Julia Garner), it sort of begs the question: Are any of these people redeemable, or are they too far gone? Is there a so-called hero here, and should we be rooting for them? The answer, as Bateman, Linney, Garner and showrunner Chris Mundy tell EW in our latest Around the Table video series, is as complicated as one of the Byrde family plots. "I think they make a lot of terrible decisions, obviously. I love them all despite themselves," Mundy says. "I don't know if I would if I was in real life with them, but I find them redeemable. But I doubt they'll actually be redeemed. I don't know if they'll ever get there, but I want to hope for them." As for which character he's rooting for the most down the final stretch? "Ruth's the easiest one to just cheer for because I think everyone cheers for Ruth. Because you love her, and she's trying to elevate [herself], and she's been underestimated her whole life," he says. Laura Linney and Jason Bateman in 'Ozark'. Steve Dietl/Netflix This notion of people rooting for her character is interesting to Garner, though, because as she points out, Ruth's hands are hardly clean. "There's that aspect. I know everyone's like, 'Oh, yeah, poor Ruth.' But I'm like, 'Guys, she murdered her uncles,'" Garner says. Bateman, whose character Marty perhaps struggles the most with all the horrible things he has done in the name of protecting his family, suggests that maybe in a roundabout way, these characters are heroes. Says Bateman, "If you can somehow put people in a situation that the viewing public would never find themselves in, because it's too dangerous or it's too criminal, maybe they are somewhat heroic in that they are getting through something that maybe you would not be able to, or would not ever risk going through, or would not be stupid enough to go through. Or whatever it is, there's some heroism in accomplishing it or some form of that, I think. We're certainly not doing anything that is typically heroic." Find out more on what to expect from the final episodes of Ozark, plus more with Linney, Bateman, Mundy, and Garner, in the video above. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Related content: Ozark cast teases 'very satisfying' ending and why 'the blood spigot does not ever get turned off' Julia Garner on the 'life-changing experience' of Ozark: 'I could shoot it for the rest of my life' Ruth appears to shoot [SPOILER] in shocking trailer for Ozark's final episodes