#Most of the writing choices in s4 were bad but his plotline was just needlessly nonsensical

[themidnightcircusshow]

Ozark s4 spoilers

So I read the Vantiy Fair interview with the Ozark showrunners, and now I’m just even more frustrated with the writing choices they’ve made. Particularly with Jonah. Again. 

They said that Jonah having the final shot was meant to be him ‘coming into the fold’ so to speak. That he was the last family member to get on board with being a criminal. Which just proves that they had absolutely no idea what they were doing in season 4a, and most of 4b. In my write up of the issues with 4a, I mentioned that the problem with Jonah is that none of his actions fit any sort of motivation. One thing I specifically pointed out was that if Jonah’s motivation was intended to be that he was having a crisis of conscience (which the VF interview confirms), then it makes absolute no sense for him to be working with Ruth and Darlene. If the entire point is that Jonah hadn’t been fully indoctrinated into the life of crime, then that makes that plot line even worse. 

Especially when the way they brought Jonah back to the family was by having Wendy admit that yeah, she’s been a monster, but she’s willing to put her own desires aside for the sake of her family. That basically confirms that he’s hurt not by the killing but by the betrayal, which makes the money laundering kinda make sense (she betrayed him, he betrays her) but goes against the intended symbolism of him ‘finally’ becoming a criminal at the end. 

I saw a great tweet that said if they were going to focus the ending on Jonah, then they needed to focus more of the season on Jonah, and that is painfully true. Season 4 treats Jonah like a prop to be passed around, rather than an actual character, so the ending doesn’t have as much impact as it should. Freaking Sam gets more of a storyline than Jonah in season 4. The only indication we get that Jonah wants out of the criminal life entirely is one line in the finale, which also is just him being whatever they need to be at the moment.