Ozark season 4 part 2 premiere explained: Does Ruth kill Javi?

The final episodes of Ozark have officially arrived, and fans are in for another wild ride. The fourth season was broken up into two parts, with the first premiering at the end of January and the second coming out in the early hours of this morning, April 29. As fans know, there was a whole lot riding on these last episodes, especially for Ruth (Julia Garner), as she discovered that her cousin Wyatt (Charlie Tahan) had been shot and killed.

The final moments of Ozark season 4 part 1 show Ruth angrily driving off from the Byrdes after Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) told her that Omar Navarro’s (Felix Solis) nephew Javi Elizondro (Alfonso Herrera) was the one to kill Wyatt and Darlene (Lisa Emery). Of course, she wants revenge. But will she find out where Javi is, and can she manage to get the upper hand on him? Well, that’s the big question going into Ozark season 4 part 2.

Spoilers ahead for Ozark season 4 part 2.

Ozark season 4 part 2 premiere recap

The premiere episode of Ozark season 4 part 2, “The Cousin of Death,” picks up right where part 2 ends, with Ruth reminiscing on her good memories of Wyatt. She remembers a time when they bonded over music and joked about what they could do if they had some money. In present-time, Ruth is ready to kill Javi and Javi has no idea.

Javi calls up Marty and tells him he has to clean up his mess (a.k.a. Darlene and Wyatt), and to meet in Chicago the following day for a meeting with Clare (Katrina Lenk) at Shaw Medical.

Of course, Wendy (Laura Linney) questions Marty (Jason Bateman) after he gets off the phone and is mad that he didn’t tell Javi about Ruth. Understandably, Marty doesn’t want Ruth to get hurt, but Wendy doesn’t care about Ruth. Wendy doesn’t want Javi to get killed and screw up their deal with Omar. Marty points out that Ruth doesn’t even know what Javi looks like, which, ultimately, doesn’t matter.

Ruth has her own sources apart from Wendy and Marty, and she drives off to the motel to get answers from Jonah. Nervous, Jonah doesn’t want to tell Ruth anything because he wants to keep her safe, but Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz) spills, telling her where Javi will be the meeting her parents the next day.

Before Ruth drives to Chicago, she gets a visit from Wendy who tries to talk her out of killing Javi. Ruth agrees, but is quick to mutter “lying f**king b***h” under her breath as Wendy drives off, suggesting she’s still going ahead with her plan.

Marty calls Javi and lets him know that the cops are all over Darlene’s house so he can’t clean up the bodies.

There’s a great montage of Ruth getting prepared for Chicago, swapping out her car plates, listening to the song “Represent” Nas, and getting a gun from Frank Jr., who tells her he’ll buy her a drink when she gets back. We also get a daydream from Ruth which shows her arriving in Chicago and shooting Javi repeatedly in broad daylight. This is the clip we see in the Ozark season 4 part 2 trailer, and it doesn’t actually happen.

While Javi is in Chicago waiting for the Byrdes, he speaks to his mom on the phone and lets her know he’ll be back in two days. It’s a short conversation, but one that’s bound to come back up.

Rapper in Ozark season 4

When Ruth arrives in Chicago, she has a heartbreaking phone conversation with Three (Carson Holmes), her cousin and Wyatt’s younger brother. Though she doesn’t disclose where she is or what she’s doing, Three understands and tells her that Wyatt would hate it. There’s also a fun cameo from Killer Mike, who Ruth meets at a diner and has a deep conversation with.

Elsewhere in the episode, Javi has a meeting with a businessman named Barton, who suggests he could make a donation to his business school anonymously, which offends Javi. He follows Barton into the restaurant bathroom, where he beats him up and flushes his head multiple times in a urinal. Javi is obviously an animal, but does he get killed off this fast? Does he die in the premiere episode?

Does Javi die in Ozark season 4 part 2?

The short answer is yes, Javi does die in the premiere of part 2. Ruth speaks with Marty on the phone while she’s in Chicago, where he tells her she should go home. It seems like she almost does, until she watches the Byrdes continue to make deals with high rollers and plan a life that she and Wyatt wanted. She crashes a dinner between the Byrdes and Clare, demanding that they go to the office so they’re not all in public.

At the office, Ruth makes them call Javi to come under false pretense, and she warns Clare against Wendy and Marty. She spews venom at the two, and it’s all the truth. Of course, Javi shows up, but before he barely gets through the door Ruth is on him and shoots him three times. He collapses and dies instantly.

Everything is about to change for the Byrdes now, but with Ruth getting her revenge, she doesn’t care. The final moments of the episode show her getting into her car and bursting out crying. Meanwhile, Wendy, Marty, and Clare start to clean up the mess.

The Ozark season 4 part 2 premiere is great. We get an episode that’s focused on the best part of the show: Ruth. From her perspective, we get to hear her favorite ’90s hip-hop we know she loves, we truly feel her devastation, and we get to enjoy Garner’s acting performance, which is fantastic. Ruth is an absolute badass and she was under-utilized in season 4 part 1, in my opinion. Part 2 starts off on a really high note.

You can stream all 14 episodes of Ozark season 4 on Netflix right now.