Dhruv Trivedi
Ruth and Wyatt form an unlikely pair that talk about anything but crime (which is a big thing in the world of ‘Ozark’). However, the two seem to hail from a hotbed of seedy criminal activity, and, through their decidedly different story arcs, both Ruth and Wyatt remain innately connected. Season 4 brings Ruth and Wyatt’s relationship to a sudden and violent close, ending one of the show’s longest-running story arcs. Let’s take a look at what we know about how Ruth and Wyatt are related. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Are Ruth and Wyatt Related?
Ruth and Wyatt are part of the bigger criminally-inclined local group that first sets its eyes on Marty Byrde’s hoard of cartel cash. In an effort to find the money’s hiding location, Ruth gets a job working for Marty and eventually gains his trust. Her incarcerated father, Cade, pushes her along from prison, and slowly, each of the group member’s roles begins to come into focus. They are all part of the same family.
Ruth and her family are the Langmores — one of the oldest clans from the area, much like the Snells. In fact, at one point, Darlene Snell reveals that the Langmores used to run the biggest bootleg liquor business in the area just a few generations ago. Since then, however, the Langmores have seemingly been cursed — with most family members involved in crime and dying a violent death. The Langmore Curse, in fact, plays out in a very palpable way across the ‘Ozark’ story arc with Ruth’s attempts at breaking the cycle repeatedly and tragically dashed.
Wyatt is Ruth’s cousin and the son of Cade’s brother, Russ Langmore. He is the only one in the family who finishes high school, and Ruth constantly reminds anyone who’ll listen about how Wyatt will do great things. However, the young boy remains inevitably steeped in a life of crime because of the people around him. Much like Ruth, Wyatt is protective about his younger brother, Three, and promises to shield him from a life of crime.
Ruth and Wyatt are the offspring of the criminally inept Cade and Russ, respectively. Due to the rash actions of the fathers, and Ruth’s attempts to shield Wyatt, the Langmore Curse strikes once again. Like Cade, Russ is obsessed with Marty’s stash of drug money and comes up with a desperate scheme to procure it. Knowing that Russ plans to kill Marty, Ruth wires the dock Russ is going to use for the ambush. The trap is fatal, and Russ and his brother, Boyd, are electrocuted to death.
Wyatt is crushed by his father’s death and begins to occasionally hallucinate talking to Russ. Ruth doesn’t reveal her hand in his father’s death to Wyatt until forced to by Cade. When Wyatt finds out Ruth killed his father, it fractures the cousins’ relationship and changes it forever. The angry young Langmore moves out that very night and never lives in the iconic trailer park again. One of Ruth’s biggest regrets remains her broken relationship with Wyatt, the only person (according to her) she ever cared for.
Ruth and Wyatt remain the last active Langmores (apart from Three), and the ghosts of their dead family members clearly haunt them. This makes Wyatt’s sudden end in season 4 all the more tragic because, at that point, Ruth essentially loses everything and lives only for revenge henceforth. The fact that she tries and fails to stop Wyatt from being involved with Darlene likely also makes Ruth blame herself for her beloved cousin’s death.
Ruth and Wyatt’s relationship is one of the purest connections depicted on the show, which masterfully explores how the former’s unconditional love for the latter leads both of them down a very dark path. Both their stories are equally tragic and are laden with death. Wyatt’s death essentially sets Ruth on a path of revenge that could very easily end with her own demise. However, considering she has lost the person she cared about most in the world, perhaps all that is left is for the Langmore curse to take Ruth as well.
Read More: Does Jonah Byrde Die in Ozark Season 4?
