Ozark: Why Did Rachel Garrison Star Jordana Spiro Really Leave ...

Ozark: Netflix teases season three return date 1769444563MCRVOWc2

Netflix series Ozark is finally at an end after season four, part two dropped with the remaining episodes charting the ultimate fate of the Byrdes. The final outing was 14 episodes which were divided in half and released at different times. Fans were served up a suitably bloody and brutal end to the show.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from all seasons of Ozark

Why did Rachel Garrison star Jordana Spiro really leave Ozark?

Rachel Garrison (played by Jordana Spiro) was a tragic figure, who was introduced in season one of Ozark.

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She was the owner of the Blue Cat Lodge, which Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) bought over to use as a front to launder money for the Mexican cartel.

As time went on, Rachel found out the real reason Marty had purchased her business, which left her furious.

Marty attempted to reassure her and told her she would be kept out of all the illicit side of things.

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READ MORE: Ozark ending explained: How did Ozark end?

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Ozark: Rachel Garrison was a tragic figure (Image: NETFLIX)

Ozark: Rachel Garrison was working an FBI informant (Image: NETFLIX)

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However, the revelation created a wedge between Rachel and Marty which was the beginning of the end.

Rachel ended up working as an FBI informant for Roy Petty (Jason Butler Harner) but it didn’t quite work out when she failed to deliver.

Season two saw Rachel’s life taking a tragic turn after she returned to the Ozarks with a drug addiction following a brief period away. Her drug habit was caused by Agent Petty who got her hooked and she was on the brink.

Despite Marty giving her hush money with the promise of a new life, she ended up apparently meeting a tragic end. 

However, Rachel made an unexpected comeback in season four, part two when she met up with Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner) in Miami and agreed to return to the Ozarks as business partners.

The two women would run the Byrdes' casino and it all seemed to be going so well for them. 

Ozark: Rachel Garrison was a victim of the Byrdes (Image: NETFLIX)

Initially, it seemed Rachel’s departure was a narrative decision rather than a choice by the star to leave the show.

If anything, Rachel is simply another victim of the Byrdes and the Mexican drug cartel albeit indirectly.

Rachel's surprise comeback felt like the writers bringing the story full circle with some characters making an unexpected return and rounding off their arcs.

Speaking about starring in Ozark, actress Spiro appeared on KTLA 5 in 2018 ahead of season two and said: “It’s awesome, it’s even more exciting than the first. It’s just the best show to work for.

“I pinch myself when I’m working on it. I’m so thrilled.”

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Ozark: Rachel Garrison was the owner of the Blue Cat (Image: NETFLIX)

Spiro is also a director and writer and explained why she went back into college despite her acting career.

She said: “I really wanted to be the driver of my own stories.

“I felt like I had some things to say and I wanted to get a foundation underneath me to really understand how to write scripts and how to direct and all of that, so I just did that.”

Her directorial debut Night Comes On premiered at the Sundance Festival in 2018 and won a Jury Award.

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Spiro said she would “absolutely” like to do more directing alongside her acting career.

The star went on to explain: “In a perfect world I’d get to balance them both out.

“They feel like very different things to me, so one is sort of a relief from the other.”

On whether she’d direct and star in a project, she explained: “No, I’ll never say never but Jason Bateman does that so beautifully. He’s incredible at it.

“He said, ‘The time I have to spend watching playback and watching takes and everything that kinda slows the day down is the time I don’t have to spend dealing with - because I already know the neuroses of my lead actor.’”

Since starring in Ozark, Spiro has gone on to feature in To the Stars, Evil and continued her role as Sarah Weller in Blindspot.

According to IMDb, she is next going to be starring in Vegas High and recently appeared in Netflix's horror trilogy Fear Street.

Ozark is streaming on Netflix now

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