It’s been a while since television has had a character as delightfully moral-free and sassy as Ozark’s Ruth Langmore, played to perfection by Julia Garner. Garner brings a quality to her character that is indescribable. She is at times wounded, strong, ruthless, empathetic, ambitious, murderous, and loyal, but perhaps most of all, Ruth’s main driving instinct is one of self-preservation. Ozark recently dropped the remaining episodes of its fourth and final season. Fans finally get to see what happens to Marty and Wendy Byrde, their kids, their floating riverboat casino, the drug cartel they’ve gotten ensnared in, and, of course, Ruth Langmore.
Garner is also currently starring in Netflix’s crime docuseries Inventing Anna, proving that she is one of the best actors not just of her generation but of most working actors today. She’s got serious range and can convey anything from murderous rage to resting bitch face-style stoicism with ease. Garner, a beautiful woman in her own right, is also not afraid to change how she looks for the characters she’s portraying. Her Ruth Langmore, for example, looks and sounds nothing like her Anna Delvey.
With Ozark’s four seasons now behind us, let’s take a look back at some of the best lines Garner’s Ruth Langmore uttered, with a kind of profane grace, while we wait for news about a potential Ozark spinoff.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 “If You’re A Killer, Then I’m Snow White. And I Don’t See Any Dwarves Around.”
Netflix
Season 1, Episode 5 of Ozark, called “Ruling Days,” finds Jason Bateman’s Marty Byrde as the new owner of the town’s strip club, which he asks Ruth to run, having already recognized a ruthlessness in his young protégé that would serve him well as the series evolved. This is also the episode where Bobby’s dead body is discovered on the Byrde’s dock, prompting Ruth to utter the line, “If you’re a killer, then I’m Snow White. And I don’t see any dwarves around.” And that’s the moment viewers fell in love with Ruth Langmore.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 “You Owe Me A Job.”
Season 1, Episode 3 was titled “My Dripping Truth,” and this early episode in the series offered viewers a glimpse into the characters’ burgeoning business relationship. In this episode, the Byrdes have just moved into their new home in the Ozarks and are struggling with what to tell their teenage children about why they abruptly left Chicago and what their children should tell other people about their move since they certainly cannot tell the truth.
Marty is running the Blue Cat café (and boat gas station), and that’s where he encounters Ruth who tells him, “You owe me a job,” because it was Marty who got her fired from the motel. As a bargaining chip, Ruth threatens to tell everyone about Marty’s millions. He begrudgingly gives her a job as a dishwasher at the café, setting up so much of what’s to come and establishing the strong-willed character of Ruth Langmore. The episode not only helps to establish the greatness of Jason Bateman’s performance, but ultimately of Julia Garner’s.
6 “How About I Pop Those T*ts And Squeeze Out The Silicone?”
In Season 2, Episode 5, “Game Day,” Ruth Langmore is going through a safe to make sure there’s nothing in it that could incriminate Marty and Wendy as the FBI search their house. A stripper named Jade from the local strip club watches, her and Ruth tells her to get lost (in a more profane way, of course). Jade says she only takes orders from her boyfriend. At this point Ruth is completely out of patience, so she pulls a knife out of her pocket and says, “Well, how about I pop those t*ts and squeeze out the silicone?” It’s a perfect encapsulation of her wicked sarcasm and intimidating, no-craps-given presence.
5 “Everything He Touches Turns To Dog Sh*t. I’m Starting To Think We Might Be Related.”
In Season 3, Episode 9, “Fire Pink,” Wendy Byrde’s bipolar brother Ben is released from the mental institution thanks to Darlene Snell. However, Ben had an inability to follow the ominous directions he received to lie low, and Ruth realizes that everyone Ben talks to increases the chance of it getting him killed. In a move that show’s her character’s empathy, she attempts to hide him at Darlene and Wyatt’s house. She tells Wyatt that Ben is as reckless as her, saying, “Everything he touches turns to dog shit. I’m starting to think we might be related.” Ruth’s self-deprecating humor is seen here both touchingly and humorously.
4 “Brand It Like It’s The F**king Moët Of Dope.”
Season 4, Episode 2, “Let The Great World Spin,” finds Marty scrambling to try and shut down Darlene Snell’s heroin operation, even though his son launders money for it. Marty opens opioid addition rehab centers to launder the money and manages to close a deal between the Navarro drug cartel and a Big Pharma company. In the meantime, Ruth is out there trying to re-brand Darlene’s hillbilly heroin for the hipster crowd, and says, “Brand it like it’s the f**king Moet of dope.” Another great line comes after Wyatt and Ruth laugh at it being hipster heroin, saying their tagline could be “farm to needle.”
3 “If You Want To Stop Me, You’re Gonna Have To F**king Kill Me!”
Season 4, Episode 7, “Sanctified” marked the mid-season finale of Ozark. In it, Ruth finds the dead bodies of Wyatt and Darlene and, though she didn’t care much for Darlene, she’s devastated by the death of Wyatt and flies into a grief-fueled rage as she drives over to Marty and Wendy’s house to find out who killed Wyatt and Darlene. The Byrdes suspect drug cartel member Javi was behind the murders, as, after all, Darlene’s heroin business was cutting into his profits. Marty tells Ruth to stay away from Javi, which prompted her to say, “If you want to stop me, you’re gonna have to f**king kill me!” We feel you on this one, Ruth!
2 “God’s A Motherf**ker, Isn’t He?”
Ozark
Season 4, Episode 4, “Ace Deuce,” showed a new side of Ruth Langmore. Up until this point, she’s been a total spitfire with the confidence to get things done; even when she didn’t know what she was doing, she knew enough to figure it out in the process. In this episode, we see Ruth’s confidence waver.
She no longer works at the Byrdes’ casino, and her beloved Wyatt is dead. This prompts her to say, “God’s a motherfker, isn’t he? Built me smart enough to know how fked up my life is, but not quite smart enough to haul my ass out of it.” It’s a great line, spoken with the simultaneous intelligence, pain, and humor that Julia Garner brings to the role. Fans of Ruth don’t want this to be prophetic, but spoiler alert — it most likely is.
1 “I Don’t Know Sh*t About F**k.”
Season 2, Episode 10, “The Gold Coast,” delivered what some feel is such an iconic Ruth Langmore line that they’d like it emblazoned across a t-shirt for daily wear. When she uttered this profane little line (that really encapsulates who her character is), Marty was trying to give her instructions for taking over his business. Ruth, suffering a moment of self-doubt, told him she wasn’t sure she was up to it. To Marty’s credit (and sometimes fault), he was sure Ruth could handle what he was asking of her. That’s when Ruth said, “I don’t know sh*t about f**k,” and became an instant meme.
