This article includes spoilers for “Ozark’s” upcoming season.
Ruth Langmore, played by Julia Garner, has always been a shining light in “Ozark’s” gloomy universe.
It’s not that she’s especially happy—her family has endured catastrophe after tragedy of their own making—but she is deserving of support. Ruth is driven and motivated to succeed, even if it means joining the criminal underworld that Jason Bateman’s Marty Byrde introduced her to.
She also takes pains to project strength, occasionally letting her feelings slip. One of these occurs in the most recent season of the programme when Ruth cries up when purchasing a goat biscuit jar for Ben’s (Tom Pelphrey) ashes.
Goats Were In Ruth and Ben’s Future
Ben should be recalled by viewers as Wendy’s (Laura Linney) brother and Ruth’s past boyfriend. Ben, who had bipolar disorder, passed away last season when Wendy abandoned him at a diner in anticipation of his capture and execution by cartel members. A high point of the entire series as well as the season was Pelphrey’s performance. Despite leaving the show in season 4, Ben’s influence may still be felt in Wendy’s guilt and Ruth’s sorrow throughout the penultimate run of episodes.
Ruth goes thrift store shopping in “Let The Great World Spin,” the second episode of the new season. Ruth claims to be “just looking” when the employee inquires, but in reality, she is purposefully opening jars and inspecting all ceramic containers she comes across. A strange-looking cookie container in the form of a goat draws her attention. The store clerk asks, “You don’t really think of goats and cookies together, do you? Ruth carries the goat jar inside the house like a clumsy infant. She places it on a table in her trailer after arriving there, looks at it, and starts crying.
What’s up with this unsightly jar, then? Although we’ve never seen it before, Ruth finds great significance in it. Men’s Health notes that it can be linked to Wendy and Ben’s final exchange. She inquires about his goals for the next five years of his life. He answers simply and with a laugh while being oblivious that his life is about to end: “It’s simple. Ruth. House, garden, job, and dogs. I would also like goats, but I think that would take eight to ten years.”
Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) steals Ben’s ashes from Wendy in the new season and gives them to Ruth. Ben’s last resting place will subsequently be the goat cookie jar. Although we weren’t present when he and Ruth talked about their plans for the future or the goats they intended to purchase, it’s reasonable to suppose they did because of how deeply in love they were. Ben, who frequently found the positive side of challenging circumstances, was reminded by the store clerk that her spouse believes goats are devilish.
