Ozark star on needing to hug his costars before killing them

Warning: This article includes spoilers for Ozark season 4.

"Sorry...whoever you are."

Well, at least Javi (Alfonso Herrera) is apologetic when he kills you. In the most shocking moment of the first half of Ozark's fourth and final season, OG characters — and newlyweds — Darlene (Lisa Emery) and Wyatt (Charlie Tahan) were gunned down by unpredictable newcomer Javi, the nephew and successor of kingpin Omar Navarro (Felix Solis).

"When I read that, as a fan, I was in shock," Alfonso Herrera tells EW. "But, as the actor playing Javi, I was very excited to see the arc of this character. That last scene, it's very potent, it's very explosive."

The seeds for the devastating murder, which features baby Zeke crying in the distance, were actually planted in Javi's very first appearance on the show. In the opening minutes of the season 4 premiere, having just been introduced to Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney), Javi immediately wants to know what they plan to do about Darlene and her new drug enterprise. Seven episodes later, he took it into his own hands. But, before filming the scene, Herrera felt the need to take Emery and Tahan into his own arms.

"That was hard, man, because when I arrived to set, it was the first time I was meeting them both," he recalls. "And I remember I just hugged them, and they said, 'This is going to be tough,' and I said, 'I don't know if I have to say this an honor, or I'm just sad, but it's a complete pleasure to work with you and to be with you in this process.' They were very generous, and it was emotional when we finished. Not just for me, but for the whole cast and crew. They've been there since the beginning, so it was a very heartfelt goodbye from everyone to them."

It's likely that the impending showdown between Javi and Wyatt's grieving cousin Ruth (Julia Garner) won't be so heartfelt, considering her thirst for vengeance that was on full-display in the finale's closing minutes.

"What's going to happen afterwards, it's going to be mind-blowing," teases Herrera of the second half of Ozark's final season, which will premiere later this year. "If you think that Javi is someone that you cannot read and you do not expect how he's going to react, what's going to happen next is that times 20."

For more on Ozark and its final season, pick up Entertainment Weekly's Ultimate Guide to Ozark, available online and wherever magazines are sold.

Related content:

• Meet the charismatic new big bad of Ozark's final season
• Joseph Sikora teases his return for 'unfinished business' in Ozark final season
• Ozark stars Laura Linney and Tom Pelphrey on Wendy and Ben's 'great tragedy': 'I was just crying'