Ruth Langmore tragically bites the dust in “Ozark‘s” fourth and final season, but the woman who plays her, Julia Garner, is still going strong at the Emmys. The actor doubled her nominations tally this July, racking up two bids, including one for “Ozark” for Best Drama Supporting Actress. This is the third time in a row she is shortlisted for the Netflix series, for which she parlayed both of her previous two citations into victories (2019-2020). Should she now continue her winning streak, she will not only score an unprecedented hat trick but also enter record territory in her category.
First off, she would be the first performer under the current popular vote system — which has been in place since 2016 — to win more than two Emmys for one show (Alex Borstein of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Bill Hader of “Barry” and Kate McKinnon of “Saturday Night Live” could all pull off this feat as well). What’s more, a third victory would tie her with Ellen Corby — who triumphed thrice for “The Waltons” in 1973, 1975 and 1976 — at three wins for Drama Supporting Actress. Together, they would share second place in the category, trailing only Nancy Marchand, who claimed a leading four trophies for “Lou Grant” in 1978, 1980, 1981 and 1982.
Serving as Garner’s submission to Emmy voters this year is “Sanctified,” the seventh episode of “Ozark” season four (it also marks the midseason finale since Netflix split the show’s 14-episode farewell season into two equally sized parts). Just as Ruth is about to leave her old life behind with her cousin Wyatt (Charlie Tahan), she is dealt a blow when the latter reveals that he will stay and marry Darlene (Lisa Emery). After trying but failing to change Wyatt’s mind, Ruth begs Frank Cosgrove Jr. (Joseph Sikora) not to kill her cousin’s future wife in light of this change of events.
When Ruth finds not just Darlene but also Wyatt dead later in the episode, she immediately assumes Frank Jr. did the dirty deed and threatens him over the phone. But after he proclaims his innocence, she, realizing they might know the identity of the hitman, confronts Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney) with a shotgun at their house. While they deny having any knowledge of who caused the bloodshed and try to calm Ruth down, their son Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) eventually breaks, explaining that it was likely Javier “Javi” Elizonndro (Alfonso Herrera). Although Marty and Wendy warn Ruth not to go after the killer as he’s helping out the FBI, Ruth makes explicit that nothing can deter her from seeking vengeance for Wyatt’s death.
While the fourth season of “Ozark” is essentially an extended Emmy clip for Garner, no episode better showcases her work than “Sanctified” does. As Ruth is driven over the edge, Garner gets to delve into layers of anguish like never before. When Ruth threatens to kill the Byrdes if they don’t divulge the identity of Wyatt’s murderer, the actor plays her like a crazed dog that’s taken one too many beatings. That’s because Ruth has lost all her loved ones — her father, her uncles, her lover and now one of her cousins — and has nothing left to lose at this point. “If you wanna stop me, you’re gonna have to f*cking kill me!” she bellows at Marty with daggers in her eyes after he tells her not to hunt down Javi. Here, Garner shouts the final two words from the depths of her soul and combines unbridled rage and grief into an unforgettable line reading — one that might very well earn the actor her third Emmy.
But it won’t happen without a fight. In the race for Drama Supporting Actress, Garner faces one challenger, Sarah Snook (“Succession”), who has also contended in this race before. The rest of her competition is made up of actors enjoying their first nominations in the category. Those are two-time Emmy champ Patricia Arquette (“Severance”), former Emmy nominee Christina Ricci (“Yellowjackets”), and newcomers Jung Ho-yeon (“Squid Game”), Rhea Seehorn (“Better Call Saul”), J. Smith-Cameron (“Succession”) and Sydney Sweeney (“Euphoria”). Of Garner’s rivals, Arquette, Seehorn and Sweeney also received additional bids this year: Arquette as an EP of “Severance;” Seehorn and Sweeney for their respective performances in “Cooper’s Bar” and “The White Lotus.”
Of the double nominees in contention, Garner is the only one to have nabbed her second bid in a main leading acting category (Best Movie/Limited Actress for “Inventing Anna”). Even though this nom didn’t come as much of a surprise, as the Netflix title raked in record-breaking viewership for the streamer and features another showy turn from Garner as real-life con artist Anna “Delvey” Sorokin, it speaks to the support the actor has from her peers in the Television Academy.
But where would that support most likely materialize? Since “Ozark” has 10 more nominations than “Inventing Anna” with a total of 13 for its final season, and Garner is already a two-time winner for the series, it would probably be in Drama Supporting Actress. The biggest question is whether voters will want to return to the well for the performer once again, especially with so much new blood in her category. But because it is their last chance to honor Garner for playing Ruth, and season four sees the actor at the top of her game, they may feel compelled to throw one more victory her way as a farewell gift.
This article is a part of Gold Derby’s “Emmy nominee profile” series spotlighting the 2022 acting contenders.
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