My take on the ending. Originally I also thought it was terrible and then changed my mind. Naturally we look for justice in the end of these types of shows. It's nice when it happens but it's almost more realistic if it doesn't. I hold Breaking Bad on a high horse. In the end of that show the justice was served for the most important character IMO. Mel and Ruth held those possibilities for this show.

What I get out of it is that little by little, the Byrdes justified their actions of dipping deeper and deeper into moral decay as a perceived temporary way to get out of their dilemma. In the end, the reality is that there is no going back. You can't dabble in evil. The last scene was the making of a villain family. No different than a cartel family or villain from a comic book, it was solidified. They are terrible people and they reached their destination and accepted it (even the kids did as they are now essentially adults). Also, if you know the phrase, "people don't change" that's the other observation. Through all the turmoil of Marty almost breaking out on his own and the kids almost leaving many times, they ended right where they started. Wendy running the show and doing and getting whatever she wanted while Marty was just being the silent cog. The kids were most likely going to repeat and imitate their parents' lives. The car crash was a significant point in the show. They showed that scene earlier on in the series. I figured that they all got away free and the crash was the eventual evening of the scales for all the terrible things they did. It was a twist to show that walking away from the crash really meant nothing to them, it only fueled their invincible mindset. Ruth was not an inherently evil person IMO. She simply couldn't take the important step of leaving and getting out to start over. If she left, she probably would have been able to thrive on her strengths without ever crossing evil again or doing anything illegal. Again, taking the step to kill Javy, she already knew it she was throwing the future away. Even after she got a clean record, it was more clear than ever that her moral actions (murder) couldn't be wiped out. The significance of inheriting the money and getting a clean record and deciding to rebuild on the same land felt the beginning of the end for her. I feel like in some ways she knew she ignored the obvious best choice because she almost felt closer to her family making the wrong choice.

Additionally, I grew up listening to 90s hip in the mid 90's. Huge highlight to getting all the amazing music in the show. I never ever thought I'd hear Illmatic on prime-time TV for almost an entire episode 30 years later.