Another installment of Netflix’s You has come and gone — and part one of Season 4 was a ride, to say the least. In the newest season of the show, Joe Goldberg has changed his identity yet again to Johnathan Moore, a literature professor at the (fictional) Darcy College in London. Like always, the show starts out with Joe righteously denouncing his past ways. However, once Joe becomes entangled in a web of nepo babies, drugs, and lies, it was only a matter of time before murder found its way back into Joe’s life. Shocker! Spoiler warning: Spoilers for Season 4 of You follow.
The season started out with a bang — Joe finally lets go of Marianne before finding the new subject of his affection, Kate, who just so happens to be the partner of his coworker, Malcolm. That is until he winds up dead in Joe’s apartment. (Come on — it was only a matter of time.) Shortly after, Joe begins to receive texts from a mystery person who knows not only his secrets, but his every move. This leads him to befriend a group of wealthy elitists to get to the bottom of the texts — but it only leads him down the road of drama, secrets, and (OFC) murder. Think, if the Gossip Girl reboot had a character that kept people in a glass box in a basement.
Part one of Season 4 was full of twists, so it only made sense to end the installment on a total cliffhanger. To hold us over until part two’s debut on March 10, let’s take some time to unpack part one’s finale. Trust me, there’s a lot here.
Who is stalking Joe in Season 4 of You?
You Season 4 focuses on a different killer than Joe, the mysterious “Eat The Rich” killer. Essentially, after more and more wealthy people meet their demise, the media labels the murder as some sort of social justice commentary against the uber-rich. Since the victims are in Joe’s circle, and the murders started after Joe came into the group, his new friends become suspicious of him — most notably Roald. After Gemma is found dead, Roald accuses Joe of being the “Eat The Rich” killer and decides to take matters into his own hands: He chases Joe through the woods in a game of “Fox And Hound” in order to kill him.
However, right before Joe is killed, his friend Rhys — an author and aspiring politician — shows up and kidnaps both Joe and Roald. It is then that we find out that Rhys was behind the murders so far, and wants to partner up with Joe to pin the murders on Roald. Talk about a collaboration.
Joe rejects Kate, for now.
After Rhys kidnaps Joe and Roald, Rhys demands that Joe kill Roald. When he refuses, Rhys attempts to burn them alive, along with the rest of Hampsbridge House. However, Kate finds them in the basement and saves the two before telling Joe that she’ll “see him back in London.”
But when they return back to London, and Kate asks Joe out, he says no. This could be for a number of reasons: Maybe Joe really has changed and wants to protect Kate from himself. Additionally, Kate knows too much about Joe and his antics, including the fact that he was the one who found her ex-partner dead and disposed of his body. So, turning down her invitation may be a protective measure for Joe himself. Regardless of the inner monologue, Kate leaves upset, and Joe shifts his attention to stopping Rhys from his trail of terror.
Joe has a new obsession.
Hello… you. By the end of part one, we find out that the object of Joe’s attention from here on out isn’t a woman, but someone different: Rhys. Not in a romantic way, though. After Rhys is revealed to be the killer, Joe develops a desire to stop him from hurting anyone else. This is a fantastic setup for part two, where we’ll likely see Joe tracking down Rhys before going head-to-head.
The installment ends with Rhys announcing his campaign to be the mayor of London, and Joe setting his sights on hunting Rhys down. While we won’t get to see Joe in action for another month, I’m already drawing up potential storylines in my brain, and wondering where the series is going from here. I’ve got my eye on you, You.