Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for You season 4 parts 1 and 2.
You season 4 brings a lot of change to this established show. For one, the concept of breaking the entire season down into two parts is a deviation from the first three seasons of You. Additionally, Penn Badgley’s Joe Goldberg goes by the name Jonathan Moore. Goldberg’s move to London to pose as a professor is meant to be the start of his new life, which is not different than previous seasons, but unsurprisingly, things quickly go awry.
Once again, Joe is plagued by death all around him. You season 4 part 1 leads fans to believe that Joe is not the killer for once. He’s changed, someone else is after him and his new friends, and Joe is finally the man who is not killing everyone in his life. However, You season 4 part 2 tells us that Joe suffers from erotomania – and he is the killer. The plot twist in You Season 4 is one few saw coming, but does it work?
Joe’s Erotomania in You Season 4 Explains A Lot, Actually
You Season 4 Part 1 shows Joe Goldberg develop an obsession with author Rhys Montrose (Ed Speleers). It’s different this time because Joe typically develops obsessions with his love interests, and Rhys is not Joe’s love interest. Instead, Rhys seems to understand Joe’s dark tendencies and looks to build a friendship with him, also becoming obsessed with Joe. The dynamic shifts perceptibly in Part 1 of You season 4, and the obsession works.
Part 1 leaves viewers under the assumption that Rhys Montrose is the Eat-The-Rich Killer, and Joe is an innocent man being set up for the murders for once. The twist is shocking, but it becomes even more shocking in You season 4 part 2 when it is revealed that Joe doesn’t know Rhys at all. He’s imagined the entire relationship in his mind becoming increasingly obsessed with Montrose. His murderous side doesn’t want to remain hidden, but a part of Joe wants to be a good man who protects those he loves. The twist in You Season 4 works because Joe is just who he is, and his previously shown tendencies towards obsession make his manufactured relationship with Rhys Montrose believable.
It’s About Time Joe Stopped Lying to the Audience and Himself
Joe Goldberg spends a lot of time lying to himself. In every season of You, he’s managed to convince himself that every murder he’s committed has been for the greater good. Goldberg kills those he perceives as a danger or a threat to the women he loves, ignoring the fact that his obsession with them is the only threat and danger in their lives. Viewers see Joe’s personal lies come to light in You season 3 when Joe’s wife, Love (Victoria Pedretti), is revealed to be a killer as well, and Joe is adamant that he is not like her at all when, in fact, they are the same. Furthermore, when Joe believed that Rhys was the killer in You season 4 part 1, Joe once again convinced himself that he and Rhys had nothing in common because Joe is nothing like the killer.
However, You season 4 ends on a shocking note. Joe Goldberg finally realizes that he’s been lying to himself all along. He’s not killing people to protect the women he loves. Joe is a man who suffers from obsessive tendencies, and he has a dark side. Upon realizing that Joe’s entire relationship with Rhys was made up and Joe is the Eat-the-Rich killer, he makes the choice to accept his fate, his dark side, and the fact that he’s never been a protector or a chivalrous man.
In You season 5, Joe’s story might prove more interesting than ever. Goldberg is finally aware of his own flaws, and he has accepted his dark side. You season 5 might show Joe no longer lying to himself about who he is and simply embracing the fact that he is a cold-blooded killer. This might make Joe more dangerous than he’s ever been, and Joe Goldberg has always been dangerous.
Has Joe Goldberg Become Unstoppable?
Joe Goldberg spent the first four seasons of You killing people without any resources. He had no money, no name, and no power. He simply relied on his cunning and wit, and Joe Goldberg was dangerous with nothing. Joe’s intelligence and scrappy nature allowed him to get away with dozens of murders without being caught. Now that he and Kate Galvin (Charlotte Ritchie) have Kate’s father’s money, wealth, and power, Joe is unstoppable.
Joe is now among the wealthiest men in the world, thanks to his relationship with Kate. The kind of money Kate brings to the table is the wealth that can make a problem or inconvenience disappear in a matter of moments. The only things standing in Joe’s way of being the most unstoppable serial killer around is if Kate ever finds out that Joe is the man responsible for the death of her father or if Joe becomes obsessed with another woman while in relationship with Kate. Perhaps, if Joe decides to continue embracing his dark side and murderous tendencies, she could try to stop Joe.
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