Based on the novels by Caroline Kepnes, “You” is an American psychological thriller streaming on Netflix. It was created by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble. The series follows the narrator, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), a charming, yet obsessive man who goes to great lengths to relentlessly pursue the women he loves. The show has four seasons and is expected to be renewed for the fifth and final season in 2024.
Throughout, the show follows the life of a serial killer and narcissist who meets the girls of his dreams. He then stalks her quietly to transform himself into her perfect guy. Joe slowly eliminates potential threats, convinced that he’s protecting her from people who don’t want what’s best for her.
Before reading this review, please know there will be spoilers for all four seasons throughout.
Season I
The season begins with Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail) entering “Mooney's” bookstore, managed by Joe Goldberg. Joe immediately becomes infatuated with Beck, overanalyzing every subtle choice she makes. While checking her books, he learns her full name and uses it to find all of her public social media accounts.
Joe also uses a photo of her moving into a new apartment to find her address. It is here that we are introduced to the type of person that Joe is.
Guinevere Beck
Beck was born on December 3rd and raised on the island of Nantucket. Beck confides in Joe, telling him that her father, Edward Martin Beck (Michael Park), was an addict most of her childhood. Beck often claimed that her dad died of an overdose when she was 12.
Episode 4 reveals that her father overdosed, recovered, and converted to Christianity. Beck’s father met and fell in love with the Christian blogger Nancy Whitesell (Emily Bergl).
Beck’s father becomes sober, finds love, and abandons Beck and her mother. Nancy is a devout Christian and often accredits her religion as one of the main reasons her husband, Edward, overcame addiction. Beck resents her father for abandoning her family and only being there monetarily.
Beck deals with the burden of caring for her addicted father at a young age, while receiving no credit for her efforts. The 'heroic' stepmother was credited with her father's recovery.
Beck studied at Brown University, majoring in literature and later pursuing her Masters in Fine Arts in New York. Beck is an intelligent aspiring writer and is deeply flawed. Her flaws do not make her unlikable, but rather unique, intriguing, and human.
Throughout the season, it is made clear that Beck has self-destructive tendencies fueled by her low self-worth. She is constantly in a toxic relationship and believes that abusive treatment is what she deserves. Her chasing of men that are bad for her directly parallels the relationship with her father. Not only does Beck suffer from self-destructive behavior, but she also requires constant validation, affecting her relationships, job stability, and overall mood.
Benjamin "Benji" Ashby III
While continuing his search, Joe comes across Beck’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Benjamin "Benji" Ashby III (Lou Taylor Pucci). Benji is portrayed as arrogant and apathetic. It is clear that Benji is Joe’s rival in romance.
Benji is the son of Ben Ashby, the owner of Ashby Brokerage. Benji’s previous careers included modeling and co-creating a dating app. After both endeavors failed, he started an artisanal soda brand called the Home Soda Artisanal Beverage.
Benji makes his first appearance through a conversation with Beck in which he has been caught cheating. Despite this, Beck continued to pursue a romantic relationship with him, which made Joe furious.
Joe impersonates a journalist and lures Benji into his bookstore basement. Joe knocked Benji out with a hammer and imprisoned him in a glass cage. Upon gaining consciousness, Benji does anything to be released: he tries to bribe Joe with money and gives him blackmail material. Benji confesses that he is fraudulent and provides Joe with video evidence revealing that he accidentally drowned a pledge during the “hazing” process of frat-house admissions.
Throughout his pleading, Joe learns that Benji is deathly allergic to gluten, dairy and peanuts. Joe uses this information and gives him a maple latte containing two tablespoons of peanut oil. Benji drinks the latte and dies of severe allergic reactions.
Peach Anaïs Salinger
Joe continues his search and finds Peach Anaïs Salinger (Shay Mitchell). Joe soon becomes Beck’s boyfriend and gets to know Peach closely. He learns that Peach is manipulative, emotionally toxic, and clingy towards Beck. Peach despises Joe and criticizes him openly in front of Beck; she believes Joe is not good enough for her best friend.
Peach is a privileged woman born into a notable literary family. Peach met Beck while studying at Brown University, and often provided her with money and other luxuries. In return, Peach expected a certain amount of control over Beck’s life.
Peach soon grows to hate Joe and assumes that he has sinister intentions: Peach is a cruel friend and frequently engages in sabotage and passive-aggressive behavior. Peach believes that Beck must be with her at all times and craves co-dependence.
Peach is a cruel friend who frequently engages in sabotage and passive-aggressive behavior. Peach has been in love with Beck since they met. However, Beck never reciprocated these feelings and simply saw her as a friend who cares and wants the best for her.
Knowing this, she grows angry and tries to coerce a relationship with her best friend. Beck grew furious at Peach, knowing that all her efforts had been to seduce her.
Joe murders Peach to save Beck from a toxic friend, making her more vulnerable to him. Peach Salinger is meant to be hated in the first season. In reality, she parallels Joe’s harmful and manipulative behavior.
After two sudden and traumatic deaths, Beck decided to go to a therapist, Dr. Nicky (John Stamos), to cope. Joe checks Beck’s phone and asks her who “The Fox” is and why they are texting her so much.
Beck simply says, “The Fox” is a nickname she gave one of her friends during college. Joe begins investigating and finds none of her classmates fit the brief description Beck gave. Instead of confronting Beck, Joe assumed that she was cheating on him with her therapist. With this conclusion, he decided to break into Dr. Nicky’s laptop and listen to a recording of Beck’s sessions. After playing the recording, he determined he was wrong and realized he was not helping Beck’s healing. Joe then decides to let Beck go and let her focus on herself.
Three months after the breakup, Joe is in a healthy relationship with Karen Minty (Natalie Paul). Despite this, he still had feelings for Beck. Beck shares that she is jealous of Karen and wants Joe to return.
After hearing this, Joe immediately breaks up with Karen and gets back together with Beck. Karen accepts the breakup and warns Beck that Joe is a liar and can’t be trusted.
Joe’s Past Is Revealed
After hearing Joe scream out Candace’s name at night, Beck confronts him. Joe explains that Candace was an ex that fled to Italy. Unsatisfied with his response, Beck pries Joe’s history with the mysterious Candace and finds her whereabouts. Joe explains that Candace Stone was an aspiring musician that fled after cheating on him with Elijah.
Beck accepts this explanation and blames herself for ever doubting him.
Joe, however, leaves out an important detail. He does not mention he was responsible for Elijah’s death. Enraged, he pushes Elijah off a rooftop; for now, this is Joe’s first documented kill.
Beck receives another text from “The Fox,” which triggers Joe’s memories of Candace hiding texts from Elijah. Joe steals Dr. Nicky’s phone and discovers he was right about his suspicions; Beck was cheating on him with her therapist.
Devastated, Joe confronts Beck about the affair, admitting everything. She says that she loves him like she never loved anyone. Joe forgives Beck, and their relationship continues.
Joe goes to pick up breakfast, and Paco comes by, making an offhand comment that Joe likes hiding things in the ceiling above the toilet. Beck already had enough doubt about Joe to look. She finds a box full of evidence that he is not the man he presents himself to be.
Beck finds her stolen phone, diary, Benji’s and Peach’s phones, human teeth, and other personal belongings in the box. Joe returns with breakfast, and Beck cuts her finger while rushing to put the box back. This cut and her uneasiness make Joe realize that Beck has found his secret.
Joe knocks Beck unconscious and puts her in a glass box in the library’s basement.
The Death Of Guinevere Beck
Beck wakes up horrified and realizes that the man she proclaimed to love less than 24 hours ago is now her captor. Joe thinks the relationship can be salvaged, but Beck must learn a lesson. Joe reveals everything he has done and has a semi-logical explanation for all of it. Beck is skeptical, but she must fake it if she wants to escape.
Joe leaves Beck in a glass cage filled with books and a typewriter, instructing her to write. Beck soon realized that the only way out is through obeying Joe. Beck begins by writing about her relationship with Dr.
Nicky via Joe’s typewriter. She suggests that Dr. Nicky was obsessed with her and Peach warned her to dump him. This implies that Dr. Nicky is responsible for all the murders committed, setting Joe free.
Beck convinces Joe that she loves him and understands everything he does for her. They share a loving embrace, and Beck uses it as an opportunity to lock Joe in the cage. Beck celebrates prematurely and tells Joe that she can never love someone like him before racing to the top of the stairs. She soon learned that the basement door was locked and called for help.
Paco hears Beck screaming and rushes to help her. Beck begs Paco to let her out of the basement, because Joe is a murderer who has killed people. Paco does not see Joe as a murderer and is offended by this remark. He makes life-defining choices and decides to turn away.
Joe manages to escape the cage and kills Beck.
The Framing of Dr. Nicky
Joe buries Beck’s body in Dr. Nicky’s property and used the fake book Beck wrote in the basement to frame him. He sent the manuscript to Beck's MFA friend, who published the book and made it a bestseller.
Joe not only frames Dr. Nicky for the murder of Guinevere Beck but for the murder of Benji and Peach.
Thoughts On Season I
Although fans of the show despise Beck, her character is fascinating. She is realistic and struggles like everyone else. When watching the season, I often found myself rooting for Joe, and it was not until I rewatched it that I considered all of the lives impacted by Joe’s selfishness.
Dr. Nicky’s framing pulled the season together, demonstrating Joe’s dedication and wit.
The show is meant to critique how much a man like Joe can get away with in today’s society. Even though his crimes have been revealed, having a good backstory is something that “redeems” his character in a sick and twisted way.
While watching, viewers should remember that Joe is an unreliable narrator who often twists events to go his way. Regardless of how pure his intentions are, he should never be trusted.
Season II
After successfully framing Dr. Nicky, Joe moves into a new apartment in Hollywood, Los Angeles, presenting himself as “Will Bettleheim.” Joe reveals he kidnapped the real Will Bettleheim (Robin Lord Taylor) and utilizes his identity. Despite this, Joe declares himself a changed man. He no longer seeks love and will not repeat the mistakes he made in New York City.
Love Quinn
Using his fake identity, Joe manages to secure an apartment and gets a job in the bookcafé of a trendy grocery store, Anavrin. There, he meets Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti), a woman who works in the kitchen of the grocery store. Joe feels himself falling into old habits and knows he’ll get obsessed with Love if he isn’t careful. Despite his efforts, Joe cannot help but occasionally stalk her.
Love is an aspiring chef in Los Angeles who works as a produce manager in a high-end grocery store (Anavrin). Love’s parents were absent throughout her childhood, meaning she had to take on a motherly role for her twin brother Forty Quinn (James Scully). Love and Forty’s parents established Anavrin when they were 12, and their relationships became increasingly codependent over time.
Later, Love went to a culinary school and began a relationship with James Kennedy (Daniel Durant), marrying him at a young age. Subsequently, it was revealed that Love’s husband passed away from cancer.
Love falls in love with Joe, and begins a relationship.
Forty Quinn
Joe meets his new bookstore manager, Forty Quinn, and immediately learns Love Quinn is his sister.
Forty was born into the rich and powerful Quinn family. Forty is introduced as both confident and charming and spoiled and arrogant. Forty is a drug addict in recovery and has had severe problems related to his addiction. Love has always been the one to take care of him and clean up after him, adding to the codependent relationship.
Forty is a very fragile person and cannot handle change. He often has emotional outbursts that Love has to tend to.
Candace Stone
However, Joe isn’t expecting Candace (Ambyr Childers) will return as a potential threat, ruining his chance of freedom. Candace returns under a new name, Amy Adams, instantly getting into a relationship with the very unstable Forty Quinn. Candace seeks revenge and attempts to show Joe's true colors and protect everybody that comes into contact with him, starting with Love Quinn.
In the second season, the audience learns what happened between Joe and Candace. Candace cheated on Joe with Elijah and told him she never loved him. Joe tries to restore their love by kidnapping Candace and driving her to a remote location.
He presents her with a picnic and tries to reason with her that they should continue their relationship. Candace tries to run away and fight back. Joe manages to stop her, slamming her head against a rock, knocking her unconscious. Believing he had killed her, he buried her in a shallow grave topped with flowers and left. She woke up, crawled out of the dirt, and headed to the police station to report the incident. Since she had no evidence for her claims, she was quickly dismissed. She then disappeared, fearing Joe would find out she was still alive. But now, Candace has returned and promised to make Joe’s life miserable.
Delilah Alves
He meets his next-door neighbors, Delilah (Carmela Zumbado) and Ellie (Jenna Ortega).
Delilah works as an investigative reporter and manages Joe’s apartment. Delilah takes care of her younger sister Ellie, who lives with her. Delilah moved to LA when she was underaged and partook in illegal activities.
Delilah met a famous comedian named Henderson and developed a friendship with him. Unfortunately, she was sexually assaulted by Henderson, but could not speak out, fearing that no one would believe her. She tries to keep her sister away from Henderson, and is determined to expose him through an article about her experience.
Ellie Alves
Delilah’s confession makes Joe want to protect Ellie and deter her from Henderson.
Ellie is a 15-year-old girl living in Joe’s apartment building. Her father died, and she had a troubled relationship with her mother, so she moved to the city with her older sister Delilah. She wants to pursue a career in filmmaking and begins an internship with Henderson.
This internship leads to friendship, despite her sister's insistence that she stay away from him. Ellie knows what Henderson did for her sister but thinks it will be different for her and sees him as an opportunity to break through in the field.
Ellie is invited to his house, and he drugs her drink, intending to sexually assault her as he has done with many other young girls. Joe stops this and accidentally kills Henderson, encouraging Delilah to publish her article.
Joe's Childhood Is Revealed
The audience learns Joe’s father was abusive to him and his mother in a flashback of Joe’s youth. His mother frequently cheated on his father, often leaving Joe alone to do so. His father would physically, verbally, and mentally abuse Joe.
At times, his mother would take Joe and leave his father, usually in the company of another man, but they would eventually come back. Joe’s mother often showed him a gun and told him she would kill his father to escape. Instead, Joe later used the gun to shoot and kill his father, protecting his mother from his father's beating.
Shortly after, Joe’s mother gave him to social services, putting him in a group home. In the group home, he was viciously bullied and bonded with a nurse who endured the same abusive relationship his mother tolerated. Joe felt the need to protect the nurse and blamed himself when she stopped coming to work.
Joe tracked down his mother and went to find her. It is revealed that she is now raising her new son, and his mother tells him she needs to start over.
Love Isn't Who She Seems
Delilah begins suspecting Joe after Henderson’s sudden and mysterious death. Delilah begins following him and investigating his every move. Delilah discovered Joe’s storage unit and was met by Love.
She believes Delilah threatens her and Joe’s relationship and will reveal his secrets. Love slashes Delilah’s throat and leaves her in the storage unit for Joe to find.
Candace enters the storage unit after Joe discovers the body. Candace finds Joe hovering over Delilah’s body in the glass cage. Candace takes this as an opportunity to prove to Love how much of a monster Joe is by locking him in the infamous glass cage.
She tells Love to go to the storage unit and to see it for herself. Love knows she was the one that murdered Delilah but fakes the shock. She runs out of the storage room, and Candace tries to calm her down. Love kills Candace, slashing her throat and leaving her to bleed out in the storage facility hallway. She rushes back into the storage unit and confesses everything she has done.
She admits Delilah isn’t the first person she has killed. She murdered Forty’s childhood au pair (a helper from a foreign country) because she was sexually assaulting her teenage brother. Her parents' wealth and power helped sway the police into making it seem like a suicide.
Love says she murdered both Delilah and Candace to protect Joe because she loves him. Joe is frustrated by the news and tries to murder Love. However, Love announced she was pregnant with his child, causing Joe to spare her.
The two decide to move away from LA, but Forty tries to convince Love that Joe is a serial killer and can’t be trusted. Forty points a gun at Joe. But before he can pull the trigger, Forty is fatally shot by Officer Fincher, who shoots him instead.
New Beginnings
Joe tells Ellie the Quinn family was responsible for Delilah’s murder and advises her to leave. With some reluctance, Ellie takes money from Joe and promises to move to a different state and start a new life.
Joe and Love head to the suburbs to start their new family and welcome their baby. Joe, however, is not excited about starting a new family after discovering what Love is truly capable of.
Thoughts on Season II
Introducing Love as a new character helped reveal so much about Joe. When Love admitted she had also killed people, Joe was disgusted even though it reflected his behavior. Towards the end of the season, Joe did not want to be around Love and felt trapped in the relationship. The uncomfortable feeling of deception he was experiencing was similar to what his victims felt.
For once, Joe is no longer dating a “good girl” that believes in him wholeheartedly. He has now found someone that is his equal and isn’t afraid to do bad things.
Love being the same person Joe is refreshing since it allows the audience to see Joe in a different light.
Season III
The season starts as a direct continuation of Season 2. Joe and Love Goldberg are now married and are raising their son, Henry, in the Californian suburb of Madre Linda. Love owns a bakery called "A Fresh Tart," and Joe works as a Librarian at the Madre Linda Library.
Season 3 differs from previous seasons since Joe and Love take on a game of cat and mouse with the husband and wife duo trying to outwit each other. As mentioned previously, Joe stops obsessing over Love because she strays too far from what he wants and, at the same time, hits too close to home. Instead, Joe grows infatuated with two women. Natalie (Michaela McManus) and Marienne (Tati Gabrielle).
The Englers
Consisting of Matthew Engler, Natalie Engler, and Theo Engler, the family is Joe’s next-door neighbor and the subject of his growing fascination.
Natalie Engler is married to a rich and powerful man. Natalie is a successful real estate agent that leased Love’s bakery. Although she likes her comfortable lifestyle, she sees through Madre Lindas’ superficiality. She confides in Joe that her husband is rarely home and admits she leads a secret life.
Matthew Engler (Scott Speedman) is a successful CEO, husband, and uncommunicative father. Matthew tends to be withdrawn, reserved, and mysterious, often masking his emotions.
Theo Engler (Dylan Arnold) is a college student with a strained relationship with his stepfather. Theo tends to get tangled up in his loved one’s problems and drowns in his reckless behavior. He is wise and perceptive but troubled.
Love notices Joe’s infatuation with Natalie and lures the real estate agent into the basement of the bakery she's bought and murders her.
Matthew Engler reports his wife is missing and doesn't take her disappearance too kindly, doing everything he can to find her.
Since Love was the last person Natalie interacted with through the leasing of the bakery, Joe is furious. Love simply ignores his anger and tells him to take care of disposing of the body.
Joe proceeds to bury Natalie in the woods.
Love Strikes Again
Love’s second victim is Gil Brigham (Mackenzie Astin). Gil was a geology professor Love met at her bakery. While ringing him up, he apologizes for getting Henry (Love and Joe’s son) sick with measles.
He then explains that he does not believe in vaccines and that his kids are also ill. Love has been worrying about her son’s critical condition in the hospital and is furious.
For this reason, Love knocks him unconscious and locks him in the glass cage in the bakery’s basement.
Love confesses everything to Joe. He is upset but tries to fix it by going to the basement and making him promise not to say anything. Gil admits that his son assaulted a girl at his university.
However, Gil has enough money to silence the girl from mentioning the event. After confessing this, Gil takes his own life.
At first, the couple panicked until Love fabricated a story to disguise both the murders of Natalie and Gil. Gil’s body was left in his home, along with a note which said Natalie and Gil were having an affair, but Natalie left him. Gill panicked and killed Natalie, then killed himself.
The news of a murder-suicide shocked the neighborhood, but Matthew was still skeptical.
The Goldbergs believe they are free, but Matthew begins to feel as if something is off about his neighbors and uses extreme surveillance to try and figure out what happened to Natalie. Using the cameras around the neighborhood, Matthew finds out that Joe and Love may have some connection to Natalie’s death.
Marienne Bellamy
With Natalie gone, Joe finds himself drawn to Marienne.
Marienne is a librarian at Madre Linda Library and is Joe’s manager. She calls out privilege and entitlement in the community because she came from humble beginnings. She can relate to Joe because she was also in foster care and has tried to create a better life for herself and her young child.
This shared experience initiates a friendship between the two. As a recovering drug addict, Marienne has been charged with child neglect and endangerment. She reveals to Joe that she and her ex, Ryan Goodwin (Scott Michael Foster), were addicts when her child (Juliette) was a baby. Her ex got clean before she did, so he gained custody of Juliette. Marienne also mentions her ex is rich and powerful, and his connections make it impossible for her to gain guardianship.
To pursue his relationship with Marienne, Joe concludes that he has to take desperate measures and kill Ryan. Joe does this so Marienne can have full custody of Juliette and clear the way for a future together.
Love believes Matthew suspects her and notices Joe has been distant. These two factors largely contributed to Love starting a romance with Theo (Matthew's stepson). As a result of Love's relationship with Theo, she can obtain information about Matthew's investigation. Love explains her plan to Joe, and he is relieved because he can spend less time with Love and focus on Marienne.
The Conrads
To not seem suspicious, the Goldbergs begin a friendship with the Conrads.
Consisting of Sherry and Cary Conrad, the family is locally famous for showcasing their active life and good parenting online.
Sherry Conrad (Shalita Grant) is a locally recognized “Momfluencer” who puts on an act for her social media followers. Sherry pretends to welcome Love into the community but feels threatened by her because of her deep insecurities.
Cary Conrad (Travis Van Winkle) is a self-proclaimed "Master of Self-Optimization" who runs his supplement company.
The Conrads are invited to the Goldberg’s home when they overhear the Goldbergs having a heated argument in which they confess to Natalie’s murder. The Conrads try to run away but are locked in the glass cage.
Theo discovers the couple locked in the cage and gets thrown down the stairs by Love.
The End…For Now
Joe is tired of Love’s vengeful behavior and has found his “true” love, Marienne. For these reasons, Joe suggests they should get a divorce. After hearing this, Love decides to poison Joe to stop this idea from taking hold. Love ends Joe’s romance with Marienne by telling her he killed Ryan.
Joe injects Love with the same drug she intended to use on him, paralyzing her.
Leaving Henry with his colleague Dante, Joe constructs an elaborate crime scene in which Love's death appears to have been a murder-suicide. To simulate an altercation between the couple, he cuts off his toes and sets fire to the house, making it appear Love killed Joe and then took her own life.
Joe decides to make things right by bringing Theo to the hospital and releasing Sherry and Carry. Matthew and Theo rebuild their relationship, and Matthew ends the pursuit. Sherry and Carry are released from their confinement and gain fame from the press coverage of their experiences.
Dante gained custody of Henry.
Thoughts On Season III
Both Joe and Love are bad people and constantly try to excuse their behavior because they had “good intentions.” What surprised me the most was Joe’s hypocrisy when he found out Love’s behavior matches his. This is also the first season he is actively chasing more than one woman and his psychopathic behavior is shown clearly.
Season IV
Joe successfully escapes Madre Linda, and everyone presumes he is dead. Joe begins the season by looking for Marienne. He first visits Paris and finds a piece of art she made.
After digging, Joe learns that Marienne has traveled to London to attend an art exhibition. Joe proceeds to follow and find Marienne.
Marienne knows who Joe truly is and runs away from him. To prove he isn’t the bad person Marienne thinks he is, Joe decides to let Marienne go home.
Seemingly, things return to normal for Joe, and he adopts a new alias, “Jonathan Moore.” Joe becomes an American Literature professor at Darcy College and rents an apartment near campus.
Joe meets his coworker Malcolm (Stephen Hagan) and finds out he lives with his girlfriend Kate (Charlotte Ritchie).
Kate Galvin
Joe immediately becomes infatuated with Kate but shuts down all thoughts about her because he is now a self-proclaimed “changed man.”
Kate is protective over her friends but tends to shut everyone else down. For this reason, Kate first comes across as mean and does not trust Joe. Throughout the season, we learn that Kate was born into a wealthy family. Her mother, Greta, was an unstable model who ended up in the hospital after a breakdown.
Kate’s father, Tom Lockwood (Greg Kinnear), is a powerful corporate raider that strips businesses for parts, destroying workers' lives for shareholder's profits. Kate opened up about her father paying to have well-water toxicity reports falsified, resulting in several children getting cancer. She cut off contact with both of her parents, although her father tries to force himself into her life in various ways.
Despite her initial coldness, Joe becomes friends with Kate and gets invited to join London’s social elite inner circle.
Rhys Montrose
Joe meets Rhys Montrose (Ed Speleers) during an exclusive party and begins a friendship with him. Rhys is the only person in the friend group Joe likes.
Rhys initially bonds with Joe because they both had difficult childhoods and felt out of place within the elite social circle. Rhys wrote a well-received autobiography after finding out he was the son of a duke and rose to success. Rhys tells Joe he is running for London Mayoral candidate.
Joe managed to make it home and fell asleep. The following morning, Joe wakes up hungover and sees Malcolm dead on his table. Joe automatically assumes he is responsible and disposes of the body.
Joe receives an anonymous text congratulating him on disposing of the body. When Joe realizes he was framed, the season becomes a murder mystery as he tries to figure out who falsely accused him.
Murder Mystery
Throughout the season, Joe tries to hide his psychotic behaviors and claims he has changed. Joe promises not to stalk or become infatuated with another woman ever again.
Joe begins suspecting everyone and eventually asks his bright student Nadia Farran (Amy-Leigh Hickman) for help. He explains to her he needs help “writing a murder mystery.” Nadia advises him to make the detective lean into his abilities and not hold back. Joe takes this as a sign and proceeds to stalk each socialite and discovers they all have some motive to kill Malcolm.
Leaning into his abilities allowed Joe to discover that Simon (Aidan Cheng) stole artwork from other artists who worked for him and gave them no credit. Malcolm knew this and wanted to expose Simon. This encouraged Joe to include Simon in the list of top suspects.
However, Simon was murdered after his art exhibition. Therefore, he could not be the killer.
The media got hold of these two murders and named the person responsible the “Eat the Rich killer.”
The group hides at Lady Phoebe’s (Tilly Keeper) country house for the weekend and she unironically hosts a murder mystery party.
During the event, a real murder occurs and Joe finds Kate standing over the body. At first, Joe thinks Kate is the Eat the Rich killer, but she explains she was framed. Joe offers to help Kate by hiding the body, but in the process, he is caught by Kate’s friend, Roald Walker-Burton (Ben Wiggins).
Throughout the weekend, Roald made it clear he hates Joe. Roald is in love with Kate and is jealous that Joe and Kate are falling for each other.
Roald then proclaims Joe as the Eat the Rich killer and sentences him to be hunted in the woods.
Real Murderer Revealed
Joe begins running and evades Roald for some time before he catches up with him. Right as Joe accepted he was going to die, he is saved by the real Eat the Rich killer; Rhys Montrose.
Rhys explains he hates all of his socialite friends and, since he is running for mayor, he can’t let their dirty secrets reflect poorly on him.
Rhys then locks Joe and Roald in a cellar and instructs Joe to kill Roald. By doing this, Rhys hopes to frame Roald for all the murders. Rhys leaves and Joe decides to free Roald instead.
Rhys comes back to both of them trying to escape and is furious. He lights the cellar on fire and tells Joe that if he can manage to escape, he will discuss the framing carefully with him. If he doesn't escape, Joe will be framed.
Panicked, Joe and Roald work together and manage to escape. As promised, Rhys later breaks into Joe’s apartment and explains he wants him to frame someone or he will be framed for all the murders.
Joe hates to be working with the enemy but can’t be charged for something he didn’t do, so he complies.
Joe is invited to a party and he takes this as an opportunity to find someone to frame. Conveniently, Lady Pheobe is abducted by her stalker and Joe plants some evidence which makes her go down as the Eat the Rich killer.
Rhys is satisfied by this and congratulates Joe. However, he explains their work together isn’t done. Rhys plans to continue murdering people and wants Joe to help him. Joe knows the only way to stop this is to kill Rhys but he needs some help.
Joe notices he hasn’t been focusing on Kate and tries to work on his relationship with her. Kate confides that she has to meet her father for lunch but doesn't want to go alone. Joe suggests going with her and Kate agrees.
Joe finally meets Kate’s father, Tom Lockwood, and he reveals he knows Joe’s real identity.
To make things worse, Joe receives a text from Rhys saying he has taken Marienne hostage and the only way to get her back is to kill his political opponent, Tom Lockwood (Kate's father).
Joe takes Tom to a secluded area where he reveals he knows Joe is trying to kill him to comply with Rhys. He then tells Joe that he can help him take down Rhys. Tom tells Joe that Rhys is hiding at his ex-wife's house after being accused of fraud.
Throughout the conversation, Tom explains that Rhys is alone and defenseless. Joe realizes Tom is telling him this information because he wants him to kill Rhys.
Joe goes to Rhy’s hiding spot and interrogates him to find out where Marienne is. Rhys continues to say he has no idea who Marienne is, which makes Joe furious, leading to him killing Rhys.
Plot Twist
Rhys steps out of the shadows and Joe thinks he is going insane because he just killed him. Rhys then explains that he was in his head and Joe has been stalking the real Rhys Montrose the entire season. Joe’s mind has created an alternative personality, Rhys, that kills people.
Joe realizes he is the real Eat the Rich killer and he is the one that has Marienne locked up in a cage.
Now, Joe is on a mission to find out where Marienne is locked up.
At the same time, Joe’s student Nadia begins to suspect Joe and breaks into his apartment to look for clues. She soon finds a key and makes a copy of it. Her boyfriend’s father is a powerful journalist and leader in an investigation into Joe.
Nadia’s boyfriend proceeds to send her pictures of Joe carrying the same bag for weeks from the same Indian restaurant. Nadia takes the copy she made of the key and finds the restaurant. She begins to look closely throughout the area and finds a door her key works on.
Nadia goes down and finds Marienne in a cage. Marienne explains that Joe has put her there and asks for food. Nadia complies and promises she will get her out but she needs some time.
Joe finds the cage and apologizes to Marienne for keeping her locked up. Joe promises to get her out and flee.
Nadia came back the following day and gave Marienne beta blockers which would slow her heart rate and make her appear dead. Joe finds Marienne has overdosed on pills and thinks his Rhys persona must have given them to her.
Joe leaves Marienne’s body on a bench in a park and continues with his life.
Joe continues seeing Kate and acts as if nothing has happened. Kate confesses she is being controlled by her dad and wants to escape from him. Joe decides to team up with “Rhys” and kill Kate's evil father.
A Sign
Joe has a dream with Beck and Love, which helps him see he is the real problem and the only way to stop it is by ending himself. Joe finally accepts he has a dark side and chooses to end it by jumping off of a bridge into a river.
His plan didn't work because Joe woke up in the hospital being confronted by Kate. Joe confesses to everything he has done and Kate accepts him for who he is and tells him they can grow together.
Despite his fairytale ending, there is one more loose end Joe needs to take care of; Nadia. After helping Marienne fake her death and make it back to France, Nadia feels confident she can take Joe down. Nadia breaks into Joe’s apartment and begins taking pictures of everything to show the police.
Nadia finds the evidence she needs to take Joe down, but Joe is one step ahead and kills her boyfriend, framing Nadia for it. He tells Nadia the police are on their way and recommends she doesn't mention the other murders because no one will believe her.
Nadia is imprisoned and does not expose Joe.
The End?
In the last episode, Joe is seen starting fresh with his billionaire girlfriend, Kate. Using Kate’s influence, Joe can undo his fake death from Season 3 and come out with his real name. Joe accepts his dark side once again and believes he can control it with Kate by his side.
Joe is living his dream and has completely gotten away with all of his crimes.
Thoughts On Season IV
I personally really enjoyed this season. Although I do agree that the first part was a bit boring, the second part truly pulled everything together. The way the writers made us see how much of a bad person Joe is was beautiful.
Throughout the show, Joe is an unreliable narrator and makes his sick behavior seem okay. The addition of Rhys Montrose as Joe’s alternate personality made the audience see the real Joe. I also really enjoyed Marienne’s character because she was the first woman in Joe’s life that defied him from the beginning and did not want to be around him. Marienne was the first female love interest that set boundaries from the beginning to protect her child. Marienne is such a strong and independent character that did not tolerate Joe’s behavior after learning who he truly is.
Although I understand the purpose of Kate’s character, I don’t like her very much. She continues to enable Joe’s psychotic behavior even though she knows everything he has done. Kate continues to provide Joe with resources to get away with murdering people.
The ending was so brutal because the audience now knows how sick and twisted Joe truly is, yet he keeps getting away with all of his crimes. Joe now has money and influence, which provides him with a safe space to murder as many people as he wants.
The ending was also hypocritical on Joe’s part, because the entire season he commented on how he hated privileged people. But now that he is exactly like the rich people he previously hated, he loves his lifestyle.
This season really encouraged me to see Joe in a different light and everything was brought together flawlessly.
The show is meant to criticise people like Joe and showcase how much they can get away with in our society. "You" tackles some serious topics flawlessly and ties everything back in the end. Every character is beautifully crafted and serves a purpose in the story.
What was your favorite "You" season?
