“You” - Season 4, Part 2 Review
All “You” fans want is a protagonist they can root for and just as Joe Goldberg begins to seem like a good guy, he returns to his chaotic and unexpected murderous behavior.
Part one of season four ended with Joe being forced to commit murders and trying to protect his love interest Kate, who actually might be as evil as Joe. For once, he wasn’t murdering just because he wanted to, but because he had to.
Finally, fans could support Penn Badgley’s character without feeling weird about being a pro murderer.
This part of the season begins in full force with Joe meeting Kate’s dad who knows who Joe really is. Her father Tom Lockwood, played by Greg Kinnear, is a very rich businessman who is not afraid to use his money to get what he wants.
Tom becomes more influential as the season moves on.
In the first part of the season it is clear that Rhys Montrose is the one blackmailing Joe. Upon Tom revealing he knows the truth about Joe, he also requests that he kill Rhys.
After serious contemplation, and Rhys revealing to Joe that he has kidnapped Marienne, he decides he must kill Rhys.
This scene is the most gruesome of the season. Joe uses some interesting torture tactics to find out where Marienne is, but ends up killing Rhys before he can uncover where she is.
After this murder things take the most unexpected turn of the whole series, and it is revealed who truly has been committing these murders and forcing Joe to be a bad guy again.
The end of this season prompts a conversation about mental health. In the second episode of this part a woman named Dawn kidnaps Phoebe and is convinced they are best friends even though they have never met before.
Joe is forced by Rhys to frame all the previous murders on someone. He decides to blame Dawn, which is easy because she is an erotomaniac.
Being obsessed with celebrities you have never actually met is a theme throughout the rest of the season and becomes very relevant in the last two episodes.
Nadia, and underappreciated character this season, also becomes very relevant towards the end of this season.
The finale of this season is absolutely shocking. The story is wrapped up very neatly, and of course Joe takes care of all the loose threads.
The best moment in this season is in the final ten minutes of the last episode while a lot of plot is unfolding and being explained, Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” is playing in the background.
Honestly this is hilarious because Joe Goldberg is the epitome of an anti-hero. He literally is the problem.
Along with that Badgley made a TikTok to the song soon after its release last fall, making this moment in the series even more intentional and funny.
All in all this season is done really well, and sets up the story to either end now or be followed by a season five. Netflix has not confirmed a new season yet.
The vibes of this series have continued to be creepy and have stayed true to the themes in the first season. While the story has progressed dramatically and Joe has had many name changes he is still the same Joe Goldberg that he was in the first episode.
This aspect is what has kept this series so good and allows for fans to be excited for what may come in the future.
Savannah Swartz is a second-year communications major. To contact her, email sms9072@psu.edu.
