Summary
- The finale of You season 4 sees Joe accepting his bloodthirsty nature and regaining his old identity, setting up the confirmed season 5.
- Joe attempts suicide due to guilt and hallucinations of his former victims, but is rescued and forms an alliance with Kate.
- Joe hallucinates Rhys, a manifestation of his murderous instincts, and kills Edward while framing Nadia, setting up potential threats in season 5.
The following article discusses scenes involving suicide.
Warning: This article contains major spoilers for You season 4.
The You season 4 ending provided a series of twists and turns for its entire cast of characters - as well as a few murders, to make sure the season had a fitting finale. You season 4, part 2 concluded with some major revelations for the show, and for Joe's arc throughout it. That said, the finale does put Joe back at square one in some ways, as he regains his old identity and begins to focus on his newest romantic target.
Joe spent almost the entirety of You season 4 fighting against himself. This is revealed to be quite literally the case when the show explained that Joe was, in fact, the Eat The Rich killer, and had hallucinated Rhys to compartmentalize his serial killer urges. Despite struggling with this heavily throughout the plot, the You season 4, part 2 finale sees Joe seemingly accept his bloodthirsty nature, partner up with Kate, and restore his old life as Joe Goldberg - all of which made the You season 4 ending a decidedly dramatic one that sets up the confirmed You season 5.
Why Joe Tried To Kill Himself In You Season 4
The You season 4 ending sees Joe — believing he has killed Marienne and cannot control his murderous impulses — attempt to kill himself at the end of part 2. This comes off the back of his guilt from the idea that Marienne's family will mistakenly believe she died having relapsed due to his misdeeds, but also appears to be partly due to him hallucinating some of his former victims. The sequence showing these women serves as a reminder to You's Joe Goldberg that he's taken a number of lives solely for his own gain, which briefly convinces him that the only way to end his killing spree is with his own death.
What Happens To Joe & Kate In The You Season 4 Ending
After Joe is rescued from his suicide attempt at the end of You season 4 part, 2, he and Kate discuss both of their histories. First, Joe confesses both his true identity and that he has killed before. Kate then reveals that Tom Lockwood's death has left her with a considerable inheritance, and a desire to use said inheritance to make the world a better place — which she believes she can only do with Joe's help, leading into You season 5.
After the pair agree to keep each other on the straight and narrow in the You season 4 ending, they use their new finances to spin a PR story and clear Joe's name. In a sense, this sets up Joe with the most awfully perfect ally he could conceivably have gotten in order to get away with his crimes. However, this move also sees him romantically involved with someone who not only seemingly intends to help Joe live a more moral life, but also could well ruin him if she turned against him, leaving the pair in a fascinating dynamic at You season 4, part 2 ending.
Why Joe Hallucinates Those Victims In You Season 4
Of all Joe's many victims, viewers may have been surprised to see Gemma as the first to appear when Joe began to hallucinate those he'd killed in You season 4, part 2. However, this does make a kind of sense, as at the end of You season 4 Joe hallucinates Gemma, Beck, and Love — seemingly both because he still feels guilt for their demises, but also because they're reflective of his thought process surrounding his serial killer ways. Joe's hopelessness after this hallucination sequence shows these three figures got to him in life, and so his subconscious allows them to continue to impact him after their deaths, too.
You's quotable Guinevere Beck was Joe's first on-screen stalking victim and the figure he has the most long-lasting complicated feelings around. For Love, her appearance is likely because she was in many ways most like him, and because she is the most recent romantic interest he had killed. While Gemma might not immediately look as though she fits this mold, the fact Joe didn't even register he had killed her until recently may explain why she was first on the list of hallucination cameos, as she represents his awareness that he is beginning to lose control at the end of You season 4.
Why Joe Hallucinates Rhys (& Why Joe's Rhys Wants Them To "Rejoin")
The reveal that Joe was hallucinating a version of Rhys with more murderous intent — and that he killed the actual Rhys for basically no reason as a result — was the biggest plot twist to come out of You season 4, part 2. However, it's one that also makes more sense than it might initially look. Joe showed clear admiration and respect for Rhys, considering the pair of them kindred spirits, so it was perhaps inevitable that he would manifest some imaginary perception of Rhys, in the same way he imagines the women he stalks think the same way he does.
Joe hallucinating Rhys also works into his fractured sense of self, with Rhys being another persona of his, much in the same way Jonathan Moore was — a means to convey a specific part of his persona. Only, Rhys was made to be a part of Joe's psyche that he actively hates himself for — his murderous and obsessive instincts — so him manifesting these traits in the form of another person allowed him to briefly shift blame onto someone else. This is why Joe's Rhys hallucination is so keen for the two to rejoin into one towards the You season 4, part 2 ending: to symbolically reignite Joe's killer desires and instincts, something to be further explored in You season 5.
How Marienne Managed To Trick Joe Into Thinking She Was Dead
Marienne appeared to have faced a tragic demise at the hands of Joe in You season 4, part 2. This was so convincing that even Joe was upset with her passing and his responsibility for it, laying Marienne on an isolated bench so that her body could be discovered, and her family would at least know her fate. However, the You season 4, part 2 finale revealed this to be a ruse, orchestrated between Marienne and Nadia in order to ensure Joe wouldn't keep tracking Marianne down after the You season 4 ending. How long until Joe discovers the ploy will most likely be a plot point of You season 5.
Marienne, aware of Joe's increasingly slipping hold on reality, had Nadia fake texts from her daughter cutting ties with her mother, and used those to fake her motivation for death by suicide. Instead, Marienne took just enough beta blockers to replicate the physical symptoms of death without her actually dying, so that Nadia could administer medicine to counteract the drugs' effects once Joe had removed her from his You cage. This was arguably the biggest risk of all, in part because Joe could've sought more violent methods to dispose of Marienne's body if he thought she was dead, but the pair seemingly relied on Joe's guilt to prevent this from happening.
Why Joe Sees Rhys In The Mirror In The You Season 4 Ending
Despite Joe throwing his hallucinatory Rhys off a bridge, the You season 4, part 2 ending sees Rhys appear in a mirror as a reflection of Joe during the season's final scenes. This may have surprised some viewers, as it seemed the bridge moment was made to get rid of the character by showing Joe accepting his bloodthirsty impulses as part of him before symbolically severing ties with them by "killing" Rhys. However, Rhys' reappearance as Joe's reflection instead shows he's reunited his murderous nature back into his psyche all over again for You season 5.
Why Joe Kills Edward (& Frames Nadia For His Death)
Nadia and Edward's subplot changes twofold through the You season 4 ending. At first, it seems this story is made to explain how Marienne escapes Joe's clutches without him chasing her back down all over again. Then, when the pair go to investigate further into Joe, it seems they're setting up for future You season 5 show plots, by having Joe put on the back foot by enemies who have real evidence of his crimes.
Instead, Joe kills Edward, threatens Nadia into silence, and frames her for Edward's death in one fell swoop. This moment confirms Joe is back up to his usual tricks — if not even more viciously than before — while also potentially establishing another figure who could be the one to take him down. Nadia has reason to stay quiet, but her strong sense of morality and willingness to put herself in danger's way to help others have already been shown and could pose a real threat to Joe going forward in You season 5.
How The Season 4 Ending Sets Up You Season 5
While the You season 4 ending is satisfying on its own terms, it works well to set up an exciting premise for You season 5, as well. Joe is more financially comfortable and free from capture than he has potentially ever been in the series, but he also has the most prospective people able to take him down. Both Nadia and Marianne know his true nature, and though neither are likely to come forward without a plan, the fact both know one another and that the other is aware of Joe's crimes sets up real potential for Joe to be taken down.
Similarly, while Kate knows Joe has killed and accepts him despite it in the You season 4 ending, Joe leaves out details that could make Kate think differently. The fact Joe killed Kate's father, his violent history with romantic interests, and his murderous instincts are lingering dormant, are all crucial details that Joe, while refusing to lie to Kate, strategically appears to leave out in his confession to her in part 2. As such, it seems You season 5 once again could see Joe attempting to escape detection from even the person he claims to be willing to bare his soul to in and do anything for.