One cannot deny that whenever misery has struck You's Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), it has brought the most entertaining side out of the neighborhood bookseller-turned-murderer. From Peach Salinger (Shay Mitchell) to his wife Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti), there have been many instances when Joe has faced resistance in varying degrees. At the end of Season 3, Love Quinn came the closest to putting an end to Joe's lovestruck adventures, and although briefly, it was fun to see that Joe may not get out of the situation triumphant. So far in Season 4 of You, Joe hasn't been his usual self as he has been vehemently pushed out of the driving seat to live the fate of the one who is being hunted by an individual always one step ahead of him. For a voyeuristic character like Joe Goldberg who loves the feeling of having control over others, it's nothing less than a living hell when he finds that he has to play by the rules set by another equally twisted human.
Season 4 of 'You' Breaks the Trend
By the time Season 4 was ready to be welcomed by audiences, You had established a comfortable pattern for itself. A few of the trends still persist in the latest season as Joe Goldberg is exposed to a new setting and a weirder lot of people, and our "charming" protagonist is left to survive on his own. Moreover, the contradictions and complications in the life of those who end up, unfortunately, crossing paths with Joe assist him in camouflaging his own odious actions. Despite the many struggles and arduous situations that come in Joe's path, he ultimately manages to get out of the situation as the winner.
In Season 1, Joe removed Peach, Beck's best friend, from his path as she posed a perpetual threat to his heavenly match. Later, he is forced to settle his story with Beck as well when she uncovers the trail of Joe's past. In a similar fashion, Joe continues to act without restraints in Season 2 as his focus shifts to Love Quinn, a fiercely independent woman who later even matches Joe's level of insanity when it came to matters of the heart. Season 3's events follow Joe in a tumultuous marriage with Love as Marienne Bellamy, played by Tati Gabrielle, becomes the latest target of Joe's fascination and heroine in Joe's self-professed fairytale of a love story.
No matter what situation that fate and personal choices have brought in front of Joe, he has escaped the tragedy without a dent. Even at the end of Season 3, Joe Goldberg was seen as an unfortunate husband who became a victim of his rich wife's cruelty. Between him and Love, he was the sympathy-arousing character in the eye of the world, thanks to the story Joe managed to create. But as was the trend in the previous seasons, he was robbed of what he desired the most — the company of Marienne as she was already exposed to Joe's schemes, thanks to Love.
Joe Goldberg Has Met His Match In Rhys Montrose in 'You' Season 4
Season 4 of You has so far run on a different course when compared to this set formula. By keeping the identity of the one who's chasing Joe a secret, You has also kept the opportunity of any kind of comeback far from Joe's reach. For the first time in all the seasons so far, Joe is not only amidst trouble but also clueless regarding the cause of it. He can only wait and observe until a clue that will help him find the real killer falls in his lap. Eventually, it is revealed that Rhys (Ed Speelers), is the "Eat-the-Rich Killer" behind everything, being forced to make an appearance to rescue Joe from the situation that was quickly getting out of Joe's hands.
While the peak adversity Joe faced prior to this was through Love, who would kill to keep what was hers just like Joe, Rhys in Season 4 matches Joe's level of deception. Moreover, as Roald (Ben Wiggins) put it in Episode 5 "The Fox and the Hound," the circumstances of Joe's arrival and the onset of the killings eerily suggest he had some involvement in the deaths. In essence, Rhys had planned everything with such perfection that he was able to keep himself out of Joe's observant vision while building the foundation of his political career. At the end of the mid-season finale, it turns out that Joe was merely a puppet to Rhys' master plan, and Joe would need to come back with a stronger attack strategy if he aims to take down Rhys. When Joe is finally trying to redeem himself, he is pushed into a fight that he cannot get out of without getting his hands dirty.
It's all the more interesting because Joe Goldberg will have to reinvent himself to get out of the peculiar mess luck has gotten him into. The struggle ahead for Joe is no longer one that involves his heart as was the case in the previous seasons. Joe has met an adversary who will not blink an eye when mercilessly removing him from his path. Not to forget that Rhys knows everything about Joe whereas Joe has only started placing the pieces of the puzzle together. By putting Joe in the position of the one being hunted, You has placed Joe in a precarious position as Joe's one wrong move will bring his entire history crashing at him. However, for a man who has cultivated the habit of having things his way, Joe being held hostage by Rhys is the sure-fire way to ensure that more chaos awaits London in Part II of You Season 4.
You Season 4 Part 1 is currently on Netflix. Part 2 will drop on the streaming platform on March 9.