Kate isn’t the only person who catches Joe’s fancy this season though; it only took him four years, but Joe finally makes one (1) age-appropriate male friend. Joe meets Rhys (Ed Speleers) through Malcolm’s society snobs, but unlike the rest of Malcolm’s circle — with the exception of Kate — Rhys knows what growing up in shit circumstances is like. Partly because Joe admires Rhys’s breakout memoir of a poor council boy who made it big, and partly because Rhys is the only normal person in London he’s met, Joe opens up in a way he usually reserves for voiceover and the women he’s stalking. To be clear, this is a nonsexual connection (sorry to the queers, I look forward to the fanfic), but there’s an interesting mirror between Joe’s relationship with Rhys and his relationship with Kate. The way Joe navigates the lies he has to tell as Jonathan Moore alongside the truths he wants to tell as Joe Goldberg to two very different people he wants to win approval from is fascinating. Without delving into spoilers, these two relationships allow Joe to torture himself with his own delusions of goodness in a multitude of comical new ways.
The absolute best change of the season, however, is when You fully embraces a genre shift by diving headfirst into murder mystery tropes. All of Joe’s previous indiscretions (bodies) start to catch up to him when he’s targeted by the hottest new serial killer on the block, the Eat the Rich Killer. Someone in London, someone he probably knows, has figured out his name isn’t Jonathan Moore, and Joe quickly goes from allegedly reformed hunter to hunted. The pure comedy of Joe’s inability to figure out an Agatha Christie plot and getting schooled by one of his students, Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman), cannot be understated. He’s absolutely shit at putting together basic clues. But what this slight genre shift gives the show is more than just a comedic springboard; like all great mysteries, Season 4’s pace feels amped up to 11. Everyone is a suspect. Each episode of Part 1 burns through believable red herrings, challenging viewers to not just keep up, but stay ahead of a serial killer who seems significantly more competent than Joe at this whole murder thing. And regardless of where you end up placing your bets, it’s just straight-up satisfying to see Joe bested repeatedly, a loving reminder the noose is always tightening.
The genius of You has always been knowing when and how to subvert genre to make it exponentially more compelling. In that sense, the first half of Season 4 is firing on all cylinders. But the breakneck speed of this season — on an already marathonable show — does warrant some unease: This season feels like You is racing toward the emotional climax of Joe’s story. Between Kate’s painful honesty, fostering a friendship with Rhys, and Eat the Rich forcing Joe to confront his past, it seems inevitable that Joe’s delusions of goodness will shatter. After all, who Joe Goldberg will be when the lies he tells himself dissipate is the only major question left for You to answer. Well, other than the obvious one of how he’ll be punished for all the lives he’s destroyed. But knowing the You writers, it’ll be prolonged, comically painful, and hopefully the entirety of Season 5. ●
Krutika Mallikarjuna is an entertainment journalist with a deep love of pop culture and a healthy fear of horses. Catch her bylines at BuzzFeed, Teen Vogue, TV Guide, and more.