The following story contains spoilers for You Season 4, Part 1.
The first half of Season 4 of You—the show that began as a little-seen Lifetime original only to be saved by Netflix and turned into a juicy, funny, self-aware Dexter meets Fatal Attraction style thriller—is now available to stream. Is there a better sentence in the english language? And while it may seem like Netflix is leaving you hanging when you get to the end of Episode 5, don’t be alarmed; the streaming giant is just deploying a release schedule that has been used more and more often for its biggest hit shows.
Netflix has, essentially, found itself somewhere between a rock and a hard place. In 2023, the shows that are talked about most, for the longest period of time, are the shows that release on a weekly schedule and have a buzz that either starts loud and gets louder—like HBO’s House of the Dragon, The White Lotus, or The Last of Us—or slowly builds an utterly devoted fanbase over the course of several weeks, like Showtime’s Yellowjackets. Netflix, however, has made its name on the binge model. Remember the first time you heard that House of Cards or Orange is the New Black were dropping all their episodes at the same time? It was revolutionary. And for better or for worse, it’s Netflix’s thing.
Which is why it has figured out a way—in theory, at least—to have its cake and eat it too. In recent years, shows like Ozark, Stranger Things, and Money Heist have still been released using the typical Netflix binge model, with several episodes released at once, but managing to keep the show relevant and talked-about for a longer period of time by splitting the season’s release into two parts. You, for its Season 4, is following this same model.
So, don’t be alarmed when you get to that big cliffhanger. More is on the way. And if you keep reading, you can learn all about it.
Will there be more episodes of You?
There will be! Now that the first five episodes of Season 4 have been released, the countdown begins for Season 4, Part 2, which will include the final five episodes of the season.
When will You return with Season 4, Part 2?
Season 4, Part 2 will be available to stream on March 9. And believe me, we are eagerly awaiting that day as much as you are.
What will Season 4, Part 2 of You be about?
You pretty clearly sets up Part 2 of Season 4 with the ending of Part 1. Joe now knows who the killer who’s been texting/taunting him is: Rhys Montrose (Ed Speleers), the writer whose memoir has captivated London to the point where he’s now announced his intent to run for mayor.
Rhys revealed himself as the ‘Eat the Rich’ killer to Joe, and left Joe (and that douchebag Roald) to die in a fire—or find their own way out. Joe did make it out, and now has one thing on his mind: stopping Rhys before any of this goes any further. Rhys did frame him for Malcolm’s death in the first place, before killing several others in his new social circle (even if the several murdered were largely awful people), so we’re ready to see Joe face off with his biggest, and most psychopathic, test since his late wife, Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti).
Speaking of love interests, there is a whole thread there that You will also probably continue down. Throughout the season, Joe grew closer and closer to Kate Galvin (Charlotte Richie), Malcolm’s cold-as-ice girlfriend; the two really actually seemed to get along. Despite initially showing signs of dislike toward Joe, Kate eventually opened up as the two began a romantic fling—she even told Joe about her extremely rich and extremely powerful father. Joe, in turn, without getting into specifics, told her about his violent, identity-changing past.
After the whole situation in Episode 5 at the countryside, Kate essentially invited Joe (she still calls him Jonathan) into a romantic relationship, which would’ve started with a pint at the nearby pub. Joe declined, unwilling to put Kate in danger, which from his vantage point seemed like an inevitability with the life he lives. Surely, this story will continue in Part 2.
Part 1 also only saw a single brief appearance from Marienne (Tati Gabrielle), but considering she was the reason Joe came to Europe in the first place, we have to assume we’ll be seeing her again soon.
Who will be in the You Season 4, Part 2 cast?
Let’s start off with a couple certainties: Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg. Duh. We can also be certain that Ed Speelers will return, once again playing the (now revealed as maniacal) Rhys Montrose. Joe is still working as a professor, so we will probably see Amy-Leigh Hickman as Nadia, his wiser-than-her-years literature student, once again as well.
We fully expect to see the rest of Joe’s new social gang—including Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), Adam (Lukas Gage), and Lady Phoebe (Tilly Keeper)—back again. This story seems to have somewhat wrapped up, so while we expect to see these three again, we wouldn’t be shocked to see less of the rest of the (surviving members of the) gang. Adam James as Elliott, the fixer for the Quinn family, will probably show up again as well.
The biggest difference in the cast for Part 1 and Part 2 will likely be the presence of Tati Gabrielle, who plays Marienne. She barely appeared in Part 1, and the story was built well to sustain that; but it’s likely that Gabrielle was occupied filming her other Netflix show, Kaleidoscope, and will be much more present in the second half of the season. Or maybe it’s just a wrap on Marienne at this point. Who’s to say! But that would be our guess.
Why was You Season 4 split into two parts?
As we mentioned above, the strategy behind Netflix splitting seasons of their more popular shows into two seems to be an attempt at keeping its shows a part of the ongoing cultural conversation for a longer period of time.
In an Instagram post, though, You showrunner Sera Gamble suggested that the split works in favor of the season, and even could encourage a bit of friendly competition. “Trust me, you’ll need the time to process” she wrote. “… and maybe place a few friendly bets about where it’s all going.”
Evan is the culture editor for Men’s Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE. He loves weird movies, watches too much TV, and listens to music more often than he doesn’t.
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