You Season 4 Part 1 ending explained: Who is Joe’s stalker?

In You Season 4, Joe is now the one being stalked – but who is his stalker, and what’s their big plan? Let us explain.

Hello, You. After taking the world by storm since its 2018 release, You, the Netflix show that is based on the book series by Caroline Kepnes, has been getting bigger and bigger with every season.

Season 4 Part 1 has been flipping the script a bit, as can be seen in the trailers, as not only is Joe not the main killer this season, he also has a stalker of his own.

But are the two connected? And what is this stalker’s plan? Well, don’t worry, we’ll explain all, but first, spoiler warning for You Season 4!

Joe’s stalker and the “Eat The Rich Killer” explained

In Season 4 Part 1, Joe is now a professor of Literature, Professor Jonathan Moore to be exact. Working at a prestigious University in London, he finds himself once again being surrounded by “a circle of privileged douchebags.”

But then these characters start dropping like flies. And in a shocking twist, It’s not Joe who’s killing them.

Firstly, Joe’s neighbor and general douchebag Malcolm gets killed after he and Joe have a drunken night out, and Joe finds his body on his kitchen counter. Joe manages to dispose of the body, but is shaken, as he doesn’t think he was the one to kill him. And he’s right, because soon other members of Joe’s new friend group start getting killed.

You loves to comment on class, and since all the upper elite of London are being fridged, the killer becomes somewhat of an icon, called the “Eat The Rich Killer.” But despite his disdain for rich people, Joe feels a need to stop this murderer, as not only does he feel like he must protect his newest obsession, Kate, from becoming another victim, he also believes that this killer is trying to frame him.

Because someone is stalking Joe, and it seems pretty clear that it’s the killer. They often text him, constantly threaten to reveal his bloody past, and leave clues that make it look like Joe committed the murders.

Because of all this, the show becomes a murder mystery type deal, and a meta one at that. For example, first suspect Simon is the killer’s second victim, which is foreshadowed by Joe discussing murder mystery tropes with a student.

Speaking about this to Entertainment Tonight, star Penn Badgley said: “The tone is similar but it’s shifting in that there is a different format. We’re using a different format.”

He continued: “It’s almost like we’re shifting the genre slightly. And I think it works.”

More rich kids get axed, but how does this murder mystery culminate? Who is this new stalker?

Who is Joe’s stalker in You Season 4, and what’s their plan?

There’s plenty of suspects, but the Eat the Rich Killer – and Joe’s stalker – turns out to be Rhys Montrose, a distant member of Joe’s new friend group.

Joe first meets Rhys on his last night out with Malcolm, where we meet a bunch of new characters. Rhys is actually the only person Joe likes talking to, even if their time is brief, because Rhys actually seems like a decent person, a “good man in a cruel world.”

Despite being just as rich as everyone else in Joe’s vicinity, Rhys grew up in poverty, so he is able to view the world around him with more humility. He’s a big memoir and political writer, which is how Joe first comes across his name. And he’s even planning to run for Mayor of London, which granted does make the logistics of him being able to murder people undetected a little fuzzy, but it’s certainly interesting to watch.

Rhys reveals himself as the killer to Joe in Episode 5, after Joe is almost killed by a rich kid, Roald, who believes Joe to be the killer. Rhys then knocks Joe out and locks him in the dungeon of the manor they are all staying in.

Rhys stalked Joe because he believes they’re both on the same page, plagued by troubled childhoods and surrounded by people far too privileged for their own good. As described by Rhys, wealth inequality in the UK has become far too dire, and he understands “what the great people of this city need: Change brought on by someone who truly sees them. I plan to take matters into my own hands.”

Despite Joe stating that he doesn’t want to be a killer anymore, Rhys leaves him and Roald alive in a burning dungeon, after encouraging Joe to kill Roald and join him in his plight if he manages to escape the flames.

Season 4 Part 1 ends with Joe escaping, and being uncertain of what to do now that the Eat The Rich Killer is running for Mayor. We’ll have to see how things wrap up when Part 2 drops in March.

You Season 4 Part 1 is currently available to watch on Netflix.

You check out the rest of our You coverage here.