By: Nadia Liu

Public Relations Manager

A month after the Feb. 9 premiere of part one of You Season 4, part two of the enthralling show is now out on Netflix. Based on the namesake book series by Caroline Kepnes, screenwriters Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble successfully brought the twisted psychological thriller to life with their adaptation. The newly released episodes also feature Penn Badgley’s directorial debut in Episode 9, She’s Not There. 

Part one of the new season followed Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), who now goes by the alias Jonathan Moore, as he once again gets caught up in a web of love, murder, honesty, and deceit. After running away to London to escape his murderous past, Joe becomes a university professor and looks forward to the promise of a new and honest life. However, when he accidentally ends up befriending the pretentious social elite, members of his new circle of friends start turning up dead. Reversing the roles of previous seasons, an anonymous texter responsible for the murders begins to stalk Joe while he attempts to stay clear of love and investigate the deaths. 

            Part two unravels the massive plot twist revealed in part one and illustrates Joe’s attempts to clean up his messes — having to deal with his anonymous stalker, the death of his friends, and his own shady past — while trying to be a better man. The newly released episodes also dig deeper into the complex relationship between Joe and cynical art gallerist Kate Galvin (Charlotte Ritchie) and reveal more about her mysterious and troubled past. Part two further follows Nadia, a university student who grows suspicious of Joe and begins to investigate. As Joe’s life becomes infinitely more complex, part two reveals more plot twists and introduces additional characters, resulting in an ending that’s satisfying, but leaves room for another season.  

         The new episodes are full of complicated twists and turns, always keeping viewers on their toes. The plot line between Kate and Joe brings back some of the classic romantic energy from previous seasons. Joe demonstrates a genuine desire to improve with his pleading monologues and self-control, and remains as charismatic and charming as he was previously. However, episodes from the perspectives of other characters illustrate the dark and disturbing side of the stalker. 

         Part one of the season dominated the Netflix Top 10, landing in the Top 10 of 90 countries and attracting 92.07 million hours viewed within its first week out. Part two of the season easily made No. 1 on its first day released and will likely remain there. Leila Latif reviewed part two for The Guardian: “While the first half of season four vacillated between bad, good and so-bad-it’s-good with aplomb, the second broadens the spectrum from astonishingly terrible to utterly brilliant.”

(Sources: The Guardian, IMDb)