‘YOU’ Season 4 Episode 5 Ending Explained — Joe Vs. [Spoiler] In Part 2

If you thought Part 1 of YOU‘s fourth season was bonkers, you’re absolutely not prepared for what’s coming in Part 2.

The first five episodes of Season 4, now streaming on Netflix, conclude by unmasking Joe’s new buddy Rhys (Ed Speleers) as the so-called “Eat the Rich Killer.” Darker still, Rhys threatens to pin all of his murders on Joe if he doesn’t kill Kate’s obnoxiously smarmy friend Roald. Not only does Joe not kill Roald — as much as he and the audience want him to — but he vows to take Rhys down once and for all, a scheme made even more complicated by Rhys’ decision to run for Mayor of London.

“Now we’re in a different kind of movie, one where we know who the killer is, so it really becomes more about the relationship between Joe and the killer,” showrunner Sera Gamble tells TVLine. “I glibly refer to it as the serial killer buddy movie part of the season. We’ve never seen Joe have a conversation with someone who is — I don’t know if we can say he’s worse, but he’s just as bad. And I will say that Rhys doesn’t suffer the same level of regret and shame that Joe does. That, to us, is fascinating.”

Speleers seconds that notion, telling TVLine that Rhys’ darkness is one of the main reasons he went after this role. “Putting my ego aside, I wanted the chance to take on something that was this complex and dark,” he ays. “I’m fascinated by characters that are living in that sphere. It was a real honor to get the opportunity.”

As for the decision to split YOU‘s fourth season into two parts — Season 1 aired weekly on Lifetime, then shifted to all-at-once drops for Seasons 2 and 3 on Netflix — Gamble says the idea was pitched to her and the show’s other executive producers by the streamer.

“We were well into the season at that point, but Greg [Berlanti] and I started our careers in network TV, so we never really stopped seeing a season in terms of having a great midseason cliffhanger,” Gamble recalls. “So when Netflix said, ‘How would you feel about it?’ we were like, ‘Oh, it’s built for this.’ The whoduit is exactly five episodes long, and then the second half is a totally different story about killers. We were delivering a giant estate fire and revealing the killer at the end of Episode 5. Why wouldn’t you divide the season into two pieces?”

The remaining five episodes of YOU‘s fourth season (aka Part 2) drops March 9 on Netflix. Were you surprised by Rhys’ killer reveal? What are your hopes, fears and theories at the moment? Grade Part 1 in our poll below, then drop a comment with your thoughts.