Who is Joe’s stalker in You season 4? Now that the You season 4 release date is upon us, we can finally get answers to some of the mysteries posed in the trailer.
One of the biggest mysteries throughout You season 4 part 1 was the identity of Joe’s stalker, who not only seemed to have a penchant for chaos but also knew about the shady past of ‘Jonathan Moore’ and his past misdeeds with Beck, Love, and Candace.
Well, the final part of You season 4 is now available to watch and the Netflix series has pulled the rug out from under us and revealed who Joe’s tormentor really is — and the answer might come as a shock. Warning, there are spoilers ahead, for You ahead, but you knew that, didn’t you?
Who is Joe’s stalker in You?
Remember how we thought Rhy Montrose was Joe’s stalker? Well, actually Joe’s stalker is… Joe.
We found out in You season 4 part 1, that the person torturing Joe via text (and IRL) is Rhys Montrose. However, when Joe tortures and kills Rhys, his tormenter reappears alongside his dead body. Cue the reveal that the ‘Rhys’ Joe had been interacting with was in his head the whole time.
Flashbacks reveal that not only did he hallucinate his conversations with Rhys from Malcolm’s party onwards, but he also completely imagined his texts from him. It turns out Joe was obsessed with the real Rhys (creepy box and all), and after kidnapping Marienne and holding her in a glass box, he can’t reconcile the idea that he could be a bad person.
This leads to him banging his head so much on the glass his consciousness effectively splits in two. His ‘dark side’ then effectively begins to manifest itself as ‘Rhys Montrose,’ an alternate personality.
When this side of him takes over, Joe effectively blacks out can’t remember anything he’s done — including holding Marienne hostage and killing a bunch of people as the ‘Eat the Rich’ killer. By the end of the series, Joe seems to accept this ‘darker’ version of himself.
Find out what we made of this twist in our You season 4 part 2 review, or for a more in-depth account of what went down, check out our guide to the You season 4 part 1 ending explained — or work through our You season 3 recap in the first instance to get yourself caught up.
We also gathered a handy list of everyone who dies in You season 4 and answered burning questions like what happens to Joe’s son, what happened to Marienne, and how Love returns in You season 4. And if all that isn’t enough, you can also check out our guide explaining how you can watch You season 4 part 2.