How far will you go for Love? Actually, you won’t get to go very far for love. People are driven insane by obsessions, not by love. In the last three seasons of the Netflix drama “You,” we have seen how an obsession led two psychopaths to commit multiple murders in order to get what they wanted. Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) and his wife, Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti), fell in love without being aware of each other’s haunting past. They were both sociopaths who believed they could go to any length to win a person over, even if it meant getting rid of other people. In the first season of “You,” we saw Joe become obsessed with female writer Guinevere Beck and murder everybody who came in the way of his getting her. However, Joe’s horrifying past of killing people eventually drove him to murder Beck, his one and only infatuation.
After Beck, in season 2, he met his ideal match, Love Quinn, who deceived Joe similarly to how he deceived Beck. The end consequence was a forced marriage that Joe was compelled into only for the sake of his unborn kid in Love’s womb. Even in season 3, when the marriage became rusty, Joe and Love both developed different obsessions with different people. But heartbreak and fear of rejection led them to be violent once again. As much as Joe wanted to be released from his marriage with Love to be with his new love interest, Marienne (Tati Gabrielle), Love didn’t want that to happen. She consequently attempted to kill Joe, but Joe was able to repel her onslaught, killing her and setting their home on fire, making police believe that Love had murdered Joe. As he vanished from the city after leaving his child at a neighbor’s doorstep. Joe started again in life, but he made a promise to transform and seek out Marienne in Paris. In season 4, we’ll find out if Marienne can withstand Joe’s violent affection.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happened To Marienne?
The first episode begins with Joe quoting Emily Dickinson’s famous line, “The heart wants what it wants,” implying that while Joe had made a resolution to redeem himself, the obsession ingrained in his heart still remained. He seemed to be going in a new direction in season 4 of “You,” which would inevitably result in a lot of deaths. Joe Goldberg, who was dead in the eyes of the law in America, assumed the identity of Jonathan Moore and taught students at a university in London. He was a likable professor who had slyly figured out how to make an impression on the students. He received a book written by Rhys Montrose from a student one day during a literature class, which piqued his interest. He was still settling in as a professor in literary-rich London, but an annoying fellow professor, Malcolm, who was also his neighbor, wanted to befriend him. In Malcolm’s company, Joe or Jonathan was frustrated as usual, but he was adjusting. So, what happened to Marienne when Joe Goldberg was in London? Did he kill her too?
No, not yet. When Joe traveled to Paris to visit Marienne, he discovered her painting in a street art exhibition. The vendor informed Joe that the artist would be present at a London art event. That is why he traveled to London. But his purpose wasn’t served since Marienne fled for her life after spotting Joe at the fair. Despite being captured, Marienne begged Joe to set her free since she no longer wanted to be involved with a killer. Joe constantly kept denying that he was not, but Marienne didn’t believe him. Seeing Joe alive in London, she was fairly certain that he had killed Love and set the house on fire, and that the news of his death was also false. Joe let her go since he did not want to harm her. However, while Joe was heartbroken and unsure where to turn, an assassin, Elliot, working for Love Quinn’s father, approached him. He had been assigned to kill Joe, but he was just another killer on the road to redemption. He didn’t want to kill Joe, so he gave him Jonathan Moore’s work visa and asked him to completely erase his old identity. He even told him to kill Marienne because she knew he was alive, but Joe couldn’t because he’d promised himself he wouldn’t commit murder again. He followed Marienne to the station, where he snatched her locket and took a picture of it to show Elliot that he had murdered her.
How Did Jonathan, AKA Joe, Cover Up Malcolm’s Murder?
Returning to Joe’s current life in London, we see him peering through a window to see what his neighbor Malcolm and his girlfriend, Kate, are up to. He was trying to control his stalking behavior, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking into their personal lives. One day, while unintentionally following Kate, he discovered she was being bugged by some goons, so he had to step in to become the savior. Malcolm couldn’t thank him enough, so he invited him to a party to meet his social climbers. However, prior to attending the party, Joe conducted extensive research on each of the socialites and stalked each of their social media platforms. Though, after Malcolm takes him to the party, he doesn’t particularly like the people there, with the exception of Rhys Montrose, who was also present. Adam Pratt’s Sundry House in Soho served as a haven for these wealthy and privileged individuals. Joe first met Lady Phoebe, Kate’s most famous friend, who was famous for dating multiple famous athletes at the same time.
Next, he met with Blessing Bosode, a Nigerian princess and businesswoman. Following Blessing, he met Simon Soo, a tortured artist archetype, and his sister, Sophie Soo, a famous influencer. No one seemed to enjoy Malcolm’s presence at this party. Last but not least, Joe met Rhys, whose book had left an indelible impression on him. Rhys had a difficult childhood with his single mother, but when he discovered he was the Duke’s son, his life was transformed. Rhys saw the world differently than the other socialites because of his background, which impressed Joe. After the night fell and the mood of the party changed, Joe became a little too drunk on Absinthe and passed out. He awoke on his couch the next morning to find himself at home. He clearly remembered Malcolm taking him home before he passed out on his couch.
When he got up from the couch, he discovered Malcolm dead on his dining table. He had been stabbed in the chest, but Joe couldn’t remember when he did it. Given his history of murders, he believed he could murder anyone and might have killed Malcolm too, getting annoyed by his overly friendly demeanor. Therefore, before the police arrived, he rushed to cover up the crime. He carried him in a car after wrapping him in a rug. He took him to a carpenter’s workshop, where he began chopping up his body. Then he dumped Malcolm’s body parts into a river. He handled Malcolm’s murder in an astute manner, then headed back to university, where he ran into Kate. Joe displays his ignorance when Kate asks him about Malcolm.
Malcolm wasn’t someone that Kate appeared overly concerned about, as if she knew where he might have gone. She invited Joe to join her for dinner that night, and Joe grudgingly accepted. However, as he was on his way to Kate’s house, he noticed that a mysterious texting app had arrived on his phone. In it, he discovered that someone had texted him, admitting that they were the one who had actually killed Malcolm but having been impressed by how Joe had cleaned up the crime. Joe was too confused to even respond when the enigmatic individual asked him who he was. He joined the group for dinner and looked at everyone’s faces, trying to figure out who had truly killed Malcolm. Let’s wait and see whether Joe can figure out who killed Malcolm in upcoming episodes.
