You season 4 ending explained: What happens to Joe and Kate?

The popular Netflix series reached its season 4 finale with an epic final part 2 episode that saw the term "double-crossing" truly take on a new meaning. It also left us as viewers continually reminding ourselves that Rhys (Ed Speleers) is not real. At least, not how Joe (Penn Badgley) has understood him.

Part 2 picked up after the first batch of season 4 episodes ended with Joe coming face-to-face with Rhys Montrose, the Eat The Rich killer. But episode 8 revealed that actually, Rhys was always a figment of Joe's imagination and was actually his 'dark side' and murderous alter ego. Joe's a serial killer, plain and simple.

The final episodes of season 4 saw Joe having to retrace his steps and recall memories of his time in London, particularly how he never actually let Marienne go off to Paris but instead, kidnapped her and placed her in a glass cage in a warehouse.

The finale saw Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), her father Tom Lockwood (Greg Kinnear), Nadia (Amy Leigh Hickman), Marienne (Tati Gabrielle) and Joe all face off in their own ways but ended on a note that has left many wondering whether season 5 is on the cards after all.

But how did You season 4 end? Read on for everything you need to know as we unpack that final gripping episode.

You season 4 ending explained: What happens to Joe?

Let's get things clear: Joe is completely fine. In fact, he's thriving at the end of season 4, with him reclaiming his true identity and leading a new philanthropic life with Kate.

But the finale had countless twists and turns that it's a wonder it wrapped up so neatly.

Early in the finale, Joe is faced with Kate's admission that she feels as though her father "owns" her, citing examples where Tom has destroyed her relationships and opened countless doors for her throughout her career. Tom Lockwood is certainly an evil person and enlisted Joe to kill Rhys earlier in part 2, using his knowledge of his past against him. But then, Joe's imagination of Rhys tells him that he should kill Tom.

He pretends to be Kate and messages Tom about meeting up to talk at his workshop and once there, Joe ambushes Tom with chloroform and ties him up. But then Hugo, Tom's bodyguard, intrudes and Joe kills him, leading to Tom giving Joe a very matter-of-fact heart-to-heart about Kate and her privilege.

Joe obviously doesn't like it and suffocates Tom, killing him and framing Hugo in the process, moving £2 million of Tom's money to make it look like Hugo had forced Tom to do so after kidnapping him. He doctors the murder scene, disposing of Hugo's body and afterwards, comes to a bridge to confront his imagined vision of Rhys.

His dark side has been charismatic up until this point but now is needy and professes his love for Joe but Joe pushes him off the side of the bridge, jumping in himself afterwards. Although he hoped to kill himself, he later wakes up in the hospital with Kate by his side and the two profess their love for one another.

"If I've gotten another chance, I can't start by lying," Joe thinks and he seems to be truthful with Kate, telling her about his attempted suicide and how he's a serial killer. But then Kate says she found out from her father's lieutenant that the DNA found on Rhys's body is Joe's and later admits that she's inherited everything from her father. She then proposes that "we keep each other good" although they both know they aren't and asks for Joe to help her through the hard times, saying she'll do the same for him.

She finally asks Joe about his past and he comes clean about his true identity – that he's Joe Goldberg and not professor Jonathan Moore – and it seems to be all Kate needs in order to lead a new life with him.

In the final moments of the finale, we see how the pair have manufactured the news cycle in order to allow Joe to return to America. He narrates that with the help of Kate, a cybersecurity team, publicists and Tom's former lieutenant Cynthia, search results have been scrubbed, news archives have been hacked and the Madre Linda chief of police was bribed all in order to allow Joe to wipe the slate clean.

Joe and Kate are well and truly doing the press rounds as the finale closes out with us witnessing another interview unfold, with the journalist probing about Joe's past and their new philanthropic future together. They've set up a foundation in the hopes of opening art schools in New York and London, and we also learn that Joe "spontaneously" bought a book shop that was closing down. Could it be the book shop of season 1?

Joe teases a plan to marry Kate but as Kate reveals that their next plans are "largely focused on changing the world", Joe narration points at the fact he hasn't stopped killing at all. If anything, he has more access to resources, money and cover-ups to make him continue on unscathed. We also catch a glimpse of Rhys in the window reflection and as Joe says he's just "more honest" about killing now, season 4 ends with a positively eerie image of a grinning Joe, as smug as ever.

What happens to Kate's friends in You season 4?

As for everyone else in Kate's wealthy group of London friends, we find out that Blessing and Sophie bought Sundry House after Adam died, Sophie's social media continues to grow, Connie only lasted nine days at rehab and that Roald returned to London after shooting a close personal friend. But naturally, his family managed to cover it up and conceal it from the newspapers.

In a nice turn of events, Phoebe left London to teach English to elementary school students in Thailand and lives happily without anyone knowing who she is.

What happens to Nadia in the You season 4 finale?

The final episode was very much centred around Nadia's mission to uncover the truth about Joe, with her skipping school and enlisting the help of enemy-turned-lover Eddie (Brad Alexander). Rhys is found dead in a forest and it spurs Nadia to tell Eddie everything about finding Marienne, while also showing him an article about Joe and Love Quinn's (Victoria Pedretti) murderous past in Madre Linda.

Eddie retrieves information on the Eat The Rich killer and Rhys Montrose from his father's newspaper offices but Nadia soon maps out her plan, saying: "You must never tell anyone this."

A flashback reveals that Marienne (Tati Gabrielle) and Nadia had hatched a plan because they knew that as long as Marienne was alive, Joe would come after her. Nadia initially wanted to kill Joe so had previously asked Eddie for ketamine and got a knife. But Nadia also had an "even crazier plan B", she reveals.

The tub of pills Joe had left in the cage previously were swapped round with some of the tablets Nadia got from Eddie, all in order to stage a suicide. Nadia input her own phone details as Beatrice, the woman who was looking after Marienne's daughter Juliette in Paris. The angry conversation about taking Juliette away from Marienne was all a ruse in order for Joe to see how "rock bottom" Marienne had reached in the cage.

But even though it was their plan B, Marienne had to do it after Nadia was pulled over by the police for possession of drugs and the knife. Marienne took the tablets, which were beta blockers that would slow her heart rate and make her appear dead. Marienne left a note for Joe stating for her to be left somewhere she can be found.

So, when Joe left Marienne on a park bench, Nadia (who was armed with a syringe that would get Marienne's heart rate back to normal) raced from the police station to the nearby park in order to rescue Marienne. But when recounting the story, Nadia and Eddie realise that Joe is such an obsessive that he would collect souvenirs of his past victims so they set off to his flat in the hope of getting evidence.

There, Nadia finds Joe's box of souvenirs which includes a weird selection of Rhys's personal possessions and taking pictures of them, Nadia and Eddie are happy that they have enough to go to the police. But running to meet Eddie, Nadia bumps into Joe on the street. She drops her phone and he picks it up, unlocks it, sees the images she's just taken and deletes them.

Although he says "no one has to get hurt", when Nadia falls back again, she sees Eddie dead on the floor. Joe has killed him and in her daze, hands the knife (murder weapon) to Nadia. He says the box of Rhys Montrose's things is going to be found in her bedroom by the police after an anonymous tip-off done by himself.

The police will think it was Eddie that killed Rhys and then Nadia killed Eddie because of it – but Nadia has been set up for murder. Joe later confirms that Nadia is now in prison, saying: "She refused to speak in her own defence, still hasn't spoken from prison. Like I said, smart."

Is Love Quinn alive in You season 4?

Sadly, no, Love Quinn-Goldberg (Victoria Pedretti) remains dead and gone.

However, Love did make a comeback to haunt her husband alongside another victim of Joe's, Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail).

The nightmarish visions serve Joe to realise he needs to change his ways.

What happens to Marienne in the You season 4 finale?

While it was a great turn of events to learn that Marienne was actually alive and had usurped Joe, the fact that her sidekick and rescue mission buddy wound up in prison is less joyous.

Nonetheless, Marienne can be seen enjoying life in Paris with her daughter Juliette when her phone flashes up with a profile on Joe and Kate, entitled "A Brush with Death, A New Life of Philanthropy: How Joe Goldberg Escaped Killer Love Quinn". She looks disgusted and says: "Grateful for a second chance at a good life? Right."

Joe is none the wiser that Marienne is alive and says that the heartbreak of losing Marienne is "part of him" in the closing moments of the finale. But if the look on Marienne's face reveals anything, it's that she isn't done with this story of Joe and probably won't let his newfound fame continue if she has anything to do with it.

While many of our thoughts are definitely caught up thinking of a possible Marienne revenge mission, fans can remain happy in the fact that she's safe and sound.

Who dies in You season 4?

The following characters die in You season 4.

• Professor Malcolm Harding
• Simon Soo
• Vic
• Gemma Graham-Greene
• Rhys Montrose
• Adam Pratt
• Hugo
• Tom Lockwood
• Edward

Aside from Adam, who was killed by assassins under orders from Tom Lockwood, all the other characters were victims of Joe Goldberg.

Read more:

• You star Penn Badgley on big twist and message behind season 4 part 2
• Does Marienne die in You season 4 part 2? Tati Gabrielle on return
• You season 5: Will the Netflix drama return?
• You’s Charlotte Ritchie on why she was “nervous” about the season 4 role
• You season 4 location guide: Where was the Netflix thriller filmed?
• You star on season 4: ‘It’s timely and important – but also fun'

You season 4 part 2 is available to watch on Netflix now. Seasons 1-3 are also streaming now. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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