You star Ed Speleers addresses “bonkers” plot twist in season 4

But there was no guessing just where the drama would go after Joe vowed to take down Rhys Montrose (Ed Speleers) in the part 1 finale, after finding out that the charismatic novelist-turned-politician was the Eat the Rich killer all along.

Well, part 2 continues with more of the same shock revelations, this time round centring on the fact that Joe has been imagining Rhys all this time and has actually been the serial killer on the loose in London.

Is it a complete surprise? Not really, especially knowing our protagonist's form in the past. But speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Speleers revealed what his thoughts about the twist were, especially seeing as he is now a devil-on-the-shoulder-type character to Joe.

When asked about his reaction to reading about Rhys's major plot twist in part 2, he said: “Oh, this is bonkers. I remember talking things through with Penn [Badgley] and being like, ‘Are people going to get on board with this?’ Because it felt so far out there.

"However, it was a huge opportunity for me to explore things within myself that I hadn’t really uncovered before."

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He added: "I felt that it was all the things you want as an actor – all the challenges, trying to find those little bits of nuance. You don’t want to have to necessarily play the panto villain, you need to find little intricacies embodied in this person.

"Once the cat’s out the bag, what I did find – once that moment happened – it became quite liberating. I felt like shackles disappeared.

"I just genuinely felt like I could be doing anything I wanted and I was given a lot of freedom and free range, perhaps sometimes too much from the directors. But I was given this great opportunity just to explore and play – as an actor, that’s why you get into this profession."

Speleers also said that exploring all the themes in this fourth season of You has been interesting. "Within this show, there’s definitely been an obsession with looking at high society; that’s obviously a running thread," he explained.

"I feel that it was interesting being a British actor seeing what the American take on it was. I feel like they’ve kind of got it on point."

He continued: "This is a series that elevates things. There are elements that are supposed to be slightly eyebrow-raising and they are supposed to be fun, and we are supposed to glitz it up a little bit. I think that’s been interesting to explore.

"We’re surrounded by it all the time. Every time you read a media publication or anything politically, it’s all driven about a lot of these things at the moment and the disparity between society.

"So I think it makes sense to explore that, explore what is making those people tick and how do those people exist and operate. And ultimately, it’s quite fun bringing them down a peg or two."

Read more:

• 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 out now on Netflix. Seasons 1-3 are streaming now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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