Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 2 of You.Season 4 ofYouhas subverted expectations by changing the series’ formula and putting Joe (Penn Badgley) in the shoes of one of his previous victims. While living as Professor Jonathan Moore in London, Joe gets once again involved with the trouble he didn’t ask for when he finds a dead body on his kitchen table. At first, Joe overthinks alcohol, and a killer instinct is to blame for the deed. However, by the end of Season 4, Episode 1, Joe receives ominous anonymous messages from the actual killer, curious about how Joe disposed of the body instead of taking the blame. In Episode 2, “Portrait of the Artist,” Joe races against the clock to find the culprit’s identity before the natural killer exposes his true identity to the world.
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When in Doubt, Read
Season 4, Episode 2 starts just where we left Joe, at a dinner party with the wealthy friendship circle of the late Malcolm (Stephen Hagan). Joe is convinced the killer is one of the people he’s sharing bread with and decides to pour all his energies into finding out who. But first, Joe rushes to his apartment and searches for bugs and hidden cameras everywhere to make sure the actual killer is not watching him at home.
Joe doesn’t find anything in his apartment but gets a murder mystery-inspired invitation for Simon’s (Aidan Cheng) latest art exposition opening evening, set to happen at Kate’s (Charlotte Ritchie) gallery. After getting the invitation, Joe wonders if Kate could be taunting him somehow and decides to watch her closely. Joe doesn’t find much while following Kate, except that she’s making concerned calls to Malcolm, asking where he’s hiding. Of course, Kate could be just putting up a show to avoid suspicions, but Joe cannot find any evidence she’s behind Malcolm’s murder.
When in doubt, Joe looks for answers in books, and while wrapping his head around the crime he must solve, he hides in the college’s library. Joe crosses paths with his student Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman), who is a murder mystery fan. Nadia explains the central tropes of the genre to Joe, warning him that nothing is ever a coincidence in this kind of story. Nadia also underlines how the first suspect usually becomes the killer’s second victim and how every murder is always motivated by sex, money, or revenge.
Inspired by Nadia’s welcomed insights on the structure of a whodunnit, Joe calls Elliot (Adam James), the hitman who went after him in Europe and ultimately gave him the Jonathan Moore identity. Joe thinks it might not be a coincidence that a killer for hire offered to help him and that Elliot might be involved with Malcolm’s murder. He isn’t, and Joe burns a handy bridge after demanding an answer from the man. To make matters worse, the killer keeps sending Joe messages, revealing they have been following him and digging up his past. Joe is lost. Still, while “Portrait of the Artist” doesn’t solve the big mystery, it allows Joe to uncover some secrets about his new friends.
Everyone Is a Suspect
Since Joe needs to stay close to Malcolm’s friends to catch a killer, he accepts Lady Phoebe’s (Tilly Keeper) invitation and pays her a visit. Joe finds she was the one who put him on the shortlist for Simon’s art event after Joe changed her life when they were talking at the club. Joe doesn’t remember what he said due to his alcohol abuse, but being adopted by Lady Phoebe gets him some apparent advantages. For starters, Phoebe’s boyfriend, Adam (Lukas Gage), hooks up Joe with a new suit he can wear at the art exhibition opening.
While it can be painful to hear from rich people how poorly dressed you are, the tailoring experience allows Joe to talk with other members of Malcolm’s inner circle. And as it turns on, no one liked the deceased man too much. The group of friends was forged in Oxford while everyone attended college. Malcolm only joined later, as Kate’s boyfriend. Out of respect for Kate, the group accepted Malcolm’s presence. Still, no one genuinely liked him.
While trying to understand why Malcolm became a victim of a murder, Joe steals the key to his college office from Kate’s purse. In Malcolm’s office, Joe uncovers a mysterious notebook filled with ciphered messages and a pack of dollar bills. There are nods to horse racing bets, the preferred activity of Connie (Dario Coates). There are also mentions of a meeting with “Louis de Sun King and Dagger.” The Sun King is Adam, who played the part in a college play. And Dagger, as Joe discovers, is the waiter at Sundry House, who pees over Adam in the club’s deposit, precisely at the day and time Malcolm had written down in his notebook. It’s clear Malcolm was blackmailing some of his rich friends.
While following Adam, Joe is caught by Vic (Sean Pertwee), the club owner’s personal bodyguard. Joe pretends to be doing research to write a book and uses the money he got from Malcolm’s office to buy Vic’s silence. Still, Vic is aware that Joe is hiding something that might become an issue in the future. And while all the snooping seems to lead anywhere, Season 4, Episode 2 helps us understand the complicated relationship of the group of friends.
The Art Opening
The next big reveal of Season 4, Episode 2 happens at Simon’s art exhibit opening. First, Joe goes into the gallery through the backdoor to avoid being caught in a photo by the journalists covering the event. He crosses a mysterious girl who holds the door for him, but Joe doesn’t give it too much thought. Inside, Adam warns Joe to be careful around Malcolm since he tends to blackmail his friends. And while Joe is already aware of that, the fact that Adam would talk about it openly makes him less likely to be the killer. Rhys (Ed Speleers) also gives Joe new clues, telling him that even though his college friends are not the best people in the world, at least they are not all like Roald (Ben Wiggins), a genuinely bad guy.
The exhibition is interrupted when the girl who opened the gallery backdoor for Joe throws a bucket of red paint over a canvas with the portrait of a cat. Simon tries to spin the attack as part of the show but orders Kate to track down the girl. Always attentive to details, Joe offers to help Kate after remembering the name of a bar he saw written in a paper from the girl’s pocket.
When Kate and Joe get to the bar, they find Blue, who reveals she was Simon’s assistant and the real artist behind some of his paintings. Simon used to hire multiple assistants and create a drug-friendly environment to get everyone addicted and discredited. That way, he can steal other people’s work and sell it like his own. For instance, the paintings of a cat in the exhibition were made after Blue’s grandmother’s feline companion, Isis. Since “Isis” is one of the words written in Malcolm’s notebook, it’s obvious he was blackmailing Simon. And considering Simon is obviously an awful human being, maybe he got back at Malcolm for trying to ruin his operation.
Kate leaves Blue a check to pay for her work and leaves the bar. She also has a discussion with Joe, pointing out how he’s obviously a grifter trying to trick her wealthy friends. Joe doesn’t want to admit he’s intrigued by Kate and lets her go while focusing his attention on Simon. Convinced the artist is the killer, Joe waits patiently outside the art gallery to follow him home. Unfortunately, Joe falls asleep on a bench, only to wake up to the sound of sirens. Simon, the first suspect, has become the killer’s second victim. The artist is found inside the gallery with a knife carved deep into the chest and an ear missing. It looks like the killer likes to collect trophies, and he’s far from being over with the murders.
The following day, Joe goes over everything that happened at the art gallery. It’s clear that Kate would benefit from Simon’s death, as the artist’s work will be more valuable after his demise. However, as Joe discovers, she’s secretly helping Blue to file a complaint with the police and even paying for the girl to go to rehab. These are not the actions of a killer, and Joe finds it difficult to find a new suspect. In the library, Joe also has another heartfelt conversation with Nadia and finds out she was in touch with Malcolm, who was supposed to read some pages she had written. Joe offers to help his student with her literary ambitions and thanks her for all the whodunnit help she’s been offering him.
Before the episode ends, Joe returns to his apartment only to realize the killer is smarter than he thought. There are newspapers about all the crimes connected to Joe’s bloody past all over his living room wall. The killer sends another message to Joe, confirming they know Professor Jonathan’s real name and everything he’s done in the last few years. Joe better finds out fast who’s looking into his past, or else he risks losing his new European life.
Part 1 ofYouSeason 4 is available on Netflix. Part 2 hits the streamer on March 9.
