You season 4 put yet another twist on Joe Goldberg’s (Penn Badgley) obsessive patterns, with someone stalking him instead of the other way around. Nonetheless, this new stalker seems to be just as prolific as Joe himself, with many more deaths popping up throughout the first half of the season—let alone what might be to come when the second half airs.
For now, let’s dig into how many people died in the first half of season 4 and who they were—as well as who we believe killed them. Let’s be honest, though: with You, you never really know.
Every death in You season 4, so far
There were four deaths in the first half of You season 4, starting with Joe’s insufferable colleague, Malcolm. After a debauched night at Sundry House, Joe wakes up to find Malcolm lying on his table with a knife in his chest and a finger missing. With a black hole in his memory from the night before, and given his history, Joe assumes that he must have done it and responsibly disposes of the body—by dismembering it and dumping it into the river.
The next to die is Simon, another member of the privileged group that Joe found himself a part of. He dies the same way as Malcolm, with a knife in his chest, but this time with an ear missing, rather than a finger. It’s suggested that this is some sort of allusion to Vincent Van Gogh. Two deaths from the same group spawn theories of a serial killer, dubbed the Eat the Rich Killer.
It’s at this point that Joe realizes that it isn’t him who’s killing people, but actually his stalker—the new “you.” However, Joe will get some killing done soon.
Murder number three is Adam’s personal bodyguard Vic, killed by Joe when he’s attacked by the man in the crypts after Simon’s funeral. Joe strangles Vic and buries him on top of Simon’s freshly-dug grave.
The Eat the Rich Killer takes back over for the fourth and final death of the first part of the season. Joe’s least favorite member of the group, Gemma, is the next to die, with Kate found standing next to the body with a bloody knife. However, it wasn’t Kate who did the deed, as Joe is quick to believe, so he helps her to hide the body (only for it to later be found by another group member, Phoebe).
The end of the mid-season finale confirms that Joe is not the Eat the Rich Killer; it’s Rhys, who has been mysteriously absent from the last few episodes. Aside from theories abounding that Rhys is a figment of Joe’s imagination, it seems that he’s on a murderous rampage that will only ramp up more in the second half of the season.
What’s more, with the possible return of Love (Victoria Pedretti), we can certainly expect more gruesome and shocking deaths to come when the rest of season 4 airs on Netflix. Because it’s not You without a healthy stack of bodies by the time the season finale comes around.
(featured image: Netflix)
