‘You’ Season 4 Part 2 Ending Explained: Joe’s Full Circle Moment, [Spoiler]’s Return & More

Part 2 of ‘You’ season 4 took the concept of twists to a whole new level. Let’s break down all the major moments of season 4’s ending. Spoilers ahead!

Joe Goldberg has managed to find a way to evade consequences again. Netflix dropped the second part of You season 4 on March 9, giving fans the last 5 episodes of the season. The back half of season 4 flipped everything you thought about Part 1 on its head and ended with Joe returning to New York City.

So, what happened at the end of You season 4? What did that final moment mean? Here is the You season 4 part 2 ending explained.

You Season 4 Finale Explained

The season 4 finale starts with Joe believing that Marienne is dead after he’d held her captive in a cage when his consciousness split in two. He leaves her body in the park to be discovered by a passerby. When Nadia takes Ethan to show him Joe’s lair, the cage is gone.

Joe mulls over ending his life until Kate calls him for help. Kate believes that her father is responsible for the real Rhys Montrose’s death. Kate cries over how her father has so much control over her life. Joe comes around to Rhys’ (the one in his head) idea that Tom Lockwood needs to die.

Killing Tom is a simple task for Joe. He confronts Tom at his workshop, kills Tom’s bodyguard, and then Tom. He then frames the bodyguard for Tom’s murder.

After taking care of Tom, Joe remembers Love’s words and believes he can only make Kate safe by killing himself. Rhys attempts to convince Joe that death is not the answer. Joe believes that he’ll just end up killing Kate as he did with Guinevere and Love. Joe throws Rhys over the bridge, believing that he’s cutting off that dark part of his consciousness for good. Joe leaps from the bridge but survives the fall.

Meanwhile, Nadia and Ethan are compiling all the evidence they need to go after Joe. Nadia finally reveals to Ethan what really happened to Marienne. Nadia and Marienne came together to try and kill Joe. They were going to knock him out with ketamine, and then Marienne would kill him.

They also had a Plan B in case their original plan went wrong. Marienne had beta blockers that she would take, which would slow her heart rate down and make it seem like she was dead. When Nadia got arrested, Marienne had to go through with the second plan. Nadia managed to track Joe as he dumped Marienne’s body and administered adrenaline that would wake Marienne up.

Joe wakes up in the hospital after his jump. He admits to Kate that he intentionally jumped. He also reveals that he’s killed people, but he doesn’t specify who. Kate tells Joe that Tom is dead, and he’s left her everything. She points out that DNA was found on Rhys’ body but the tests are inconclusive. She knows that is Joe’s DNA. Kate makes Joe vow that they “keep each other good.” They’ll move forward together as a team, an unbreakable unit.

Marienne Escapes & Rhys Returns

After snooping through Joe’s apartment, she finds all the evidence she needs to take down Joe. On her way out, Joe confronts her. He says that he now has “substantial resources” at his disposal. He’s already killed Eddie, and he frames Nadia for his murder. The narrative that Joe creates is that Nadia killed Eddie after she discovered that he’d killed Rhys. Even though Nadia goes to prison for Eddie’s death, she doesn’t tell Joe that Marienne is alive.

Joe still has no idea that Marienne is still alive. Marienne gets her happy ending and reunites with her daughter. When she stumbles upon a story about Joe and Kate’s “second chance,” she has a look of disgust on her face.

Joe and Kate move to New York City to start their new life with little Henry. They have unlimited means now and the ability to cover up any problem that stands in their way. When Joe looks out the window at Central Park, he sees Rhys again in the reflection. Try as he might, the darkness in Joe didn’t evaporate when he jumped. It’s still lurking underneath his skin. As he’s proven time and time again, Joe always reverts back to his old ways. Kate better watch out.

Joe being back in New York City is a full-circle moment for the character. Upon his return to Big Apple, Joe cuts his hair and shaves his beard. He looks eerily similar to how he looked back in season 1 when his story first began. Now that he’s back where he started, could his story come to a close with a fifth season? Time will tell!