WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for You season four, parts one and two.
The wait is over!
Netflix’s You released the second part of season four on March 9, adding five more episodes to the series and acquainting the viewers with more shocking revelations and heartbreaking fates for some characters.
The first part ended with Joe’s (Penn Badgley) firm resolution to stop the mayoral candidate Rhys Montrose (who turned out to be the ‘Eat the Rich’ killer) from continuing his murder spree.
In the first half of the new episodes, we see Rhys blackmailing Joe. First, to pin the blame for the murders on someone else to stay clear of all records and to kill Kate’s father Tom Lockwood, potential opposition to Montrose.
To the audience’s shock, it was revealed that the person threatening and blackmailing Joe wasn’t the real Rhys but a figment of Joe’s imagination. The Rhys he was talking to represented his darkest, most inhumane side.
Given Joe’s murderous instincts, none of the characters seem to be safe. However, there is one of them who has attracted special attention in the new episodes. This is Joe’s literature student, Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman), who, in the first part of the season, was of constant help to Joe in understanding the nitty gritty of a whodunit murder mystery which helped him uncover the secret of the ‘Eat the Rich’ killer.
She is Joe’s smartest student who, not unlike him, loves to read. She’s portrayed as an opinionated young woman, a keen observer, and Joe’s confidante in the season’s first half. Unfortunately, the latter led to her downfall towards the end. Let’s shed some light on the same.
What happens to Nadia?
Throughout the show’s run, the audience has been exposed to a definite pattern in Joe’s life, which plays out thusly: Joe meets a woman whom he obsesses over to the eventual end of her death at his hands. In between, there’s one person who is vulnerable and an easy target for imminent trouble and who is ultimately saved by Joe.
In season one, it was Joe’s neighbor’s kid, Paco, and in season two, Ellie (Jenna Ortega). In season four, Nadia seems to be stepping into a similar role — that of a harmless companion who’s not a potential romantic interest. Things take an unexpected turn after Joe successfully frames Phoebe’s stalker Dawn (who is diagnosed with Erotomania) for all the murders.
While for everyone, the lingering mystery seems to be solved, Nadia remains suspicious. In episode seven, “Good Man, Cruel World,” she admits her doubts about Dawn being the perpetrator considering she is an easy target to frame and after a detailed analysis, she and her boyfriend Edward conclude that the murderer’s keen intelligence to steer clear of the spotlight matches Joe’s profile.
Thereafter, she begins to investigate the truth and on frantically searching Joe’s office, finds a key. Tracking Joe’s movements, she discovers that the key belongs to a warehouse next to Joe’s go-to takeout Indian restaurant. After entering the abandoned building, she finds an imprisoned Marienne inside Joe’s glass cage who then revealed every detail about him to Nadia.
Together, they hatch a plan to free her. Nadia gives Marienne beta blockers that will allow her to fake her death by slowing her heart rate. Marienne exactly follows the instructions and takes the pills, faking her suicide upon learning from Joe about losing her daughter’s custody.
Turns out that Joe was texting Nadia all along. Joe thinking Marienne is dead disposes of her body during which she manages to take the antidote and escapes the scene. While Marienne is out of Joe’s clutches for good, the same isn’t the case with Nadia, who takes it upon herself to dig deeper into Joe’s past.
In the process, she learns about Love’s death and somehow draws a connection with Rhys Montrose’s disappearance (who is murdered by Joe in this season). To lay her hands on more clues, she breaks into Joe’s apartment and finds Rhy’s personal items.
To secure them as a piece of evidence, she takes pictures and leaves the apartment only to be found and confronted by Joe. While Nadia’s brutal murder at this moment seems to be a possibility, it is not her but her boyfriend Eddie who turns out to be the victim.
He forcefully hands her the knife, deletes the photos of Rhys’ objects from her phone, and informs her of his plans to frame her for Rhys’s and Eddie’s murders by saying “There’s going to be a box found in your bedroom by the police. Rhys Montrose’s things, anonymous tipster. You realized it was Eddie. That’s why you killed him.” Her arrest and imprisonment happen off-screen while Joe emerges clean and victorious from all the wrongdoings.
Will Nadia return in season five?
It is not confirmed whether the show will be renewed for a fifth season, but the fans are still holding out hope. In case that happens, there will be endless speculations about what fate has in store for various characters or most importantly, if any character from season four will return.
One of the theories will certainly be about Nadia who, as per Joe in the final episode, did not reveal anything in her defense following her arrest. We also got a glimpse of Marienne reading about Joe’s phenomenal recognition.
Now the question remains, Will Nadia return in season five? If she does, will she take revenge? Will she and Marienne collaborate to finally end Joe’s reign of terror?
Guess we would have to wait for a long time to find out.
You season four is currently streaming on Netflix.