The tables were turned for Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) in season four (part one) of You, when after years of doing the stalking and killing, he was the one now being harassed.
In case you’re not all caught up: After relocating to London after murdering his ex-wife and bevvy of others, Joe found himself teaching at a British university. Changing his name to Jonathan Moore, he was determined to leave behind his killer ways.
Even though Joe was doing his darnedest to keep out of trouble — as it goes for him — death and destruction follows and another killer went on the loose, this time trying to frame him!
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for season 4, part 1 of You
Obsessed with Joe’s past in the US, the “Eat the Rich Killer” surfaced, resolved to murdering everyone in Joe’s new found group of high-society elite — and threatened to only stop if Joe turned back the dark side.
After an Agathie Christie whodunnit and a game of cat and mouse, it turned out that author Rhys Montrose (Ed Speleers) was the killer.
Now, a TikToker NerdyBlonde12 has a theory about the novelist and she may just be on to something!
Rhys Montrose Fan Theory
Taking to the popular platform, the fan has a hypothesis that Rhys is actually a figment of Joe’s imagination, and that he’s actually been the one doing all the killing. What?!
Now — before we continue, it’s important to stress that Rhys is (or was?!) a real person, given that Joe is gifted a copy of his book by Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman) and that he delivered the eulogy at Simon’s (Aidan Cheng) funeral.
However, to back up theory, the TikToker said that the one in Joe’s head, is NOT real and here’s why.
- Joe and Rhys connect on the fact that they both grew up in poverty and discuss their contempt for the rich who “dance when the world burns, barely noticing it’s even burning”.
- Joe blacks out on absinthe and wakes to find Simon dead in his apartment and is also unconscious for the next two murders.
- Joe has only ever spoken to Rhys when no one else is around — Sundry House, Simon’s art exhibit and on the balcony after news of is death spreads
- Rhys appears after Roald (Ben Wiggins) is knocked out i.e. Joe is the only one who can see him.
The theory suggests that Rhys is the alter-ego of Joe, who he uses to satisfy his criminal cravings.
@nerdyblonde12 HOT TAKE 🔥 YOU SEASON 4 (jonathan moore is zaddy?) #spoilers⚠️ #spoileralert #theory #you #youseason4 #murdermystery #greenscreen #pennbadgley #hottakesonly ♬ original sound – alexis
Jonathan Moore was a real author and his story is telling
Another fan took to Reddit under the sub-Reddit You On Lifetime, questioning if the name Jonathan Moore was a clue.
According to the author, Joe’s new alias is the real-life name of a mystery author who wrote The Poison Artist in 2016. Not only this, but the main character in the novel is engulfed in a murder mystery by drinking…wait for it… too much absinthe! He then pursues a killer who turns out to be all in his head!
Coincidence? We think not!
We’ll just have to wait and see if this fan theory is correct, but it’s a very convincing argument!
Stream Part One of You’s Season 4 from February 9 and Part Two from March 9, only on Netflix.
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