Hello, you.

Only, you’re not quite the same as you were before. No, you’ve changed and it’s not just the beard. No longer a man of murder (supposedly), distracted by women or relationships (supposedly)—you’ve grown beyond all of that. Now living in London and teaching at a university, you’ve completely turned your life around. Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) isn’t the man we’ve been watching as he stalks his prey. No, Joe is “dead” and now we’re left with Jonathan Moore—the professor—who is someone else’s prey.

For better or worse, Season Four, Part One of Netflix’s serial killer series You has completely flipped the script. After painstakingly watching Joe/Jonathan fall in love, kill for love, and nearly get himself killed over his obsessions and desire to “protect others,” we’re seeing what it’s like when he’s the one being chased, framed, or possibly, killed. Although I’m happy to see a change in the series’ style, since watching the first half I’ve been boggled with whether it was the right call. Certainly, Seasons one through three had their repetitions (but what serial killer wouldn’t repeat their patterns) and the act might have been getting old, however, was a whodunit really what we needed?

*Penn Badgley & Charlotte Richie You Season 4 via IMDB*

Looking back, Season One certainly hooked fans of true crime, serial killer, and thriller themes. A dramatic thriller where the viewer always has the upper hand, at least in knowing what Joe’s obsessions are and what’s driving him, is an interesting perspective. As the seasons progress, we learn rather quickly that Joe is a terrible person for the things he does, but his bits of history, his moments of kindness, and even his mistakes sprinkled throughout his killings ultimately aim to humanize him. For whatever reason, I think similar to others who enjoy the genre, we keep watching to gain reason, insight, and perhaps even justice. Will Joe be caught? Will he get his behavior under control? Why is he doing all of this?
With all those questions in mind, the tests and strain we witnessed Joe overcome in Season Three set the bar for all that would follow. Even if he couldn’t control falling in love with other people, his determination to move beyond being a serial killer was the constant. But ultimately, his decision to leave himself, his son, and his wife in the past for a new direction was epic—and risky.

In watching with an open mind, I found myself struggling to get past all the details that make the latest season a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. The first look we get at Jonathan Moore since we left him as a reborn Joe Goldberg, we can instantaneously see the resemblance to various Holmes characters from prior movies and tv shows. Not that it’s a bad thing—if nothing else, it does seem rather fitting for Joe/Jon, who has always been trying to blend into his surroundings, whether it be because he’s stalking or because he doesn’t want to become a suspect. Still, while the choice would seem a bit dated, Joe/Jon is living out his European holiday in style and solitude—mostly.

Cliches aside, his level of “fitting in” gets thrown a real curveball when he’s adopted by one of the richest groups of friends in the city. After going from being a professor obsessed with his books and fireplaces in the comfort of his flat, he’s thrown into fanciest parties where attendees are always in the spotlight and local tabloids. While the charade of playing the intelligent and distinguished—and damaged—academic could be difficult to manage, Jon is particularly challenged by someone amongst the friend group who claims to know who the real Joe is.

Constantly in danger of the unraveling of his own cover-up story, the twist of seeing Jon/Joe on the other side of things is quite entertaining. Also, the act of trying to protect friends (and lovers) from the unknown killer is managing to keep him from killing for protection. However, one thing about serial killers… they almost always end up killing again if they’re not caught.