You Season 4 Part 1 provides Penn Badgley a welcome break from Joe Goldberg’s ordinary menacing deeds. Rather than a girl being the article of his lethal affection, Joe units his sights on the Eat the Rich Killer, who’s threatening to border him for homicide. This ominous texter turns into the crux of the brand new episodes, leading to a whodunnit-style Part 1, consisting of 5 episodes dropping Thursday, February 9 on Netflix.
“Part 1 was a nice reprieve. You always need to sort of go away to come back again, I suppose. And with this season, it was more true than ever,” Badgley tells TV Insider. “To spend five episodes in a really different genre altogether is a stretch and a challenge. I think we rose to it.”
Courtesy of Netflix
Joe is disguised as Jonathan Moore in Season 4 and has a candy new gig as an American literature professor at a London college. As is the case with each installment of the Netflix hit, Joe spends a whole lot of time convincing himself he’s a superb individual in his narration. Some issues by no means change.
“The weird thing about Joe though is that he’s just so distinct,” Badgley notes. “And the device of the narration and everything, it’s still always so physical. I’m always doing physical things. It may not be obvious as a viewer, but it is a very physically demanding role. So in that way, it was very much the Joe I’ve always known.”
Through a piece connection, Jonathan unwittingly will get concerned in a social scene comprised of London elites. How he at all times manages to inculcate himself with the 1% has at all times been one of many present’s critique of the rich class. That’s taken to the umpteenth diploma on this season with the incorporation of key supporting forged and visitor stars.
Making up this elite social circle are Charlotte Ritchie (Kate), Stephen Hagan (Malcolm), Tilly Keeper (Lady Phoebe), Lukas Gage (Adam), Ben Wiggins (Roald), Aidan Cheng (Simon Soo), Niccy Lin (Sophie Soo), Eve Austin (Gemma), Ozioma Whenu (Blessing), and Dario Coates (Connie).
Courtesy of Netflix
Ed Speleers‘ Rhys Montrose is also part of this mix, but like Joe, he was raised in poverty and made upper-class friends later in life. One of Joe’s college students, Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman), can be a welcome break from the snobs (and snobs, they really are). Another sharp thoughts from a working-class household, Nadia teaches Joe all about whodunnits.
“Every season, you have a Paco [Luca Padovan, Season 1] or an Ellie [Jenna Ortega, Season 2],” says Badgley. Nadia is Season 4’s model of this quasi sidekick. “Nadia does something that I think is always very refreshing for me and probably for the viewer, where Joe is seemingly quite authentic and more ‘himself.’ Or is it more of a performance? It’s hard to say.”
“He seems to genuinely care about Nadia and wants her to prosper. That’s always actually very nice. It also means that I get to talk more, because he’s thinking less, narrating less, and actually speaking,” he continues with fun. “That’s always a plus.”
The main woman of the season is Ritchie’s Kate. The artwork gallerist is vocally perturbed by Jonathan’s presence and his uncanny skill to remain concerned along with her mates regardless of them understanding little about him (lastly, some sense). But Jonathan/Joe begins to discover a little bit of curiosity in her and so they drum up a friendship (and similar to that, nonsense).
“It seems like they’re pursuing sort of a more pure friendship than Joe has ever had,” the Gossip Girl alum teases.
Courtesy of Netflix
“[Kate] is quintessentially British in at least one way that I’m aware of, which is she’s just very dry,” he provides. “She really needs to be. And I think it was very refreshing. You think of how saturated in neon the characters of Love [Victoria Pedretti] and Beck [Elizabeth Lail] were, how overly emotional it actually all was between Joe and these objects of desire he had. With Kate, it’s quite different.”
Uncovering the identification of the Eat the Rich Killer is Joe’s primary purpose in Part 1. That means for as soon as in Joe’s life, he’s not spending all of his free time stalking the objects of his affections. But stalking the objects of his derisions gained’t come straightforward, and a few of London’s higher echelon will likely be maintaining a detailed eye on him.
Those who belief Joe blindly are a part of the present’s bigger theme, Badgley shares. And after a number of seasons of watching this serial killer get away with homicide time and time once more, Badgley goals of seeing Joe get his simply desserts.
“The show has always been a little bit of a meditation on that. Like, what are we really doing here? Why do we like this guy?” he says. “I hope that we’re headed towards a tragic, just end for him, whatever that is.”
You, Season 4 Part 1, Thursday, February 9, Netflix