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Joe Goldberg comes off as a charming and endearing personality. These qualities make it easy for women to trust him, fall for him, and possibly ignore all the red flags he constantly shows. With every season of Netflix‘s You, Joe tries convincing himself that he is done with killing.

'You' Season 4 actors Charlotte Ritchie as Kate, Penn Badgley as Joe
Charlotte Ritchie as Kate, Penn Badgley as Joe | Netflix

But once he sets his eyes on an intriguing woman, his interest is piqued, and he vows to improve her life. Much like in the past, Joe has a new fixation in the new season, but his newest London obsession knows he isn’t what he seems.

Joe is seemingly no longer pining for Marienne

You threw viewers off in the second season and the first episode of season 3 when they introduced a woman who many thought was Joe’s newest obsession. However, that door closed very fast when Love bashed her head in. Enter Marienne, a single woman trying to do right by her daughter.

Joe fell head over heels for her and made it his mission to improve her life, even if she didn’t know it. Like others before her, Marienne fell for Joe’s charm, and the sweet cherry on top was that he was a doting father, thus could relate to Marienne as a parent.

In the season finale, Marienne fled the country after almost becoming one of Love’s many victims, disappearing from Joe’s line of sight. However, Joe was determined to find her, but the new season suggests that he may have given up on his obsession with Marienne and found someone else to obsess over.

The date announcement trailer hints that Joe has a new love interest named Kate, and Joe actor Penn Badgley confirmed it on his podcast Podcrushed, telling his co-hosts that Kate is Joe’s obsession in season 4.

Kate isn’t like any other woman Joe has obsessed over

Joe is so good at turning on the charm that it’s difficult for anyone to suspect him. Once he identifies the “woman of his dreams,” he goes to extra lengths to insert himself into her life and world and endear himself to her.

This has so far worked for Joe, but his latest obsession can smell a rat from a mile away. According to Netflix’s Tudum, Charlotte Ritchie’s character Kate is a “fearsomely smart, independent suspicious” person who is also protective of her friends.

She appears to be very intuitive, as once Joe joins their close-knit circle of friends, her first instinct is not to trust him. Kate suspects Joe may not be who he claims he is, and this may cause her to keep a safe distance from him.

Her mistrust of him makes her different from his previous obsessions, and it may impact his behavior as he could be working extra hard to get her to at least give him the benefit of the doubt. With his full-time job as a professor and his vast circle of friends, our favorite stalker may have no time to gather information about Kate to get her to like him.

There may be more to Kate than meets the eye

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‘You’ Season 4: 3 Questions We Need to be Answered

Season 4 introduces a new player in the game. While Joe started as the one doing the killing, recent seasons have seen him become challenged at his own game, thus his increasing need for change. This time, however, he may not be as in control as he was with Love.

Season 4 introduces the ‘Eat The Rich Killer,’ who apparently knows a lot about Joe’s background and isn’t afraid to use it. While the show may not immediately make it clear who the killer is, the best bet is that Kate is behind everything.

It takes a killer to take down a killer, so Kate may use his obsession over her and the information she has against Joe to end him for good.