‘You’s Season 4 Finale Taylor Swift Needle Drop is Brilliant on so Many Levels

The Season 4 finale of Netflix’s You includes a Taylor Swift needle drop so perfect that amidst the most gut-wrenching betrayals, gruesome murders, and twisted storylines, you can’t help but emit a genuine cackle.

If you have yet to watch “The Death Of Jonathan Moore” and want to avoid spoilers, you may want to stop reading and sprint to your nearest screen to binge-watch the rest of the season. But if you’re ready to celebrate the finale’s impeccable Midnights inclusion, it’s time to root for some anti-heroes.

With 10 minutes left in Season 4, Episode 10, You unexpectedly cuts away from one of its most intense scenes and pairs stunning shots of the city to Swift’s biggest recent single, “Anti-Hero.” After the beloved singer concludes the lyrics, “I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser,” Joe Goldberg’s (Penn Badgley) voice cuts in to give updates on Season 4’s eclectic group of Eat The Rich Killer survivors.

As Swift plays softly in the background, Joe explains that Blessing (Ozioma Whenu) and Sophie (Niccy Lin) bought Sundry House after Adam (Lukas Gage) died. Roald (Ben Wiggins) returned to London after a hunting trip in Germany where he accidentally killed a close friend. (But don’t worry. His parents buried the scandal.) Phoebe (Tilly Keeper) tied up business in London and now teaches English to elementary school kids in Thailand. And though Joe still doesn’t know it, Marienne (Tati Gabrielle) is safe at home with her daughter Juliette reading an article from The Cut titled, “A Brush with Death, A New Life of Philanthropy: How Joe Goldberg Escaped Killer Love Quinn.”

As Marienne struggles to digest the news that Joe reinvented himself (again) and is thriving alongside Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), Taylor’s voice returns in full force to shout, “IT’S ME. HI. I’M THE PROBLEM, IT’S ME.” Right on cue, Joe launches into his own elaborate story. “Tom Lockwood was right. You can come home again,” Badgley says as the camera shows a clean-shaven Joe sitting with Kate and a reporter in a swanky office with a stunning view of the city. “All you need is Kate, plus a cybersecurity team, a squadron of publicists and Cynthia. Scrub search results, hack news archives, bribe the Madre Linda chief of police — all to support the simple true story of Joe Goldberg.” When he finishes his spiel, Swift’s track stops for good. But the sheer awe of the song’s inclusion in the series lingers long after the finale ends.

“Anti-Hero” is a perfect anthem for Joe, a man who — like Taylor — swears he’s only cryptic and Machiavellian cause he cares. Joe gets older but never wiser. Case in point, we’re four seasons in and he hasn’t stopped killing people! He, too, should not be left to his own devices, they CLEARLY come with prices…and vices…and he ends up in crisis. He exudes covert narcissism disguised as altruism on the regular. One could also argue that Season 4, Part 2 showed him repeatedly waking up screaming from dreaming, and crucially, we finally see him have his “It’s me, hi. I’m the problem, it’s me” moment.

Joe Goldberg deeply relates to the song’s meaning, but “Anti-Hero” also holds a special place in Penn Badgley’s heart. After all, it’s the song he used it to make his iconic introduction to TikTok back in October 2022.

@iampennbadgley

#antihero

♬ Anti-Hero – Taylor Swift

“I thought for years, ‘I’ll get a TikTok when the time is right,'” the actor explained in an interview with Rolling Stone. “And then when Taylor’s record came out, it just seemed the song wouldn’t have worked with anybody else. Me. Joe. Anti-Hero. Taylor Swift? It just was the perfect moment.”

After Badgely posted the TikTok, Swift wrote “OMG!!!! 🤩” in the video’s comments, but sadly, the You star told Variety, “I think, unfortunately, he would despise her. Because she’s successful and blond, maybe? I don’t know, but I think he would.”

Whether Joe’s a Swiftie or not, “Anti-Hero” is both accurately reflective of his journey and a delightful Season 4 surprise.

Season 4 of You is now streaming on Netflix.