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| “ | No. We could figure this out, 𝐘𝐎𝐔 and me. We can do anything together. I'm alive for 𝐘𝐎𝐔. Just why can't 𝐘𝐎𝐔 see that? Why can't 𝐘𝐎𝐔 see me the way I see 𝐘𝐎𝐔? I love 𝐘𝐎𝐔!
―Rhys to Joe Goldberg.
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Rhys Montrose is a main character and an antagonist in the fourth season of Netflix's YOU, serving as the main antagonist. He is portrayed by Ed Speleers.
Rhys was an aspiring mayoral of London who became the obsession of Joe Goldberg. Throughout the fourth season, Rhys However, like Joe, is a cold-blooded killer, and Joe is determined to catch him. We later discovered that, although Joe's obsession with Rhys was real, the murderous Rhys was actually a hallucination of Joe's, causing all the murders to be committed by Joe.
Biography[]
Rhys is a British author and London Mayoral candidate who grew up in poverty with his unstable single mother before later discovering he was the son of a duke, attending Oxford University and rising to success with his well-received autobiography. He initially bonds with Joe because they both have difficult childhoods, and they seem to find common ground within the elite social circle where they both feel out of place. (The underlined text is all in Joe's Imagination)
Backstory[]
Rhys Montrose born in London, United Kingdom, son of a powerful duke and an unnamed mother, Rhys was born on 1988 and discovered his paternity years after his birth.
Season 4[]
Box of things Joe took from Rhys
Rhys see Joe when Malcolm insists he attends a London hotspot for the elite and introduces him to their inner circle. They briefly discuss his book and relate to the shared experience of a poor childhood and poverty. Rhys excuses himself, stating he has a television appearance in Berlin the following morning. This entire interaction however was completely in Joe's head meaning it never actually happened.
That night he murdered Malcolm and intended to frame Joe, who was too intoxicated to remember what had happened. He expected that when Joe found Malcolm's body on his kitchen table, he would easily go down for the crime. Instead, he is intrigued when Joe covers it up and disposes of the body. He begins texting Joe anonymously, taunting him and questioning his true identity, while also interacting with him in person at events of the inner circle. Typically, they have conversations in which they seem to carry on their initial bond and Joe lets his guard down with him repeatedly. He digs into Joe's past and discovers who he is, which only intrigues him further and gives him more to taunt Joe with through the text message app. He threatens to implicate Joe in the murders further if he doesn't play along and be honest about himself. By the end of part 1, Rhys has secretly followed the group to Phoebe's remote county estate where they have retreated. After killing Gemma and observing as Joe and Kate frantically try to hide the body and avoid suspicion, he finally intervenes once Roald has implicated Joe as the murderer to others in the group and begun to enthusiastically hunt him through the forest. Rhys captures both Joe and Roald, and Joe wakes up chained up in the secret basement of the estate. He tells Joe that he decided they should dispose of Roald, and following Joe’s previous successful strategy, pin the other murders on him. He tells Joe to kill Roald before he returns but refuses to unchain him. When he comes back to find Joe hadn't killed him and was trying to escape, he was disappointed and set fire to the basement, leaving the two men chained to the wall.
"If you're clever enough to get yourself free, I’ll see you in London." He tells him, before disappearing.
Joe kidnaps, tortures, and murders the real Rhys in a vain attempt to find Marienne's location, prompting the fake Rhys to reveal himself and warn Joe that he had not fed Marienne in days. Joe manages to find Marienne in time, and despite Rhys demanding that he kill her, he plans to free her as soon as he finds a way to escape London before the police can arrest him. Joe texts Marienne's friend Beatrice and learns that Marienne lost custody of her daughter Juliette, which seemingly drives Marienne to commit suicide by overdosing on oxycodone pills. At her written request, Joe leaves Marienne's body on a bench. To "protect" Kate from her father's manipulations, Joe and Rhys murder Lockwood and frame it on his bodyguard, Hugo McNamara.
Guilt-ridden by his murders and Marienne's suicide, Joe heads to a bridge to commit suicide. Rhys begs him to back down, but Joe "throws" him off the bridge before jumping off himself. Unfortunately for everyone, Joe survives his suicide attempt. He tells Kate about the murders of Love and Marienne's ex-boyfriend Ryan Goodwin, and Kate uses his connections to help cover up the murders, allowing Joe to return to New York and live by his true identity. Meanwhile, he discovers that a girl named Nadia has been investigating him, and he frames her for the real Rhys Montrose's murder. While Rhys never speaks to Joe after the bridge scene, Joe imagines his reflection in the window and becomes significantly more ruthless and cruel, so whether the Rhys personality has ceased to exist or merged with Joe's is unclear.
Personality[]
Rhys is a perverted, sadistic, psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, Cold hearted, remorseless, Cruel, enigmatic, and highly intelligent manipulator embodying unhealthy traits. His charm and intelligence mask a deeply strategic and calculating nature, allowing him to often deceive and control those around him with ease. He is seen to lack complete empathy and is mainly driven by a desire for power, often also exhibiting a cold, ruthless streak, taking pleasure in the suffering of others and showing no remorse for his actions adding to his sheer sadism. His manipulative mind and shocking ability to maintain a respectable public façade only adds to his menacing nature. However despite all of this, Rhys is not a crazy individual who speaks from whatever’s on their mind, he’s instead like mentioned before A vile mastermind, In many episodes even though Rhys is simply Joe’s split personality he is seen not socializing very often, standing away from the crowds just being himself. Even Joe himself stated that he’s different then the rest, Even when it comes to moments with Rhys not being with Joe psychically, Due to his stalking methods and evil intelligence as a result he often stalks Joe using a fictional app in which the user can send anonymous messages, He does this constantly even to the point where he blackmails Joe, While the whole time Joe doesn't know until he finds out. Interestingly Unlike one-dimensional characters, Rhys has a well-developed psychological profile. As most His actions are often driven by a traumatic past and a desire for power and control. This depth makes him more intriguing.
He himself is also similar to Joe and while sure that’s not a surprise it’s quite a unique trait as Rhys operates in a morally gray area. While his actions are undeniably villainous, he often rationalizes them with a twisted sense of justice or greater good. Similar to Joe’s reasons for what he did.
Often in the situations show, Rhys is highly smart in his approach, carefully planning his moves and staying several steps ahead of his opponents. This meticulous nature makes him a formidable adversary, All while he manages to stay calm not showing any guilt for what he’s caused. What adds to his manipulation skills is due to the fact that Rhys has a dual identity that adds to his villainous persona. As He presents himself as a reputable public figure of The UK, which contrasts sharply with his darker, hidden side involved in criminal activities. As mentioned before He seems to exhibits several traits common to psychopathy, such as a lack of empathy, superficial charm, and a propensity for deceit. These traits make him capable of obviously committing heinous acts without remorse. His sadistic pleasure in causing harm, coupled with his narcissistic belief in his own superiority, makes him especially dangerous. Rhys’s cunning nature allows him to outwit his enemies, while his ruthless ambition drives him to eliminate any obstacles in his path without hesitation. His complete lack of empathy and profound moral corruption further solidify his role as evil.
Murders Committed[]
- Malcolm Harding - Stabbed in the chest. (Joe Takes a Holiday)
- Simon Soo - Stabbed in the chest. (Portrait of the Artist)
- Gemma Graham-Greene - Throat slashed. (Hampsie)
Quotes[]
- "Pleasure to meet you, brother in arms."
- "They're dancing while the world burns and barely notice its even burning. Why would they? Their weathers just right."
- "I get a sense about you, all jokes aside, my guess is that you've had a truly hellish life. The kind not everyone survives. Am I close? So you're fairly deeply damaged, therefore you're capable of doing real damage."
- "I think yes. As long as they can face themselves completely. To never run from themselves. Face it all no matter what. Easy, right?"
- "I think it would be hypocritical of me to disavow old friends simply for being who they are. But really, I think the longer that you know somebody, the more cursed you are to see them as human."
- "We all wear different masks, depending. And of course, parts of us we can't bear to show anyone."
- "I don't mind getting into all that. I'd have questions too. It's just, I honestly wasn’t prepared for this type of face to face yet. But then you got yourself into a bind and it became very clear that if I didn't intervene, you were gonna get yourself killed."
- "You're welcome. My pleasure."
- "Don't be coy. I've studied you, Joe. The way you’ve been able to escape scrutiny… truly you've been inspiring me so much along the way in my little project. And in light of what's worked so well for you in times past, it seems my best option that doesn't rely on luck, involves framing a dead person so they can't protest their innocence."
- "You kill him, and I’ll take care of the other touches that will make the story sing. I’ve got the note written."
- "No one will be surprised Roald is a killer. He’s a neo fascist with a knife collection."
- "You lied. To me. You're in denial about yourself. It's a shame. You're not the man I hoped you were. I did have a plan A. To frame you for Malcolm's murder. I could go back to that. I don’t want to, but sometimes things don't work out with the person the way you dream."
- "If you're clever enough to get yourself free, I’ll see you in London and we can revisit this."
- "Sorry do I know you?"
- "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."
Relationships[]
Romances[]
- Emma - Ex-Wife
- Gemma Graham-Greene † - Affair
Enemies[]
- Malcolm Harding - Victim
- Simon Soo - Victim
- Gemma Graham-Green - Victim
- Tom Lockwood - Enemy
Appearances[]
Season 4 (10/10)[]
- Joe Takes a Holiday
- Portrait of the Artist
- Eat the Rich
- Hampsie
- The Fox and the Hound
- Best of Friends
- Good Man, Cruel World
- Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
- She's Not There
- The Death of Jonathan Moore
Gallery[]
Screenshots
Promotional
Trivia[]
- Rhys was Joe's only non-romantic obsession.
- Due to season 4 being an original creation from Netflix, Rhys is an original character created for the show, since he makes no appearances in the books. Although since the evil version of Rhys was just a split personality of Joe Goldberg, he could have exist, if his killings were involved violently in the books.
- Giving the ending of season 4, showed Joe’s reflection of Rhys, but it’s unknown if he is still alive, while the fifth and final season is coming, whether Rhys would appear remains unknown.
- Although only in fourth season did Rhys appear as Joe's dual personality, he was always present as the personification of Joe's dark side throughout the other seasons.
- The Rhys personality is more openly perverted than Joe usually is. When Kate is visibly drunk at and after Phoebe's party, Rhys repeatedly encourages Joe to have sex with her, to which he declines.
- The Rhys personality may have appeared in the third season, around episode 3, although it was a double of Joe.
- Rhys is ironically similar to Tyler Durden, from Fight Club, as he is the spilt personality of the protagonist, The Narrator, as an evil personality, like Rhys.
- Although Rhys was a real person, his split personality took over in the form of Joe. For Fight Club, Tyler doesn’t exist, with no person.
