[Joe] Previously on You…
Is Joe your little assassin?
I was looking at my sister and I realized I wanted her dead.
[Joe] I love that about you.
I despise that you won't even try to control it in you.
How would you like to become your sister?
One of you lives. One of you dies. It's the same choice I'm giving to her.
What Kate is trying and failing to say
is that I will be taking a step back from my role as CFO of Lockwood Corp.
[Kate] What did you do?
[Joe] Maddie killed Reagan.
You have to have done something.
I'm sorry. It's not my place to protect you.
I am not supposed to feel this way about you.
I'm not supposed to feel this way about you.
It doesn't matter. You're married.
Maybe I want what's inside to come out. To not just be seen, but to be devoured.
[Bronte] And, uh, at home? Are you devoured?
[Joe] I'm not.
[mellow music playing]
[Joe] In the classics, affairs tend to get a bad rap.
Anna Karenina threw herself under a train,
Madame Bovary swallowed arsenic, the list goes on.
But you and I are writing a different kind of love story.
One where every day we spend together feels like a glorious eternity.
- Hold up. - Hmm?
Why…
Why doesn't Ezra kiss her after he kills her attacker?
[music fades]
His face is covered in blood.
Yeah. He's a vampire.
And she's not.
Do not kink shame me.
[Joe] What?
- He's terrified in that moment. - [chuckles]
This is the first time he's revealing his true self to her.
Yawn.
You're writing for the "he's a ten, but he wants to kill you" crowd.
They don't want reality. [chuckles]
They want to come thinking about murder-sex
and then… feel weird afterward.
- Hmm. - No. That's gross. Nobody wants that.
That's gross?
Really?
Is this gross? Mmm.
- Well… What are you doing? - [moaning]
[Joe] Only you could make me want to be messier.
But I'm terrified our eternity will come crashing down
if I show you how much of my protagonist is actually… me.
[suspenseful music playing]
[music fades]
[slow contemplative music playing]
[Joe] With Reagan no longer in her way, Kate's…
Well, she'd flinch at my choice of words, but she's killing it.
Jennifer, listen, uh, we promised up to a quarter of our…
[Joe] All thanks to me, of course.
I'll never get credit, that's okay.
Kate being so busy, means I get to carry on my extramarital adventures,
which I'd prefer to sustain while I figure out what's next.
[cell phone vibrating]
I know. Cynthia, I was the one who hired you.
The things that you scrubbed.
The things that I said I didn't want to know about Joe three years ago,
I want to know now.
Make sure it's encrypted.
[soft tapping]
- [indistinct chatter] - [Joe] Sometimes ignorance is bliss,
and Kate will stay ignorant of reality as long as Maddie plays her part.
Do you want one, Mommy?
Oh, sure.
I mean, no, that's too many carbs, and don't ask me that again.
[Reagan] They're gonna find out.
[foreboding music playing]
What you did, thin-skinned cunt.
- [Harrison] Here you go, Rae. - [both gasp]
Come on. Honey, what is wrong?
[breathing heavily] What's wrong?
How about fucking everything!
You know, just because I allowed you to come back home
doesn't mean that everything is fine!
[breath trembling]
- Hey, honey… - [Gretchen sobbing]
I'm so sorry about that. Come here. That's okay.
Baby… [gasps] Please forgive me. I am so sorry.
I'm sorry… [breathing heavily]
…that you're both such thin-skinned, little cunts!
[music fades]
[Joe] It's shocking how good I am at spinning these plates.
Most people would recoil.
But you're not most people.
You're in love with my protagonist.
I can't stop thinking about your notes.
When do I get to show your work the same level of attention and care?
I haven't been writing too much lately.
I've been a little bit distracted.
- [cell phone vibrating] - [inhales] Um…
Sorry. [chuckles]
Um… I'm gonna… help.
[Joe] Are you hiding something from me?
Revealing your most authentic self makes you vulnerable to being hurt.
How can I get you to show me more of you?
[distant siren wailing]
So, I guess I will see you in the morning.
Uh, yeah, more… more like 11:00. I have some errands.
[knocking at door]
Stay right there, sit back, relax. I've got it.
And what does that mean? [chuckles]
[Joe] You've spent so much of your life caretaking,
I'm guessing one of your love languages is being taken care of.
Uh, for Mr. Goldberg?
[Joe] Yeah, fridge is right back there. Please.
[man] Mm-hmm.
I appreciate all the hours you've been putting in.
- I saw you're out of the essentials. - Joe Goldberg?
Are you calling me malnourished?
More stressed, I think.
[knocking]
Hey, uh, you can set up right there, please. Thank you.
Money buys a lot, especially discretion.
[Bronte] What?
Yeah, you've been pawing at your neck for days. So, unwind.
Eat.
Maybe you'll feel there's space to do some writing.
[mellow music playing]
Thank you.
Can you, like, unfuck my shoulders?
[Joe] Acts of service, a love language we're both fluent in.
[car horn blares]
Hey, wait! [exhales] I, uh… I didn't give you a tip.
Oh. Not to worry. Mr. Goldberg has already taken care of it.
[Bronte] Well, thank you.
[foreboding music playing]
- [Kate sobbing] - [Teddy] I am so sorry.
[Kate sighs]
Oh, come here, come here, come here.
- [continues sobbing] - You're okay.
[slow melancholy music playing]
Ugh. [sniffles]
[groans] I know, I know it's not…
[inhales] I know it's not what I should care about,
but I just feel… [inhales sharply]
…like such a fool.
Yeah, no.
That is not what you should be doing.
Putting this all on yourself.
You… you believed in love. You believed in your marriage.
Why did I ever curse myself with him?
[music fades]
[pensive music playing]
What?
Well, now that you no longer need to protect him,
are you finally gonna tell me the truth?
Who did you marry?
I didn't know.
I told myself that we could just have the "happily ever after"… [inhales]
…and ignore the "before" that was all behind him.
What was the "before"?
In London, he told me that he had done some things in his past.
Things that I allowed myself to believe that he'd done to protect himself,
the people that he loved.
What kind of "things" are we talking here?
He hurt people. Worse.
Worse?
Recently, I've been looking into everything he's done
and I've discovered things that he hadn't told me.
Like the fact that he cheated on his last wife
with a woman who has since gone missing.
[Teddy] Who is this?
Her name is Marienne Bellamy.
She was a librarian that worked with Joe.
Their affair began a few months
before Love Quinn supposedly killed herself.
Supposedly?
I… I read that his ex went crazy, that she tried to kill Joe.
That was his version and I believed it. I helped sell it.
Bob…
That was him, wasn't it?
I knew it. I asked you.
Kate, you are not safe.
- I don't feel safe being here. - No, we are… We are safe.
As long as he doesn't know that we know.
Look, we have to act normal, okay? We have to.
While I work out an exit strategy, one that guarantees that I get Henry.
But you have got to go to the police. He cannot get custody if he's in jail.
- It's not that simple. - Why not?
Allow me to handle this. I can do this.
Please, Teddy, trust me. I know, I know.
I've been asleep, but I'm not anymore. I promise you.
[shop bell tinkling]
[music fades]
That's a great place to start…
[Joe] You do look more relaxed.
[indistinct chatter]
[Joe] And mission accomplished. You wrote.
Guess all you needed was somebody to make some space for you to work.
But more importantly, you're sharing your first draft.
You trust me not to judge.
I can see why you were afraid to share these with me.
It's more honest.
Lurid enough to make the most die-hard reader of fairy smut blush.
[Bronte] She strained against the ropes. He was in control and Ella knew it.
[Joe] Your fantasy is revealing.
Whatever caretaker wound you carry, you've owned it,
romanticized a loss of control.
[Bronte] His body taut with desire.
His arms pressing her against the desk as she gasped for breath.
No words for the hunger raking through her body,
pressing herself into his hardness.
As his teeth grazed her neck, she heard herself gasp…
[gasps] "Take me." [echoes]
[Joe] Could you really want to be so possessed?
Would you give me that kind of trust?
Look, if you hate it, you can just tell me.
No, no, no. No, uh… No, actually, I love it. I do. It's, uh…
Okay, uh, explain… Explain "Uh…"
Well, I'm scandalized… [chuckles] in the best possible way.
How have you read so many books and you're still so vanilla?
I prefer old-fashioned.
Okay, look, I shouldn't have…
- No, Bronte. Bronte… - Mm-hmm.
- I want more of this side of you. - [soft music playing]
So be honest with me, is this what you're into?
I don't know, maybe.
I mean, don't you wish life was as fever-pitched as fiction?
I write plays because I want to feel the words in my body.
Not in my brain.
Even if it's regressive, like this "man dominating woman" sort of thing?
This is the problem, and it's not just you.
It's everybody.
Like, I can't ask for what I want without being second-guessed.
It's like, what is the point of feminism
if I can't be trusted to know my own sexuality? [gasps] Mmm.
[slow sensual music playing]
Mmm. Warmer.
- Hmm. - Only six hours till closing?
Close it now.
- [Bronte moans] - [passionate music playing]
- Remember, it's about who's in control. - [breathing heavily]
[Joe] Don't get me wrong,
I'm not dumb enough to confuse your kink with condoning the darkest parts of me,
but this feels like a bridge.
You want to give me control. Total trust.
Something I don't think I've ever had in a relationship.
Is that knot too tight?
[exhales] Perfect.
- Sure you don't want a safe word? - If I want you to stop, I'll say "stop."
[Bronte exhales]
[Joe] Wow.
I could do anything to you right now.
But that's the difference between me and men like Clayton.
- I'm here to serve you. - [Bronte breathing heavily]
[passionate music continues]
Mmm, come on, show me your teeth. [breathing heavily]
[Joe] You want me in control.
You're mine now.
[moans] Yes.
[Joe] To be trusted with this much of you.
Finally.
And I'm all yours.
[grunts, inhales]
You want it, take it.
Tell me you know you're mine.
- [Bronte] I-- - [cell phone vibrates]
- Um… Uh… Stop. [chuckles] - [music fades]
- Sorry. [groans] - Oh, okay.
No, no, don't apologize. Did I…
It's fine. It's, uh, not a thing. [exhales]
[Joe] Oh, shit. No, what did I do wrong?
Demand that you tell me I own you. That was too far.
[sighs] I'm good. Please, uh,
- don't worry about me. I just… - [cell phone vibrates]
I got… cold. [chuckles]
- Um… Literally, not feet. - [cell phone vibrates]
Um… Your phone.
[Joe] Or was it just non-stop fucking texts from Maddie?
I, um…
I have to go.
Okay. Um…
- Here. No worries, okay? - [exhales]
[Joe] You couldn't do it.
You walked right up to the edge of giving me all your trust
and you pulled away.
Was I too much?
Did you see something in me that scared you?
[suspenseful music playing]
[car horn blares]
[Joe] Maddie is a nuisance,
but you made it clear you need a minute to process whatever that was.
We're adults. We'll be okay. I hope.
[music fades]
[quietly] Joe. It's me. It's Maddie.
I'm aware. Come on.
[exhales] We need to accelerate the timeline.
What do you mean "timeline"?
Reagan's death or disappearance or whatever. [inhales shakily]
Um, we need to do it tomorrow.
Kate keeps asking me questions about why I… She… Her… resigned.
- This is your emergency? - Mm-hmm.
- No, we've been through this. - [breathes shakily]
It's too close to Bob's death.
We have to wait a month or it'll look suspect to everybody.
Most notably my wife.
[inhales] I may not have a soul left by then.
[breathing heavily]
I keep being really horrible to Harrison and to Gretchen.
It's like… I'm too good at being Reagan.
Joe. I'm too undercover.
You don't get it.
Reagan…
She's haunting me. [breathing shakily]
And no amount of pills or sage will make her go away.
And believe me, I have pills.
In one month, Reagan is headed for the Philippines.
For some much-needed alone time where she's gonna rent a boat
and she will become lost at sea.
How?
[Joe] Normally, I wouldn't get into the nitty-gritty,
but this needs to sink in for her.
I have a friend in Manila. He's gonna take care of everything.
Who? You don't have friends.
You need to focus. Look.
[pensive music playing]
One more month… and we say goodbye to Reagan. Forever.
Well, why is she not haunting you?
[Joe] Because I'm glad she's dead.
Stop listening to the voice in your head and start listening to me.
- You've got this. - [whimpers]
Okay? You're stronger than her. You always have been.
Just one more month.
One more month.
[Joe] As long as Maddie doesn't crack, I'm safe.
And this too shall pass.
[shop bell tinkling]
You once told me you hate getting flowers because the gift is already dying,
but I need to give you something to make light of our failed trust fall.
Bronte?
You never opened the store. Are you still upset?
[slow foreboding music playing]
[Bronte] Joe, I'm sorry. I'm leaving town. Thank you for everything. Bronte.
[Joe] What the hell is this?
[keys jingling]
Oh, my God.
Did you just break up with me?
Bronte? Louise?
- [line beeps] - [automated voice] We're sorry.
The number you have reached is not in service.
[dramatic music playing]
[Joe] What happened to you?
And what the fuck happened to us?
[music fades]
[Joe] Where did you go? Why did you go?
I know things got a little weird.
But I… I couldn't have scared you that much.
- [suspenseful music playing] - Unanswered calls. Unanswered texts.
Where the hell are you?
No stories. No new posts.
Why would you break things off like this?
Is there someone else?
Is it Clayton? Is he the one who's been calling you?
"If you love someone, let them go. If they come back to you, they are yours."
You wouldn't have, would you?
No.
No. I'm jumping to conclusions.
Still, I need to be sure.
You said you left town.
Mild Abstraction Theater.
"The only theatre producing truly original shit."
If Clayton's in the city, at least I know you're not with him.
I've just got to create a fake email account.
Got our hands on your latest play.
Brilliant stuff. Would love to meet. Are you around this weekend?
[cell phone thuds on bed]
[suspenseful music continues]
In your absence,
- I'm forced to confront my real life. - [soft whirring]
- [whirring stops] - But hard as I try,
I can't stop thinking about you.
- Thank you for clearing the table, Henry. - I'm not Henry. I'm Zohar.
Oh, okay. Okay. I'm sorry. Of course. So, can Zohar please go brush their teeth?
- [growls] - [growls]
[Joe] I love my son.
Which should mean I love my family.
But with you gone, I have to confront the fact
that not every member of my family loves me back.
[soft pensive music playing]
Kate, your tea.
You shouldn't have.
[Joe] I don't think all the tea in England could warm her heart.
Cold, passionless. Was it always this bad?
Or is it just starker by contrast?
How was your day?
Fine.
It's, um…
It's nice to have you home for dinner.
Yeah, we haven't seen much of each other recently.
I forgot how much work it is. The bookstore.
I'm gonna… [sighs] go read to Henry.
[footsteps receding]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Joe] All right, scootch over, Zohar.
- [Henry growls] - [growls]
[Joe inhales deeply]
Whoa! What is this?
What the fuck?
Dad! Language!
Sorry, earmuffs.
Kate's hiding a knife in our bed.
This can only be proof that my wife does not trust me.
Really doesn't trust me. Is this how bad it's gotten?
It's nothing. Mommy got a gift for Uncle Teddy,
and she just wanted to show me before bed.
Teddy's cool.
Yeah. Yeah, he really, really is.
And she is scared of me. She could have impaled my son.
Okay, so where were we?
That's right, The Wedding of Mrs. Fox.
[keyboard clacking]
[thuds]
You wanna explain… why our son found this under your pillow?
Tell me this isn't because of me.
If that's so absurd, why would you jump to that conclusion?
[Joe breathes deeply]
Three years…
of marriage.
What changed?
I wanted to protect our family.
I show you my writing,
and now you think I'm some bloodthirsty psychopath?
- [slams table] - Joe, fuck your writing!
Stop acting like a victim!
Kate… what changed?
You tell me what changed.
What did you do to Reagan?
Did you blackmail her? Did you threaten her?
I know that you did something.
You are a liar, Joe.
I think that you killed your first wife.
What the fuck? How could you… You know what she tried to do to me!
And you're fucking your shop girl!
Go ahead! Please, deny it.
I want to see the look in your eye as you gaslight me,
so I have a reference for the last three years.
There was a time when I thought you understood me.
Oh, how could I when you didn't tell me the whole truth?
I gave you my heart!
You took it right back when you saw mine.
You have killed so many people.
So have you, Kate.
I forgave your past because you could forgive mine.
But now you've twisted the story to make me out to be the only villain.
And that's how we end up with a son
finding a giant fucking hunting knife
underneath his mother's pillow.
There. It's that. That. Thank you.
I see all of you now. And I don't think I'll ever be gaslit again.
You come one step closer… Remember, our son is upstairs. Joe, I--
Come on. I want you to do it.
Stab me, if that's who you think I really am.
I would have done anything for you.
- Anything. - [breathing heavily]
And you took that. And you used it. You benefited from it.
And then you rejected me for it.
And I know that deep down, when we got married,
you knew all of this.
- You are not a victim either. - [softly] Oh, my God.
- [Kate breathing heavily] - [slow somber music playing]
I know.
[softly] Oh…
[breathing heavily]
Which is why this will all be amicable.
What?
The divorce.
No one has to get hurt, Joe.
Henry.
90% of the children in Henry's class have divorced parents.
It's hardly a scandal. We will do this the nice way.
Discreet for him.
I love him too, Joe. Don't separate us if you don't have to.
Where are you going?
You don't feel safe with me here, so I'm going to sleep at my fucking shop.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Joe] Better to be done with that fucking sham of a marriage.
I should be going home to you.
Where are you, Bronte?
Oh, great. Clayton replied. Out of town means you might be together.
But Clayton being away does present another opportunity.
[engine starts]
It's not hard finding someone who wants to be discovered.
Got his address from his pretentious found poetry website.
Of course, the fucker lives on the fifth floor.
[suspenseful music continues]
[bottles clinking]
- [groans] - [music fades]
A more clichéd protagonist
would bemoan he's getting too old for this.
[intriguing music playing]
Seeing you with him makes me sick,
but there is no way of knowing if these pictures are old or new.
Clayton has the biggest ego in Brooklyn,
but is he stupid enough to leave his password nearby?
"Working with Clay." Ugh.
[keyboard clacking]
Let's see what Clay's been up to.
This is why you always got to log out, bro.
Gas station, drugstore, coffee shop, all in Atlantic Beach.
Did you run away with Clayton?
[keyboard clacks]
Or did he pressure you into leaving with him?
[cell phone vibrating]
A 631 number. Could it be?
Hello?
[Bronte on cell phone] Hi.
[music fades]
Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm fine.
You sound scared. What's going on?
Did you get my note?
Of course I did. Where are you?
[upbeat song playing softly over speakers]
I, um… I can't really talk right now. I just… [inhales deeply]
[sighing] Oh, I needed to hear your voice.
Are you alone?
No.
Is Clayton there?
Has he done something to you?
Maybe I should go.
No, no, please, please don't hang up.
I can come to you, tell me where you are.
[sighs, breathes shakily]
Please forget about me, Joe.
I think I just, I called… to tell you, uh… [inhales]
…not to worry about me. That's it.
Fuck!
Does anything say "definitely worry about me"
as much as saying "don't worry about me"?
[line ringing]
[telephone ringing]
Laurel Diner.
[soft suspenseful music playing]
Hi, uh… [hesitates] What's your address?
Oh, we're at 202 North Road.
- Atlantic Beach? - That's the one.
Thank you.
You must be with Clayton, used a public phone, knew I'd call back.
Something is wrong. You need my help.
- [seagulls squawking] - [suspenseful music continues]
[Joe] Quaint seaside town. Quiet.
Why did you lead me here, Bronte?
Excuse me. Hey! Excuse me. Uh, Sawyer, hi.
Have you, by chance, seen this woman?
Who's asking?
[Joe] He's so stoned he couldn't pick himself out of a lineup.
I think I spoke with you last night. I asked for the address.
[chuckling] Sick. Guess I got it right.
I'm a concerned friend.
- She's been having trouble with an ex. - The guy with the mullet?
[Joe] Clayton. Shit, I knew it.
Yeah. Him? He was here too?
Yeah.
Not a local, but they were having a fight.
He was, like, talking shit about some guy she was seeing.
Not cool, dude.
It's not cool at all. You have any idea where they went?
Yeah, I heard they were headed to The Sandbox.
Sandbox is a… It's a house on the beach.
It has a sign out front. You can't miss it.
Okay, thank you.
Hey, you're that guy.
- [chuckles] Sick. - Yeah.
Thank you, Sawyer. You've been a big help!
I used to think Gen Z would save us all.
Maybe Henry's generation still has a shot.
- [distant waves crashing] - [seagulls squawking]
[low suspenseful music playing]
[Joe] No car parked out front.
Did he take you to a new location?
[door rattles]
[thuds]
[Joe shakily] Fuck.
[groans]
- [Bronte exhales] - [music fades]
[Bronte] Joe? Joe!
Are you awake?
- [distant seagulls squawking] - [distant waves crashing]
Did you tase me?
Yeah. You scared the shit out of me.
- What are you doing here? - Clayton, is he…
Are you in trouble?
Oh, my God.
I am not yours to save, Joe.
All right, if we're going to fight, can I fight from down here?
Because I'm… [groaning] I'm still tased.
[Joe groans]
[exhales heavily]
[Joe sighs]
I know you were with him.
With Clayton.
Yeah, I, um…
I had a moment of weakness. I called him.
[inhales] He showed up and I remembered he's a human shit stain
and sent him packing.
Why did you run away? The sex? 'Cause if I did something wrong--
No, Joe, it's…
[sighs softly]
Yes and no?
It was too real.
[soft somber music playing]
I told you before. I am not your trope.
And then there I was, the other woman.
It is not easy pretending
that you're not married to Kate fucking Lockwood.
I never wanted an affair. [inhales]
[scoffs] So my, uh, my brain made a story.
A fun, little adventure.
Sleeping with Prince Charming.
Uh, but then you…
start treating me like an actual princess. [chuckles]
Not a cliché fairy tale damsel, but a…
[inhales]
…a beautiful, flawed heroine.
My own romance novel.
And fuck, I've never wanted anything more. [inhales]
You have so much power over me.
[breathing shakily]
[sighs] It's terrifying.
What if you weren't the other woman?
[mellow music playing]
I'm getting a divorce.
Bronte…
What if it was you?
And only you.
[breathing heavily]
[music fades]
[Maddie sighs]
- Kate! - Maddie!
- Thought you were my insulin delivery. - What are you doing here?
Um, Reagan asked me to come by. What are you doing here?
[sighs] Well, she won't return my calls, and I need to speak to her.
What is happening here?
Where's Harrison and Gretchen?
They're out. [chuckles]
- What's that smell? Something burning? - Oh, it's just sage. [chuckles]
- [Kate] Oh. - Um, here.
[Maddie mumbles]
What the fuck are you doing?
Just, you know, cleansing. [chuckles]
[sniffs] Wow, you reek of negativity.
Maddie, please. Have you been staying here?
[Maddie] Uh…
Reagan is in a really bad way. And we are working on things.
Okay. Well, I mean, if she can forgive you for Harrison,
she'll surely speak to me.
No! She's really, really busy. [breathing heavily]
She's going away to the Philippines next month
for some much-needed "me time." "Her" time!
And I think that if you gave her some space until then,
when she gets back, she'll be ready to forgive you.
- Maddie, I-- For fuck's sake, Maddie! - [grunts]
Either let me by or just tell me why Reagan stepped down.
- Do you know? - [panting]
Maddie, did Joe have something to do with this?
I'm just trying to help.
Um… [breathing heavily]
I'll tell Reagan you're here.
[suspenseful music playing]
[gasping]
[gasps] Jesus, fuck. [exhales sharply]
- [breathing heavily] - [knocking at door]
[Kate] Maddie? Maddie?
Maddie, open the door, I need to speak to Reagan.
Maddie?
Maddie, come on.
What the fuck do you want?
- Reagan? - What?
Did you not get my text telling you to leave me the fuck alone?
Wait, where is Maddie?
[quietly] Oh, fuck.
Um…
[loudly] We're both in here! Obviously!
In the bathroom?
Doing what, exactly?
Uh…
It's a… It's a twin thing, which is why…
Oh, my God.
[Maddie] …I forgave Maddie for being a messy whorebag
and sleeping with my husband.
You, on the other hand, can eat shit.
Reagan, come out here and face me!
I need to know what Joe did to get you to step down.
Joe didn't do anything to me. It was my whorebag sister.
But you just said you forgave me.
I forgave you for sleeping with my husband,
not for the other thing.
[voice breaking] I had to do it. I had no choice!
You wanted to.
Why can't you just own it?
[sobbing] Well, why can't you just admit
that you would have done the exact same thing to me?
Reagan, stop! Please, please stop!
Please leave me alone! [screams]
[Maddie sobbing]
[music fades]
Maddie?
- Okay, where is Reagan? - [continues sobbing]
She's dead.
[sniffles] And she's haunting me.
Because I killed her. [sobs]
[low somber music playing]
But it wasn't my fault.
Oh. We…
We were trapped in our cage.
In Joe's cage.
At the bookstore.
Maybe it was good.
Because it made me see who Reagan really was.
[inhales deeply] I don't deserve to go to jail. I don't.
[breathing heavily] Reagan abused me.
And it was Joe! [exhales sharply]
I mean, he is a lunatic.
But he made me realize
all of this trauma that I endured.
Katie… [sighs] Katie, please. Please.
Teddy is on the board.
And Reagan is gone.
And things are better.
Oh, God. You feel it, right?
Things are better now.
[breathing shakily]
Can't we all just pretend like this never happened?
[softly] Please.
[music fades]
- [distant waves crashing] - [distant seagulls squawking]
[Joe] Well, if I'm being honest… [sighs]
I've known that Kate and I weren't compatible for, uh, a while.
She finally came to the same conclusion.
["Dreams From Bunker Hill" by Cigarettes After Sex playing faintly]
You don't seem upset about your marriage.
Well, it's complicated. It's a shock.
But then again, the signs were there.
There's relief in honesty.
I'm most worried about Henry. He's…
[sighs] He's been through so much already.
But two miserable parents do not a happy childhood make.
It's a lot to put on me. [inhales]
[hesitates] Henry's happiness is not your responsibility.
- You don't-- - No.
[exhales]
Your happiness.
I don't know why you trust me with it.
Why do you trust me with yours?
- [song continues softly] - ♪ Now I really miss the way it was… ♪
You know what we have…
when we're together, or on the page, or… or in our wildest dreams,
that could be real.
[Joe] Oh!
- [inhales sharply] - [Bronte] Joe…
Thank you. [exhales] Can I have this dance?
[gasps]
Literally gave me no choice.
Now, if you don't trust me yet, that's… that's normal, I think.
We were moving fast.
But when you read my writing,
you're in my head in a way that's more honest
than most people could ever understand.
I thought up until our… roleplaying…
you liked what you saw.
Hmm, you wanted to be consumed.
I do. [inhales]
I want to feel in control of my lack of control.
[gasps]
[chuckles]
[Joe] Bronte. Louise.
You hold all the power.
I think you're scared of how powerful you could become.
Of who we could be together.
Tell me you love me.
- [exhales] - And that's it. I'm yours.
I will lift you up and put you where you belong.
In the center of the universe.
I would rather the fire consume us both
than watch you waste another second of your life
getting less than you deserve.
I feel like if you knew the real me you wouldn't be saying that.
Then prove me wrong.
Show me more of you.
["Fiction" by The xx playing]
[Joe] Anticipation is the sweetest form of torture.
♪ Fiction ♪
♪ When we're not together ♪
♪ Mistaken for a vision… ♪
Tell me what you want.
♪ I wake up alone ♪
♪ With only daylight between us ♪
♪ You're more than I can believe ♪
[Bronte breathing heavily]
♪ Fiction ♪
[rope creaking]
♪ When we're not together ♪
[breathing heavily]
Say you'd do anything for me.
I would burn the world down for you.
♪ Come real life ♪
[Bronte moaning]
Fucking take me already.
- ♪ And if I just mind ♪ - [moaning]
♪ And wake up alone ♪
Now tell me you know I'm in control.
[breathing heavily] You're in control.
[Joe] It's a lie, the game we play.
We're both in control.
Finally, fully trusted, giving, taking.
No you, no me.
Only us.
[both moaning]
♪ Something of my own creation ♪
♪ An uncertain haze ♪
[song fades]
So… Maddie is Reagan.
Reagan is dead because Joe forced Maddie to kill her.
Kate… [inhales] What the fuck?
Where is Maddie now?
At Reagan's being Reagan.
Is she okay?
Not really.
But I told her to act normal to maintain the status quo,
until I can contain this.
And I've got her to share her location, so she doesn't flee the country.
What do you mean, "contain this"?
Don't tell me that you are still refusing to speak to the authorities about this.
I told you, I can't.
Our sister is dead because of him!
And you want to do this quietly?
Because you're worried about what?
Your image?
No, not my fucking image!
I asked Joe to kill Bob, to protect our family,
so I can't give him up because he could bring me down with him.
[grave music playing]
And it's not just Bob.
He killed a politician in London, Rhys Montrose,
and I stood by while he framed a girl who is now sitting in prison.
I unleashed a monster and I built a moat around him.
He's untouchable.
I was so determined not to become Daddy that I married him instead.
Oh, Kate…
I don't even know who you are right now.
I'm your sister.
Please, I cannot lose you too.
Well, you should have thought about that before you dragged me into this mess.
It is going to look like… like I got a board seat
because you had Bob killed.
Or because I… I had Bob killed!
No, no, no, I would never let anyone think that.
[scoffs] Wow. How nice it must be to have the privilege
to think you can control that.
Kate, you will be fine no matter what happens. Me? [inhales]
I am the Black guy from Harlem who is profiting off of a murder.
If all I lose is my board seat, that would be the best-case scenario.
Albie was right. I never should've got involved
- with you and this family. - Teddy. I can contain this. Okay?
I told you, but no one else needs to know.
You can't guarantee that
because you don't know what Maddie's going to do.
You don't know what Joe is going to do.
[Teddy scoffs]
I understand this is something that you probably didn't learn
growing up on Daddy's knee,
but complicity has consequences.
[scoffs]
I care about you, Kate. I… I care about your safety. I do.
But maybe you should lose everything.
[Kate sighs]
[music fades]
[Joe] Gotta hand it to you, Bronte.
Kink was not my thing until now.
Best sex of my life, but more importantly, a deeper level of trust between us.
You asked if I'd do anything for you, I think you knew the answer,
and when I offered to give you the world at any cost,
you gave me a full-throated "yes."
- [muffled thudding] - What the…
- [Clayton] …you're as stupid as she was. - [Bronte] Fuck you.
[Clayton] Don't talk about my dad like that. You stay there and shut up.
- [Bronte] What are you gonna-- - I said…
[Joe] How the fuck did your shitbag ex get in here?
Hey, hey!
- Hey! - [Bronte] Oh, my God.
- Get the fuck off of me, man! - [grunts]
[Bronte] Stop it, Clayton! Get the fuck out of here! [gasps]
[both grunting]
[dramatic music playing]
[dramatic music intensifies]
- [Joe grunts] - [Bronte shrieks]
[gasping]
[tense music playing]
- [door opens] - [persons panting]
[gasping] Oh, my God!
[Joe] What the fuck is this?
B, are you okay?
Fuck! No!
Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
[breathes shakily] We're live, motherfucker.
There's no pulse! Call 911!
[shuddering]
- [person] Shit's insane! - [Joe] Wait. I recognize her.
[person] Blood!
Our friend, Clayton, he's dead and Joe Goldberg fucking killed him!
The world needs to see this before TikTok takes it down.
[person sobbing] There's so much blood. What the fuck did you do to him?
Bronte, we need to leave right now.
[dramatic music playing]
We fucking got him, Louise.
[Joe] Got me?
What the fuck is going on?
Did you set me up?
Did you catfish me?
[music fades]
[gripping instrumental music playing]