Every Member Of You Season 4's Oxford Circle Ranked By How Insufferable They Are

This post contains spoilers for "You" Season 4.

After Netflix released Part 1 of "You" Season 4, the show managed to rack up over 90 million viewing hours over its first few streaming days. After the explosive Season 3 finale, Joe (Penn Badgley) burnt his old life to the ground and fled to Europe for love and a fresh start. Of course, his peaceful European holiday doesn't go according to plan. Rather than getting bogged down by the formula of its previous seasons, Season 4 turns the show's premise on its head. For the first time, Joe is the hunted rather than the hunter, as a mysterious killer picks off victims one by one while taunting Joe from afar with anonymous text messages. Joe's murderous tendencies take a backseat as he finds himself playing the role of the detective in his least favorite genre: a whodunnit. 

Showrunner Sera Gamble has already teased plans for a fifth season, but first, we'll have to see how Joe's deadly chess game turns out. Season 4 has introduced a vast pool of potential victims, members of the same absurdly wealthy circle of friends who met each other at Oxford. From wannabe entrepreneurs to spoiled aristocrats, the members of this Oxford circle represent the worst of the 1%; the class divide comes to life to dance and sip absinthe while the world around them burns. We've put together a list of every member of the Oxford circle in order of how utterly insufferable they are (best to worst), from the privileged and naive to the unbearable snobs that will have you sharpening a guillotine. Without further ado, let's dig in. 

Coming in at the bottom of the ranking and number one in our hearts is Lady Phoebe Borehall-Blaxworth (Tilly Keeper). Described by Joe as "quintessentially blonde," Phoebe is a genuine sweetheart through and through. She is not the brightest bulb, but she's certainly the warmest of the bunch. It makes sense that she would be so pleasant; after all, she's wealthy enough to never have to worry about a thing, but her kindness is notable next to the rest of her friend group. She welcomes Joe (or "Jonathan" in this new life) into the group with open arms, happy to gift him expensive clothes and invite him to exclusive events in spite of her friends' protests. At first, this is because she's interested in him, but even when he rejects her she continues to treat him as a dear friend. 

Phoebe is lovely to a fault, willing to give anyone and everyone the benefit of the doubt and excuse all manner of toxic behavior on the part of her inner circle. However, her intentions are always good, and she looks out for her loved ones. She cares for Kate, treats driver and security guard Vic like he's a member of her own family, and is willing to bend over backward (sometimes literally) to make her relationship with Adam work. It's borderline impossible to dislike a character who cheerfully greets her unfaithful partner with a "Shall I peg you?"  

A little rougher around the edges than her best friend Phoebe, Kate (Charlotte Ritchie) is still one of the most redeemable members of the Oxford circle. She takes a while to warm up, keeping Joe and the audience at arm's length with her classic English stiff upper lip and tendency to keep her emotions locked down. But beneath her stoic exterior lies a deep well of trauma and shame, as well as a desire to do better and be better than where she came from. It's easy to see how Kate became the person that she is, with an emotionally repressed mother and a corrupt, powerful father who Kate considers to be one of the evilest men in the world. 

Kate isn't cold because she doesn't care, she is cold because she cares so much she can't stand it. After a lifetime of refusing to cry, Kate is the sort of person who fights the tide of feeling because, once the dam finally bursts, there will be a flood. Easily the most compelling character in Season 4, Kate is sharp, dry, and incredibly smart. She is always inches away from having everyone, including Joe, figured out, and she'll let them know it, too. When Joe helps her move a body, she demands to know why he is so good at it. We can only hope that if she finally learns the whole truth behind Joe's lies, she'll live to tell the tale. 

It says a lot about the Oxford circle that one of its least irritating members is an actual serial killer. Rhys Montrose, played by the memorable Ed Speleers, is the only person Joe meets on his first night at Sundry House that is able to carry on a thoughtful conversation with him. Rhys is intelligent, charismatic, and humble but wildly successful, and plans to run for Mayor of London to address the shameful wealth inequality in the city. He's also been killing his own friends and anonymously tormenting Joe. While Rhys's actions are inexcusable, there is no denying his likability. He is warm, charming, and always knows the right thing to say. Sure, he's a cold-blooded killer, but so is Joe. 

Rhys and Joe actually have quite a bit in common. They both had traumatic childhoods, they both share an interest in literature, and they both have a deep sense of justice. Of course, Joe commits murder for his own romantic gain while Rhys does it in a misguided attempt to effect meaningful social change. Rhys is the perfect counterpart to Joe, a rival who can give him a run for his money and shatter the facade he has worked so hard to craft. It's going to be a blast to see what happens between the two killers next. 

If a character can be neutral on this show, Connie (Dario Coates) is it. He is almost a nonentity, a background figure known mainly for enjoying betting, horses, and drinking heavily. He isn't particularly likable, but he isn't particularly objectionable either. It's possible he'll have a bit more to do in the latter half of the season, and maybe then he'll reveal himself to contain hidden depths or some exceptionally loathsome beliefs. For now, though, he's just there, like a decorative lamp or an ottoman. Even the judgemental Joe barely registers him on their first meeting at Sundry House.

He has the occasional cocaine and booze-fueled outburst, but there is nothing about him that sets Connie apart from his peers. In another friend group, he might be the most insufferable one, but since the Oxford circle contains some true monsters, he coasts by above the extremely low bar set by his friends.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Though several members of the Oxford circle are nobility like Phoebe (or are "royal-adjacent" like Malcolm), Blessing Bosede (Ozioma Whenu) has the distinction of being an actual Nigerian princess. Beautiful and brilliant with several post-graduate degrees, Blessing spends most of her time in the tech industry. Unfortunately, she devotes that time to peddling cryptocurrency pyramid schemes and talking about how she believes that the world is a simulation. She also feels very little sympathy for the less fortunate, and when you're a princess, pretty much everyone is less fortunate than you. If poor people wanted to have more than they do, in her opinion, they should just apply themselves more and adopt a positive mindset. 

So far, Blessing has been relegated to the background by the bigger personalities in her friend circle, but as the bodies pile up and the story progresses, she will hopefully get more screen time in the season's second half. Who knows? Maybe she'll have some hidden depths that have nothing to do with royalty or tech. 

Sophie Soo (Niccy Lin) is the picture of carefully curated glamour and luxury. Raised by a wealthy technology magnate alongside her brother, Simon, Sophie could have done whatever she wanted with her life. At first, she thought that was Harvard Law School. However, on a trip to Mykonos, she pivoted from a career in law to one as a professional traveling influencer, trading court cases and legal briefs for private jets and brand sponsorships. Sophie is every inch the opportunist but compared to her brother Simon she is practically a saint. 

Sophie takes the time to call out her brother when he is being particularly rude and isn't especially fond of Malcolm's nonsense either. Still, she is perfectly fine with the way her friend group behaves, and may even be aware of the unsavory practices Simon is getting up to in the art world. It would be easier to get a read on Sophie if she ever let her honest self show, but she seems to always be posing for the camera even when there's no one taking her picture.

Aside from Joe, Adam (Lukas Gage) is the only American in the Oxford circle; the two men could not possibly be more different. Adam is a pampered rich kid and repeat screwup who has been given one too many bailouts by his wealthy father. The most upsetting things that have ever happened to him are a drunk driving arrest while out with Timothée Chalamet and a series of failed businesses. Everything seems to be going in Adam's favor lately, with the success of his private club Sundry House and his relationship with Lady Phoebe, but there is a bit more to the man than meets the eye. Secretly, Adam is obsessed with engaging in humiliation fetish play with members of the service industry, compelled by the rare role reversal that places someone so beneath him finally in a position above him. 

Though Adam's proclivities make him more interesting, he is still largely a shallow showoff with a fragile ego. He is all too ready to join Roald in accusing Joe of being the Eat the Rich killer, happy to throw him under the bus because he divulged his secret kink to Phoebe. Though he fancies himself an adult ready for marriage and a life in the competitive world of high-end business, Adam has a lot of growing up to do. 

Simon Soo (Aidan Cheng) fancies himself the voice of a generation, an impossibly deep, tortured artist. He carries himself with a constant air of being too good for everyone and everything around him, feigning a lack of interest in friends, family, and even his own success. When Joe first meets him, Simon brushes him off abruptly by saying that he has plenty of friends already and that Joe should "come back when one of them is dead."

In reality, Simon cares a lot more about how he is perceived than he might indicate. He cares so much about people thinking he is a brilliant artist that he steals all of his work from better artists, then passes it off as his own. He hires talented young artists as his assistants, gets them hooked on drugs to destroy their credibility, then puts on a gallery showing full of their art with his name on it. Even when confronted by one of his victims in public, who calls him out and destroys one of the paintings he stole from her, he barely even bats an eye before pretending it's all part of the show. Simon banks on his privilege and his reputation to shield him from any consequences for his actions, but he doesn't count on the intervention of a murderer intent on punishing the rich and corrupt. 

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

There's being a pretentious fraud or a spoiled manchild, and then there's forcing an underpaid worker to be your human croquet hoop while you and your friends watch with uproarious laughter. That is a whole new level of gold-encrusted evil, and it's just the sort of thing Gemma (Eve Austin) loves to do. From the first moment she meets Joe, Gemma manages to disparage multiple marginalized groups in the time it takes to do a shot of liquor. She is brash, cruel, and not even clever enough to be subtle about what a monster she is. 

Gemma makes offensive comments at the drop of a hat and acts like anyone who doesn't laugh along just "can't take a joke." She casually admits that her sister killed a homeless person, an act which would "get her canceled" these days. Even Kate, who considered Gemma a friend in school, refers to her as "vile." It seems that Gemma hasn't grown or changed at all since her time at Oxford, and, in Kate's words: "If something doesn't grow, it rots." When she turns up dead during Phoebe's country house getaway, it's honestly not that great of a loss.

A character has to be truly obnoxious to land a spot this high on the list when they don't even survive past Episode 1 of the season, but Malcolm (Stephen Hagan) is honestly that terrible. A classist, misogynist blowhard who flaunts his status to get whatever he wants, treats people like playthings, and has flagrant affairs with his university students, he is one victim no one but the rest of the Oxford circle was sorry to see go. 

Unfortunately for Joe, Malcolm's insistence that he come along to Sundry House for a drink sets off the chain of events that puts him in the Eat the Rich killer's crosshairs. It is Joe's skill in disposing of Malcolm's body that piques Rhys's interest in him, causing him to upgrade Joe from "convenient patsy to pin the murder on" to "potential partner in crime." Leave it to a guy like Malcolm to still be causing problems for those around him, even from beyond the grave.

Joe is not someone we find ourselves agreeing with frequently. After all, he's a killer with a savior complex who stalks women under the guise of sweeping them off their feet. But every so often, he gets something right, and his opinion on Roald (Ben Wiggins) is one of those rare moments of clarity. Joe hates Roald from the moment they meet, and the feeling is very much mutual. There is nothing to like about Roald, from his fake smile and backhanded compliments to an obsession with Kate that nearly rivals Joe's behavior in previous seasons, creepy secret photo collection and all. When Kate refuses his advances again and again, he punishes her by embarrassing her in front of Joe. 

Roald isn't just rude and snobbish, he's dangerous. He takes Joe on a one-on-one hunting trip where he demonstrates a willingness to shoot and kill a bird raised in captivity just for the sport of it. When this attempt at intimidation fails to have the desired effect, Roald whips the rest of the group into a frenzy with claims that Joe is the killer. Using his power and connections, Roald effectively sentences Joe to death outside of the confines of the justice system, gloating all the while that this is the way things should be done. Roald is everything wrong with the obscenely wealthy packed into one smarmy man with a smug, incredibly punchable face.