Let's Unpack That Plot Twist In You Season 3's First Ep

At long last, the mystery of Joe’s neighbor is solved! Back when You Season 2 dropped at the end of 2019, fans were left with a haunting image: Joe Goldberg looking through the fence of his new suburban home and noticing the new object of his obsession. For nearly two years, You fans theorized about the identity of Joe’s neighbor, whose face was hidden by a sunhat and a book, but now that Season 3 has finally arrived, her true identity is no longer a secret. Here’s all the important details about who Natalie Engler is in You Season 3, because she is full of secrets.

Spoiler alert: This post contains details from You Season 3, Episode 1, "And They Lived Happily Ever After." The new season of You wasted no time in addressing that huge Season 2 cliffhanger. After Joe and Love settle into their new home in the small, gossipy California suburb, Madre Linda, with newborn baby Henry, they express their very different impressions of their new neighbor, Natalie Engler. Of course, viewers already know Joe is obsessed with the high-end realtor, whom he can’t seem to keep his eyes off of, whereas Love initially finds her to be cold and unwelcoming. The rumors around town that she “stole” her husband Matthew from his beloved ex-wife certainly don’t help Love’s opinion of her.

But eventually, as Love saw through the shallow machinations of Madre Linda queen bee Sherry Conrad, she began connecting with Natalie, bonding with her over being a bit of an outcast among the rest of the town. All the while, Joe was also bonding with his new neighbor. Natalie was quick to notice Joe stalking her, and began sending him flirty signals before finally inviting him over. She expressed how unhappy she was in her marriage and in the dull town of Madre Linda as a whole. It didn’t take long for Joe and Natalie to start making out, but surprisingly, Joe stopped before the affair could go any further, as he was trying to remain true to his promise of never becoming obsessed with someone else again.

While the two never actually had sex, Joe did still hide away a box of intimate items he managed to pocket from his tryst with Natalie... which, of course, Love quickly found. Despite Love’s newfound connection with Natalie — which even led to the realtor showing Love a perfect location in town where she could open a bakery — her murderous jealousy was even stronger, and the very first episode of Season 3 ended with Love standing over Natalie’s lifeless body.

It’s a pretty big twist to kick off the season, and although Natalie’s time on the show was much shorter than fans expected, she still served an important purpose. Now that Love has unleashed her darkness yet again in this new city, things are bound to only get messier.

You Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.