Netflix headliner You is a psychological thriller series based on the books of the same name by Carolyn Kepnes. Developed by Greg Barlanti and Sera Gamble, it stars Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg. The series is a lesson on the obsessive lengths of love. It follows the story of Goldberg, a bookstore manager and an obsessive serial killer, who falls in love with girls and chases them. Here is a recap of what happens throughout the series.
Season 1: Beginnings of You
The first season humbly begins with the introduction of Joe as a simple bookstore manager in New York. Joe meets his love interest, Guinevere Beck, an aspiring writer, and becomes obsessively infatuated with her. He stalks her both through social media and in person to get an overview of her. Once convinced that she is the “perfect girl”, Joe breaks loose.
The pilot season introduces Joe’s internal monologue that follows him throughout. He constantly converses with Beck in the second person, “You”. Additionally, the audience can easily break into his mindscape. Penn Badgley is convincing as the dangerous Joe Goldberg. He almost makes the audience pity him. A troubled childhood, a quest to find love, and a promise to shower a girl with whatever he has – Joe aspires to be the perfect man.
However, in his Odyssey to win over the girl, he commits a series of crimes. Like an expert predator, he gradually eliminates her ex-boyfriend and her best friend to get closer to his prey. Joe enamours Beck with his “knight in shining armour” persona. He not only convinces Beck, but he also manipulates the audience in the process.
Beck Sees Through the Monster
Although he is protective towards Beck, loves her, and cares for her, he does all of them to satisfy his own ego. Furthermore, he is manipulative and driven by lust; love comes afterwards. His severe obsession with owning the girl that he likes makes him the monster that he is. The show traces his mania for providing protection back to his disturbed childhood. A young Joe witnesses the abuse of his mother at the hands of his father, giving him the impetus to become the man who protects girls and innocents around him. His bond with Paco testifies to this.
Ultimately, the facade breaks. Beck pierces through his veil. In a series of flashbacks, Joe reveals his obsession with his ex-girlfriend Candace, which led to her apparent murder. Beck, too, suffers the same fate. The infamous glass cage traps Beck and invites fantasies all over the media.
Although an unfortunate character at the hands of Joe, Beck, too, has her shortcomings. Elizabeth Lail delivers a naive and refreshing performance as the young Beck. She is impulsive and premature. Joe easily takes over.
Season 2 of You introduces Love Quinn
Affected by the incidents of Season 1, Joe moves from New York to Los Angeles for a fresh start under the identity of Will. He is hunted by his ex-girlfriend, Candace, who survived being buried alive. Joe meets the chef, Love Quinn and is immediately enchanted by her. Although he tries to stray away from his old behaviours, they creep up on him.
His unlikely friendship with his neighbours, Delilah and Ellie, charms the audience. Love’s twin brother, Forty, also grabs attention through his humorous performance. But it is Love Quinn who steals the show. Victoria Pedretti is a true counterpart to Penn Badgley’s Joe.
When Joe Meets His Female Counterpart
Love is stronger than Joe’s former love interest, Beck. She has her own tricks to outwit the predator. What Goldberg takes as a naive revelation of love is the exact opposite of what he can ever dream of. Accordingly, Love is a “female Joe” – a force to reckon with. The connection is magical, and this bond is for eternity. She does not hesitate to kill for Joe. The love that Joe had been chasing all along finally reaches up to him. She is the perfect woman for him.
Moreover, Love bursts through Joe’s secrets. She has a mind of her own. In a frenzied climax where Love locks up Joe in his glass cage, Joe meets his match. This is no ordinary girl. She is the woman of his dreams. Love’s problematic past bewilders Joe. She becomes pregnant with his child, thus forcing Joe to settle down finally.
Furthermore, this season clarifies that Joe’s hubris is in his overestimation of himself. He isn’t exactly the sly force that he regards himself to be. Lust, manipulation, obsession, and an unholy urge to protect women lead him to his fate. The idea of “love” obsesses him; he isn’t really in love.
Season 3: The Combined Forces of Joe and Love
Love challenges Joe on a level hitherto unknown to him. The ‘You’ that he had been trying to protect doesn’t need any protection. She, herself, is an expert hunter. Love has no second thoughts to protect the people she loves. Together, they become a force like DC’s Joker and Harley Quinn. The clever punning of their names alludes to the same.
In the new season, Joe and Love settle down with their newborn son, Henry, in the Californian suburb of Madre Linda. Their relationship isn’t a smooth sailing one. Chaos creeps up on them. While Joe has to cover his tracks now, Love has to make sure that Joe stays obsessed with her, or else she will face the same fate as the others.
Season 3 finally breaks the illusion that Joe had been chasing throughout. The dreams of a perfect wife, a perfect family, a perfect son don’t please in any mood. He feels trapped in a seemingly ideal household situation. Old habits make an abrupt appearance. They are the only ones providing him with some sort of adventure. His affairs with the next-door neighbour, Natalie and the librarian, Marianne, don’t end well.
To counterattack Joe, Love has her own affairs. Yet Joe wants to break free. In a high-tension climax, both Love and Joe attempt to murder each other to be finally freed of the curse that they have been carrying. Fate doesn’t favour Love. Joe’s malicious intent wipes her off the narrative. Henry gets a new home, and Joe escapes. He is well suspected of the murder of his wife. An epilogue hints towards another new life in London.
Season 4 Attempts a Bolder and Better Presentation of Joe
Joe attempts to blend into English society by socialising with a circle of elite people in London. He is Jonathan Moore, an English professor. However, complications arise when the people from the circle begin to be murdered. In a whodunit style, Joe begins a manhunt for the murderer.
On the personal front, Joe’s instinct to chase, love, and protect someone grows stronger when he meets a woman named Kate. His first move is to be the obsessive lover that he wants to be. Soon, unfortunate circumstances led to the murder of Kate’s husband, thus making it easier for Joe to form a relationship with her.
Joe Goldberg’s Darkest Psychological Descent
This season delves deep into Joe’s psychological issues. Although he has Marianne locked up, a new love interest, and a reputed job, Joe isn’t exactly at peace. Meanwhile, his unusual friendship with the author Rhys Montrose becomes his personal Fight Club scenario. Joe finally discovers that it was his alternate personality that drove him to do what he did in London. He suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder, apart from severe PTSD.
Eventually, in a faux-climax where he attempts to drown himself for repentance, Joe succeeds in garnering the pity of the audience once again. He is saved by his lady love, Kate. Thereafter, Joe is careful about what he does. He agrees to marry Kate and returns to New York City. Along with Kate, he is determined to wipe out his old identity.
Overall, Season 4 is arguably You’s biggest and brightest season. However, the void of Love Quinn is felt all over. Kate, with all her backlogs, is a poor substitute for Love’s force. Moreover, Joe is almost a representation of the manosphere with his ideal qualities to impress the right girl. Yet, the budget doesn’t do justice to the tight-knit story that the series once had.
Season 5 ends Joe’s Murderous Run
The ultimate season could have been a redemption arc for Joe. Yet, he does not avail himself of the chance. Joe nourishes his identity in New York through his relationship with Kate and gets back the custody of his son, Henry. However, his lust betrays him once again.
Joe is quick to fall in love with a young woman named Bronte. Unknowingly, he sets himself up for a bigger trap. Bronte joins forces with Marianne, Nadia, and finally Kate to put an end to Joe’s wrongdoings. It began with Beck, and the showrunners almost made an effort to complete the cycle. However, the ending doesn’t quite land.
Joe’s storyline with Bronte seems like an ill-conceived plot. After all, someone like Joe would have been aware of her plans from the very beginning. Moreover, the writers toned down the manipulative, lusty, and obsessive Joe Goldberg of season 1.
The finale of the show, where Joe is finally arrested, had been long overdue. Yet, it fails to impress audiences when it finally happens. The ultimate punishment meted out to Joe fails to evoke any visceral reaction. Instead, it is Joe who is in command once again. Now, he reaches out directly to the audience, asking whether they are to be blamed for supporting him all throughout.
You and Its Greater Implications
You is not a documentary about a serial killer. It is a fictionalised account of how a man with a great appearance and charming personality can easily be dismissed for his crimes. Although Penn Badgley has repeatedly voiced his displeasure at young women romanticising Joe, it has fallen on deaf ears. He is someone who should be a moral lesson to society, not the hero who saves girls.
With the rise of the manosphere and the ideal image of a protective man within cycles of men, it is important to question the protagonists that women are supporting. Joe becomes the classic case of the Halo Effect, like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. Therefore, the abuse, violence, and trauma inflicted by these men need to be questioned more. Joe easily gets away with all of these because he is charismatic.
Follow The World Times for more such recaps!
