Warning: Major You season three spoilers ahead.
Hmmm, you clicked on an article, but not just any article … MY article. You could’ve clicked on any article, but you chose MINE. What was it that intrigued you? I want to know, no, I HAVE to know. Who are you?
The creepy narrations are back as everyone’s favorite toxic couple, Joe and Love Quinn-Goldberg, return to Netflix in the third season of You. In the 10 episodes released on Oct. 15, fans watch the new parents navigate through life in suburbia. Not to worry though, nosy neighbors hardly stop the two from giving in to the temptations of stalking and murdering.
The season’s first episode kicked off with Joe’s newest obsession: the lonely housewife next door, Natalie. The relationship between the two is rather short-lived, as is Natalie’s screen time once Love kills her after finding her panties in Joe’s box — you would think he would learn to stop storing memorabilia from his love interests.
Of course, he doesn’t. Instead, Joe fixates his affection on yet another woman who is not his wife: Marienne, the young and witty librarian. While Love desperately tries to reignite their sex life and relationship, Joe falls back to his usual habits of watching women from his car, hiding in their apartments, and killing anyone who stands in the way of “true love.”
And that is exactly the justification he uses when he murders his own wife.
Now, let’s talk about Love for a second.
Victoria Pedretti’s character took the cake (pun intended) for the most murders this season, but it was all in the name of saving her marriage. Still troubled by the loss of her brother, Forty, Love undergoes a tragic character downfall. With the help of Joe’s condescending attitude, the new mother succumbs to insecurities and paranoia as we watch her wild energy irreparably fade away.
Something not even swingers can fix.
Maybe it’s the trauma-filled childhoods, but there is no getting around the fact that both Joe and Love are extremely disturbed psychopaths. Still, there is something so cruel about Joe’s rationale for his behavior that makes him more of a villain than anyone else.
Love obviously was not the easiest woman to divorce, as she had a tendency to paralyze those who tried. But you can’t help but pity her devotion to a man who had eyes for literally anyone but her. No wonder she was wooed by the flirtations of a college student. Some may see her reactive and international behavior as the cause of her demise, but I think she was doomed the moment she met Joe.
Joe’s charisma and skill for manipulation makes him one of the most dangerous characters to exist. Love was never safe in that marriage, even if she was the mother of his child. Joe was quick to burn their white-picket-fence home down to the ground with everything in it — including her. A man with a taste for symbolism, I will give him that.
We did see a shred of humanity in Joe when he left his son, Henry, with Dante in hopes of giving him a better life. There was emotion in his eyes as he hesitated to walk away, but not enough to convince me that he is a good person.
The season left off with Joe, now going by the name Nick, in Paris — where Marienne dreamed of seeking asylum to with her daughter. Fans are eager to see if the two will meet again, or if “Nick” will prey on a new woman. I would not be surprised if he does both.