Netflix’s hit show, “You”, about a stalker and murderer everyone loves to hate, recently came out with it’s 3rd season this past Friday, Oct. 15, 2021.
If you haven’t seen the new season, consider this your spoiler warning! And please keep in mind that all thoughts mentioned are solely my own.
So, I love “You”. I have been obsessed ever since the first season came out on Netflix all those years ago. Mostly because of Penn Badgley, who I loved in Gossip Girl and Easy A. But also because I had heard of the book, and was always intrigued at the idea of following the main character of a stalker. And I loved it, I was so intrigued at how the show was able to make me feel sorry for Joe Goldberg and yet hate him at the same time. I remember making my boyfriend watch it, and I would not shut up the entire time making sure he noticed all the same things I did.
Now, here we are, at season 3. Season 2 brought us to L.A., meeting Love, Joe’s love interest (more like obsession) who turned out to be just as crazy as him. She murders and obsesses just like Joe, which was an amazing plot twist. Season 3 starts off with Love and Joe married and with a son, Henry. I’m not going to summarize everything that happened, so let me get right into the review.
This season was definitely… something. Honestly, I was annoyed the entire time. In fact, the only characters that did not annoy me were Henry, Mathew, and Marienne.
Love, who everyone, including me, has at the very least a slight crush on, really got on my nerves. It was strange watching her become the main murderer. In fact, I think Joe only killed one person this season, while Love was just piling the bodies. And don’t get me started on her relationship with Theo. That just made me feel a little icky, because I know she was attracted to Theo because he reminded her of her dead twin brother, Forty. And that it stems from her habit of taking care of people, and being loved as a maternal figure. It was all too incesty once I realized that.
Joe was, as always, a real creep. This season he had 2 obsessions instead of the usual 1, which was at the very least different, but I started to realize I was not as entertained by his antics as I was in past seasons. Joe Goldberg is a commentary of how white men can get away with anything, and still made out to be the hero in people’s minds. But this season just made me realize how over that creepy part of his character I was. It was no longer an underlaid example of how our society treats white men, despite them being criminals. Instead, we just see Joe being a complete creep, with the meaning behind his character being lost with the inclusion of Love as his partner in crime.
That’s not to say that seeing Love and Joe work together and be complete crazies together wasn’t entertaining. It definitely was, but having Love be the one to be constantly hurting people and Joe cleaning up after her was kind of lame. Love was smart in season 2, she wasn’t super impulsive. She played a long game when it came to Joe, truly like his other half. But in this season, she was impulsive, to the point it was pretty stupid. How was Joe made out to be the smart one? Why couldn’t they both be equally as smart when it came to their issues?
I also wish there was more time dedicated to Love healing after losing Forty. They mention it a couple of times, but besides her relationship with Theo and with Joe, it was never really made a key part of her character. It could be said that she was so impulsive because she lost Forty, but that seems like a poor explanation for a lack of character continuity. They only consider Forty when she goes through that whole “soulmate” scenario, which, again, was pretty incesty,
I will admit, the whole American Suburbian couple being criminals and crazies was definitely entertaining. It was so fresh and new, especially since Season 2 started off as Joe attempting to find another Beck in Love. The premise was there, I am just not 100% sure they pursued it correctly.
Also, the season ending was immaculate. Not only did Love look super pretty, but the way it all came together was amazing. “You” has always been good at that, so it was definitely what I was looking forward to the ending. Honestly, I don’t think there needs to be a 4th season. The way it ended was open ended, but I think it works. I like the idea of Joe running off to Paris searching for Marienne, not knowing if he will find her. It was, besides that, pretty tied up. Love is dead, Henry is adopted, Joe cannot be tied back to his past crimes, etc. That final episode entertained me from start to finish, which really helped me look at the season as a whole, especially since, as I’ve said before, it seemed pretty mediocre compared to the first two seasons.
Overall, I was intrigued at the new setting and having Love and Joe work together. Some parts were good, but I think the show could have been more. The ending was good, and I don’t think a next season is completely necessary. But, I will definitely watch it as soon as I can when it does come out.