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You Season 5
You Season 5
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SBU | Culture > Entertainment

Goodbye, You

Olivia Francis Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

“Hello, you,” is the one phrase that got me to start watching Netflix’s thriller series You starring Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg. Unlike those who watched Gossip Girl, this was my first time experiencing Badgley’s acting and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. From his thought-provoking monologues to his soothe-toned voice, Badgley brought everything when it came to playing Joe. So, when I remembered that we were saying goodbye to the series as its last season released, I thought it would be nice to come together and say, “Goodbye, You.” 

For those of you who don’t know, You follows Joe Goldberg, a young, bookstore that felt his life was hollow, at least, until he met her, Guinevere Beck, played by Elizabeth Lail. After he met her in his bookstore, he knew he had to have her, and if anyone were to get in his way, they would face an unfortunate turn of events. As Goldberg has said once before, “Loving someone means you’ll do anything for them.” 

As someone who has made it widely known that I love true crime shows, You helped satisfy that craving. One of my favorite seasons of the show has been season 3, when Joe finally gets a taste of his own medicine as he tries to live his life with his new lover, Love Quinn, played by Victoria Pedretti. This season also started to show how fast Joe was quick to think of ways to make up cover stories for his victims. But the season that showed how terrifying Joe can be was Season 4.  

In Season 4, Joe ventures off to London to start a new life for himself under the alias Jonathan Moore. During this time, Goldberg starts to crack under pressure which ends up leading to one of the many plots twists this show has to offer. Besides these twists, the reason I enjoy the show so much is watching a character go from bad to worse. In a lot of shows, many antagonists make viewers hopeful when they show signs of enduring a redemption arc. However, with Goldberg, instead of showing signs of redemption, Goldberg is displaying to viewers how vindictive and violent he can be. With writers of the show doing this, it’s straining away from the “anti-hero” trend and showing off a main antagonist in their true, villainous form.  

So, as I say goodbye to one of my favorite shows, as I continue to watch the fifth and final season, I am glad to have watched a show that gave me a glimpse of the psychological behavior of a serial killer. I am also glad to have lived in the lifetime of when the show came out so that I can happily watch Badgley talk about how he despises Goldberg and would want nothing but the absolute worst for him.  

Olivia Francis

SBU '27

Olivia Francis is a second-year member of the Her Campus at SBU chapter. She oversees the site’s culture, entertainment, and wellness verticals on the site, including mental health, relationships, TV shows, and movie coverage.

Olivia is currently a second-year student majoring in Communications, Social Justice & Advocacy at St. Bonaventure University. Beyond Her Campus, Olivia has been published in many anthropologies over the years through an organization called Young Writers. She is also one of the leading coordinators for SBU's Break The Bubble.

In her free time, Olivia enjoys writing poetry and short stories, along with taking walks while listening to her favorite music genres on Spotify such as Pop or R&B. One of her goals is to travel the world someday and explore new foods and customs. An interesting fact about Olivia is she is not only the first college gen student but, she is the first female in her family to go for a higher education.