YOU is quite possibly one of the only shows where you will genuinely find yourself rooting for a complete psychopath, just hear me out on this.
The 10 episode Netflix series takes some time to really get going. When Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), an indie bookstore worker who seems too smart for his own good spots aspiring writer and grad student Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), it’s love at first sight. The scenario is one big cliché. To be quite honest, I almost didn’t make it past the first episode.
The premise of the show is admittedly cheesy. A guy who seems perfect on the outside, but actually harbors this deep, dark past is determined to make his new infatuation his one and only.
It is once you get past the lifetime-y qualities (it did air first on Lifetime before Netflix,) that this series really starts to shape itself into a spine-tingling thriller. It also starts to shape you, the viewer, into a super fan of a manipulative murderer.
When Joe watches Beck through her large and curtainless windows, you brush it off. When he steals Beck’s phone and uses it to stalk her entire life, you’re in awe but you can’t quite bring yourself to be disgusted by him. When he kills Beck’s scummy on and off booty call Benji (Lou Taylor Pucci), you find yourself almost relieved that Beck could finally just start dating Joe.
And of course, there’s Paco. Joe’s adorable kid neighbor with a bad home life. Joe takes care of Paco, and what’s better than a guy who’s good with kids?
This show even makes you get mad at the last person you should be angry with, Beck. This poor girl just wanted to be a writer and fit in amongst a crowd she didn’t really belong. Yet here we are getting mad at Beck because she’s doesn’t realize that her psychotic Prince Charming is standing right outside of her giant and again CURTAINLESS windows. Instead we feel bad for Joe as he stands out in the dark watching Benji and Beck canoodle.
You continue to feel bad for Joe when Beck’s best friend and socialite, Peach Salinger (Shay Mitchell), can’t seem to hide her disdain for the lowly bookstore worker. Even when he shoots Peach in her yard you’re more relieved that she can’t tell Beck the truth rather than be outraged that the only character who truly knows that Joe is a monster is dead.
Even after Peach is murdered, you’re basking in this euphoric montage of Joe and Beck being #relationshipgoals. You want things to work out for them even though he just murdered Beck’s best friend.
Joe is essentially ruining someone’s life all the while convincing himself he’s doing the right thing. You’re there with him cheering him on as he constantly spies on Beck and kills the people closest to her so he can eliminate anyone she’d possibly need besides him. It’s sick really, but you can’t help it.
I didn’t stop rooting for Joe until the last episode. It wasn’t until he actually killed Beck that I had to take a step back and remind myself that his character is delusional and monstrous. Actually, that’s a lie. I took a timeout on team Joe when he went after John Stamos (he plays Beck’s wildly attractive therapist).
If you’ve watched YOU already, hopefully you can relate to my struggle of not being able to stop rooting for a serial killer. If you haven’t, sorry to spoil some major points of the show; I’ve been needing to vent about this since I binged the entire series.