You became a surprise hit when its first season got a second life on Netflix. The show used toxic tropes from the romance genre and obscure French folk tales to challenge established ideals of love in Western culture, following bookstore manager Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), as he stalked, gaslit, and eventually murdered aspiring writer Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail). After moving to streaming full-time, You’s second season sets up a similar departure for its antihero, as Joe flees New York and the spirit of his dead girlfriend for the obnoxiously sunny hills of Los Angeles.
At first, Joe tells the audience—via his pompous voice-over/love letter/journal—that he’s going cold turkey on falling in love. But obsessions can’t be forgotten by wishing them away. In order to get a new identity on a tight budget, Joe abducts Will (Robin Lord Taylor), a dark web document forger. He buys a second-story apartment in a cute little bungalow, finds work at a bookstore, and seems to be handling his impulses well—despite occasionally seeing an apparition of Guinevere. But at the end of the premiere, his lying ways resurface, and it’s revealed that he’s fallen hard for Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti).
Showrunner Sera Gamble turns her pen to the culture of Los Angeles in a biting, satirical look at everyone who’s ever begrudgingly moved to L.A. only to be won over by their new home. On an early date, Love takes Joe all over the city in a single night to locate a the perfect taco. In the season’s seventh and best episode, “Farewell, My Bunny,” Joe learns of the seven totems that, once seen, mean a transplant can’t leave L.A.. These include a dog in a stroller, a police helicopter, a palm tree on fire, two starlets in the same dress at the same event, a superhero (out of context—not in front of Grauman’s, that’s too easy), a rollerblader in booty shorts, and a pack of coyotes. As Joe gets closer to being locked into the land of 2 p.m. parties and laissez-faire bookshop owners, his nerves fray.
The new episodes depict Los Angeles as the home of the sociopath, and that provides a lot of new and interesting relationships for Joe. Will genuinely wants to befriend Joe. (Taylor shines in the role.) He can see the moments of good in the man, and such genuine respect challenges Joe to reflect on his actions. Love’s trio of friends played by Charlie Barnett, Melanie Field, and Marielle Scott is a quirky and infrequent Greek chorus. Barnett, Field, and Scott have all done stellar work over the past two years in other supporting performances, and here their scenes together offer You a reprieve from the rampant toxicity and murder.
There’s also another potentially broken child for Joe to look after: Ellie (Jenna Ortega), who lives in Joe’s apartment complex and functions as a living Lolita fact check. Brilliantly written and wonderfully played by Jane The Virgin alum Ortega, Ellie showcases the way teens challenge parental and conventional lines while being naïve about the authentic danger on the other side. She brings comedy, intelligence, and a sense of constant peril—only once does she need Joe’s help. It’s nice to see an authentic teenager in a show desperately trying to warn young women about the lies they’ve been taught to desire.
Part of the joy of watching season one relied on the suspense of whether Guinevere could see through Joe’s lies, and whether or not Joe could outsmart everyone in their lives. That wouldn’t be as interesting to watch the second time around, so instead season two delves further into Joe’s psyche. He’s obsessed with a woman named Love—the character is as a symbol, instead of a person. Every time Joe gets mildly upset, she becomes what soothes him. Of course, Gamble doesn’t let her stay that way—but we won’t ruin the turn here.
How can Joe see himself as a good man after murdering three people and sending an innocent man to prison? Visual clues like masks and reflections periodically pop up on the “bad people” with whom Joe interacts. A jolly mobster quickly cuts off Will’s finger, but he has ice on hand and promises to return the digit when he gets his money. He’s able to rationalize his violence in the same way that Joe does. These interactions become a watered-down form of therapy for troubled Joe Goldberg. Eventually, it’s revealed that Joe’s repeating multiple traumas over and over.
It’s too easy to call a show about a toxic man preying on women a reaction to the #MeToo movement. Perhaps the #MeToo era has made such stories trendier—but these stories have always been there. Gamble, executive producer Greg Berlanti, and their team do more than the surface work of acknowledging these atrocious events: The writers dive deep into the interior lives of three survivors of sexual assault, each a part of the spectrum that is the journey of healing. The successes, the triggers, the surprises, the joys, the pain, and the way relationships change are all depicted in these 10 episodes. The effect of bringing in the survivors is twofold: First, it prevents Joe from romanticizing his stalking—a frequent critique of season one. Second, the effects of sexual assault and emotional abuse cling to each frame, which makes Joe look much more monstrous. Those who don’t enjoy watching terrible people may struggle to get through season two.
The second season moves much slower than its predecessor, and the mystery of will-they/won’t-they takes a backseat to vital character development. That being said, the performances are fun, the skewering of Los Angeles should put folks from multiple districts in stitches, plus the soundtrack bangs. The ending isn’t as explosive as last year’s, but it sets up the possibility of a wild third season. Its tongue-in-cheek visuals and subtle references demand a binge-watch; there’s an adult man named Forty, twins, an insane acid trip, a really cool female journalist, and a Nancy Meyers-inspired kitchen! Grab a bottle and unwind alongside Joe’s sanity.
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He’s just a boy in love – he can’t be held responsible for his actions!They say love makes you crazy, therefore you can’t call him crazy. Cos when you call him crazy, you’re just calling him in love!
The situation’s a lot more nuanced than that
You’s second season sets up a similar departure for its antihero, as Joe flees New York and the spirit of his dead girlfriend for the obnoxiously sunny hills of Los AngelesInstead of LA, I reckon he should’ve fled to West Covina, California. Brand new pals and new career. Plus it’s only 2 hours* from the beach …(*4 in traffic)
HE’S SO BROKEN INSIDE!
Hahaaa! I get this because I just started watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.AND, I’m addicted to You (which actually scares me a little bit).
BLAM!
He has no underlying issues to address. He’s certifiably cute and adorably obsessed!
I was surprised that in the first season, instead of just having a little man crush on the person standing in the way of his “true love” (tee hee hee), he actually locked the guy up in a basement with soundproofed walls, and took over his identity. I guess he was feeling kinda naughty that night!And he’s not even sorry for saying all that weird stuff (to us) out loud – I mean, that was super rando!
I mean, it could’ve been worse. At least he didn’t kill him and wear his skin like a dress, but then also have him see him in that dress and be like, “OMG YOU LOOK SO CUTE IN MY SKIN!”
Ooh, I hear you girl.But he still did kill him though – he may not have worn his skin like a dress, but he did collect his teeth. Gross! Wouldn’t it have been more humane to just break into his Mom’s house, collect his baby teeth to turn them into his new retainer (because he wants his smile!)
BLAM!
This is good to hear! I was worried that because of the surprise success of this show to try to double down, so it’s good to hear they were thoughtful about the second season.
My biggest fear was that You is gonna follow in the footsteps of UnReal. That show’s first season was some very clever trash which then quadruple downed on the trash and You seemed in the same danger.
ha yeah. If there’s one thing you can’t say about UnReal is that they slowed it down in Season 2.
Unreal went from a genius plot device (a show about a reality show that got to have both reality show drama and the main narrative’s soap opera drama on top of it) to something lesser, but it did give me the ending I wanted. I’d kind of recommend people watch the first season and then just jump to the series finale.This show (You) had me worried due to some missteps in season 1 (primarily when they ventured away from the book too far), but god, they just really understood the horrific comedy of Joe’s character so well. I’m optimistic about this season.
Same. I was worried that it was just going to be a repeat of the first season but in a different city, a different girl, etc. It sounds promising.
How is Robin Lord Taylor in this, I was hoping he’d land on his feet after Gotham got canceled. He had a bit part in John Wick but it wasn’t even as big as Seth Green in Enemy of the State 😛
Yeah he was awesome in Gotham. Most of the cast was terrific but him and the Riddler really shined.
This. It would be awesome if they cast him and that Riddler in the next Batman movies.
I’d argue that Joe is not an anti-hero, as the headline designates him. An anti-hero has impure but sympathetic motivations. Revenge is an example of this motivation, because who among us have never at least *wanted* revenge even though we know it isn’t “morally correct”?This guy is a straight up villain who happens to be a protagonist. In episode 1 of season 1, he stalks Guinevere, breaks into her apartment, steals her cell phone and assaults and kidnaps a dude. His motivation of all of this is that he wants Guinevere and he doesn’t want his actions discovered.
Yeah I’m really confused by the “antihero” designation
So I guess what you’re saying is:He’s the villain in his own storyHis actions have gone way too far …He told himself he was JasmineBut we all realise now he’s Jafar !
They say love conquers all, but that only applies to the hero. Is the enemy what he’s meant to be? Is being the villain his destiny?
Yeah when I was considering whether to watch this I compared it in my head to “Dexter” because in the earlier seasons before it went off the rails he did some really bad things such as murder and lying to loved ones and being a shitty boyfriend (partially due to the aforementioned murder and lying about it) yet I still watched it. However, Dexter only killed murderers so that factors into the “impure but sympathetic motivations” you mentioned.
So this reminds me more of this British show “The Fall” where an abusive guy who does awful things to women happens to be one of the main POV characters.
Dexter only killed murderers so that factors into the “impure but sympathetic motivations” you mentioned. Like I explained above, he does do that. The show painted everyone, even the girl he was obesessed over, in a negative light. The boyfriend he killed was a murderer too, and that parole officer that was abusing the little boy and his mom, Beck herself had mental issues and problems. So did her best friend who was willing to kill people in order to have Beck to herself. Its why a lot of people sympathized with Joe to point where Joelle is calling him a antihero.
Mental issues and problems don’t make someone deserving of death, though.
Season two has actually been compared to Dexter, mentions Dexter, and definitely has a Dexter feel watching it.All in all it was a great season. Better than season one and surprisingly avoided the softmore slump.
A lot of people sympathized with Joe and called him an antihero because, like Dexter, most of the characters, even the girlfriend Beck, were all flawed, fucked up people in their own right. The boyfriend he killed was a murderer himself. Her best friend was willing to kill people in order to have Beck for herself. Beck herself was a serial liar with many issues. The parole officer because he was abusing that little boy and his mother, etc, etc. That was the only redeemable thing about the first season before it went off the rails, it was a nice little critique and indictment about how bad the millenial “striver” culture is between Joe the entitled incel, and Beck and her shallow, vapid, and even abusive and mentally ill in their own right boyfriends, friends, and even colleagues at the University.
The main difference between Dexter and Joe, for me, is that Dexter make it a point to hunt down and kill people he knows are bad. Joe is going to kill his victims regardless of whether or not they were bad (thanks to his decisions, he leaves himself virtually no other options), but the narrative makes it easier for him by showing the victims as bad people.
Joe is going to kill his victims regardless of whether or not they were bad (thanks to his decisions, he leaves himself virtually no other options),
Except that wasn’t the case. He only intentionally killed her boyfriend. And a lot of the genuinely bad and toxic people in Becks life: her obnoxious friends, the professor, the therapist, stepmother, etc, he let live. He didn’t even kill his ex as originally thought. He only seems to leave himself no option when the situation spirals out of control/his control.
Butnh TRIED to kill his ex and she was innocent. He tied her up and drove her to the woods and hurried her alive because she dumped him.
I’m mid binge right now. I keep checking back to see if there will be episodic reviews on here, but alas. I read this review but refused to believe that the girl he’s obsessed with this time is actually called Love until I started watching. That’s a bit much – really beating us over the head (um, no pun) with the message that he’s in love with Love.
Well to be fair, her name is Love in the books and her brother’s name is Forty because her insufferable parents were obsessed with tennis. It’s supposed to make you roll your eyes a little bit.
I just binged S1 & 2 over the past week and my head is still spinning. I swear Penn Badgley looks/acts like the split clone child of Jim Carrey’s and David Duchovny’s most famous 90’s character personas; the dark, ironically witty voice-overs mansplaining his reasoning/motivations and how he must be a genius to get away with it so easily with an X-Files investigator like precision. His shared inner thoughts and reactions are a guilty, often hilarious, pleasure somehow akin to Carrey’s In Living Color comedic style, especially his reserved yet emphatic facial expressions.I also found one of Love’s friends, Gabe (Charlie Barnett), to be a wickedly clever merge of Rupaul Charles and Barack Obama, especially his minor but significant role in the finale. OMG, it was a truly spit out your drink moment seeing his RPDR Werq Room style suit and mannerisms during that key gathering. I’m still chuckling and SMH. 🙂 <3 Now I’m scouring the ‘net looking for what input, permissions or reaction “Mama Ru” gave for his performance!