You – Based on the book “You” by Caroline Kapnes – Is a story about Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) who we find out is a stalker and later becomes a serial killer. Joe is a regular guy who works at a bookstore, but his past is much more obscure. Put in a group home by his mother Sandy Goldberg (Magda Apanowicz) at a very young age, Joe became troubled due to the heavy bullying he suffered. The reason he was put in a group home is rather tragic. He shot his mother’s abusive boyfriend in the chest in an attempt to protect her. The show is very gruesome in some parts, but the book can get even worse. 

Joe Goldberg staring at Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail) - Season 1, You - Netflix 

It is important to note that regardless of Joe’s past, he is still not excused for his many crimes including 18 killings, but it gives his reason to kill. Joe Goldberg is obsessive, he first “falls in love” with a woman he finds attractive and caring (which is attributed to the love his mother never gave him). He then makes the women fall in love with him by stalking them and making his personality match theirs. After that, all he has to do is try and keep the love going by any means, and that includes killing anyone who goes against him. 

Joe Goldberg and Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti) - Season 3, You - Netflix

In the first three seasons Joe is almost romanticized as he is the (unreliable) narrator of his own story. We see him as a broken soul that wants to be a good person but is driven to do bad things because of bad people. By season four Joe is met with his own darkness which he had been suppressing for his whole life. He was scared of being a bad person, but after an attempt on his life, he realized he needed to embrace how truly evil he was. Having Kate (Charlotte Ritchie) as his girlfriend – the successor of the Lockwood fortune – helps him immensely. This show includes a lot of violent scenes and some gore, however, the most chilling scene is when Joe looks outside and the reflection on the window is Rhys Montrose (Ed Speelers) — Joe’s alter ego who symbolizes all that is wrong with him, meaning they have now become one and Joe isn’t trying to be a good person anymore. 

Season four shows who Joe really is and it is infuriating. You would think after everything that he has done, he would stop, but instead he puts the blame on all the women he has been with by making them out to be abusers, and becomes a national “hero”. It is the classic tale of “all my exes are crazy”, but not only that, he is untouchable because of the fortune he now has his hands on. 

Joe Goldberg - Season 4, You - Netflix

The show is absolutely worth it, the characters are very well written, however, some scenes can be a little dragged out and it can become hard to watch. In the beginning of each season everything is new and it hooks you, as the show goes on some scenes feel very long, but the end is always shocking and leaves you with an “I want more” feeling. I would rate the show a 9/10. 

What did you think of You?