When it was first released on Netflix back in September of 2018, YOU was an immediate attention grabber of both fans and critics. The show is based on a character named Joe Goldberg who is displayed as charismatic, smart, and good looking. But, what viewers begin to see is Joe’s dark side of stalking, obsessive behaviors, and even merciless murders of people who get in his way. Penn Badgley has done a fantastic job playing the character of Joe, and kept fans on the edge of their seat for the now successful premiere of Season 4 on February 9, 2023.
Each season of YOU is set in a different city with a new cast of characters. Season 2 captured the idea of free hippies while season 3 was confrontational mom influencers. But, the pattern of Joe trying to keep away from trouble continues. He follows women, peers through their windows, and even kills people for them – without their knowledge of course. Yet, the fans still love Joe somehow. I can agree with this statement because although Joe is a killer, Penn Badgley still manages to portray a caring, smart, yet scary man.
In seasons 1 and 2, Joe secretly kills multiple people for his lovers. In season 1, it was for the character Guinevere Beck, played by Elizabeth Lail. And in season 2, his new lover was named Love Quinn who was played by Victoria Pedretti. The thought of his lovers finding out he was a killer constantly haunted him until it happened. Love found out he killed someone for her and she returned the favor when it was needed. This was shocking for Joe, but they continued in their relationship and he began to realize she was as deadly as he was.
Season 3 ended with Joe’s wife, Love, trying to kill him, but he was able to kill her. He faked his own death with a house fire and fled the country, leaving his son to his neighbors. The previews of season 4 showed fans that he landed in London, England. I was initially excited for a change of scenery for season 4.
In episode 1 of season 4, “Joe Takes a Holiday,” we hear his inner monologue trying to convince himself to stay low and break old habits. Easy enough, right? Just don’t kill anyone. Joe is keeping to himself at his job at a local college as an english professor until he meets a coworker whose name is Malcolm. They become friends and Malcolm invites Joe to a party with his socialite friends.
The way this episode was written caused me to be a little confused, as we see blurs and snippets of a heavily intoxicated Joe. But to no surprise, Joe wakes up the next morning in a hungover haze to see Malcolm’s dead body on his kitchen table. I was not shocked when I saw this scene because I truly did not think Joe could change his personality by moving. Joe is distraught because he does not remember killing his first new friend. But he does what he knows: disposes of Malcolm’s body.
Over the next few days in episodes 1 and 2, we saw a different side of Joe. He has a stalker. The stalker is finally being stalked. This not-so-new aspect of the show taking a twist on the main character is very intriguing. Joe’s character, being a very detail oriented and organized person, becomes determined to catch his own stalker. The most interesting part is that this unknown character has revealed that they killed Malcolm and planted him in Joe’s apartment. Once the stalker realized Joe took care of the bloody mess, they knew they were dealing with a dangerous type of person.
I won’t reveal the stalker, as the rest of the episodes of part 1 build up the dramatic reveal of the killer. But I cannot say that you won’t be shocked with (more) deaths and the even-crazier-than-Joe stalker. Season 4 part 1 completely filled my void of a nail-biter television series. Thankfully, part 2 is on the way and is set to release on Netflix on March 9, 2023.
