Netflix’s ‘You’ returned to our screens last Friday, with ten episodes packed with thrill, drama and of course, murder.
Serial killer Joe Goldberg (played by ‘Gossip Girl’s Penn Badgley) appeared again on our screens, now in the suburbs of California with his new wife Love and their new child, Henry.
Season three picks up from last season’s cliff hanger ending, finally introducing us to Joe and Love’s baby son, as well as their new neighbour who Joe has a sudden infatuation with. This clearly reminds us that Joe hasn’t changed – he remains the creepy, obsessed stalker who is willing to do whatever to get what he wants.
From the first episode, you know that the Quinn-Goldberg’s new neighbour Natalie, is bound to have a bad fate. She is mysterious, making her even more attractive to Joe, but puts a distaste straight into Love’s mouth, as she complains about how they never received a housewarming gift off her or a present for baby Henry.
The chemistry between Joe and Love continues to go downhill this season and we see Joe’s doubts about their relationship grow bigger. Love notices this instantly, and can sense what Joe has been up to, leading to the first murder of the season to occur.
You can’t help but feel bad for Love in one way yet hate her in another way. She does not think before she acts, which has damaging affects for the couple throughout the series, and she continuously relies on Joe to clean up her mess.
An interesting storyline that threads throughout the first half of season three is the hatred of anti-vaxxers. Baby Henry ends up severely ill with a case of the measles, due to some friends not having their children vaccinated.
Love is enraged with the father of these children as he tries to preach to her about not having his children vaccinated, and once again, she makes a rash decision in pure rage that puts her and her husband in trouble once again.
The producer’s intention was clearly to show how irresponsible it is to refuse vaccinations, and it made for a relevant and great side storyline that made the show feel more realistic and gave it a new slant that I did not see coming.
The beginning of this season is jam-packed full of thrill and keeps you on the edge of your seat like any good Netflix drama does as we watch Joe and Love’s relationship grow weaker, more murderous and secretive.
However, after episode five, the tension dies down and I began to lose some interest in the storyline between Joe and his new obsession – Marienne, his boss at his new job at the library.
The Marienne storyline slows the season down in my opinion and just seems forced. We don’t need another woman for Joe to obsess over and go back to his murderous tendencies for, especially when it’s another broken woman that Joe feels he needs to fix.
I did think that Joe had changed since the birth of his son, and somehow had a twisted belief that possibly he wasn’t so bad and that Love was the bad guy. Yet, I found myself corrected as the stalker-like obsession with Marienne began and Joe returned to his former creepy self that we all know (and love).
It was a shock for me that the most exhilarating scene involved two of the most repetitive and draining characters, Sherry and Cary, who attempted to take down Joe and Love after overhearing Love admitting to her crimes. Joe chasing Cary around their house and out into their quiet neighbourhood made for a great scene that kept me on edge, worrying for both couples about their fate and not knowing who to root for!
Sherry and Cary ended up being two of my favourite characters by the end of the season, they had brilliant and unexpected character development that lightened the mood of the show when everything began to start falling apart. Without them, the end of this season would have been slower and lacking in the humour it needed.
‘You’ season three acted as a segway into another chapter into Joe’s life, and yet I still wonder what his fate is going to be. He seems too smart to be caught, but he is the villain, the anti-hero that we all sit and watch eagerly.
If this serial killer isn’t caught, the series will seem pointless, but if he eventually is, the question remains of what punishment will be suitable for him? Do we want our favourite stalker to have his crimes catch up to him?
‘You’ is available to watch on Netflix.
By Charlotte Tomlinson
Feature image: Netflix