YOU SEASON 2: Give In To The Obsession

What comes to mind when you think of the term “guilty pleasure?” Probably something like Keeping Up With the Kardashians or some other piece of pop culture doused in shame. Guilty pleasures so often consist of trash drama, the lowest common denominator of entertainment. But what if we redefined “guilty pleasure” for a moment? What if the “guilty pleasure” was the show that is so deliciously twisted and wicked that it feels sinful to enjoy and you feel a little guilty for loving the baddies so much? That’s the kind of guilty pleasure we can get behind!

Under that revised definition, Netflix’s You is a pleasure of the absolute best kind. After the scintillating stalker series failed on Lifetime, the show picked up a second chance on life (much like its leading man) on Netflix. The show became a favorite of hopeless romantics, drama queens, and crime lovers alike and hit a sort of genre sweet spot that makes for damn good television.

The second season of You does more than continue the story of the seductive, but terrifying Joe Goldberg, in its second season the show endeavors to make a broader commentary. This series had lots more to offer and it’s bringing it! You was created by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble (Supernatural) and stars Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl), Victoria Pedretti (Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House), Ambyr Childers, James Scully, and Carmela Zumbado.

Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off, with Joe Goldberg being confronted by the ghosts of his past… rather, his former lover Candace (Ambyr Childers) who he had left for dead. She’s back and she’s pissed. The arrival of Candace paired with the fact that Joe ended a string of murders with the slaying of his girlfriend, Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), drives our tragic anti-hero (villain?) to sunny Los Angeles in hopes of losing himself in a new city. But you can’t hide from love, or obsession for that matter, and Joe finds himself following old patterns in pursuit of the object of his affection.

Joe Goldberg, The Greatest Guilty Pleasure of All

It’s not a stretch to say that one of the biggest appeals of You is the character of Joe Goldberg. He’s the boyfriend you’ve always dreamed of and the kind of man you’re terrified to meet. All of his beguiling qualities are the same things that lure you in and eventually entrap you. He’s like a human angler fish, you’re so focused on the light you don’t even feel the jaws close around you.

The challenge of having a bad guy that is so bad but also so good creates a delicious tension in the You viewing experience. It’s refreshing to be able to spend so much time with a character this as repulsive as he is likable. In Season 2, You explores more of Joe’s past and further complicates the good guy/bad guy dynamic.

Of course, falling hard for a serial killer is easy when it comes in as handsome a package as Penn Badgley.  In fact, that stellar jawline and those soulful eyes are crucial that human angler fish idea mentioned earlier. The danger of Joe is that he is so seductive… and attentive… and enthralling. You want to let your guard down and the closer he gets, the more danger you’re in. Badgley has created an excellently balanced and expertly crafted character, that alone is worth the investment of your time.

What Goes Around Comes Around

WARNING: From this point, this review contains spoilers.

At this point, viewers would likely turn up for a 45-minute episode of Joe ordering a sandwich but You Season 2 delivers so much more. Beyond a new city and a new obsession, You is examining Joe from a new angle. For the first time, in the series, Joe goes from hunter to hunted.

The season begins with Joe coming face to face with a ghost from his past. Candace, who he had left for dead, is back and is determined to make him suffer. For the first time, all of Joe’s careful plannings and coverups are useless and, for a moment, it seems that it is all over for him. Though he is able to make a short-lived escape, Joe living in the crosshairs of a former victim flips the script and cracks start to appear in that façade of control.

In many ways, Season 2 is all about the tables turning on Joe. In the early episodes, our unreliable narrator claims that he is giving up on love and making moves to overcome his obsession. We later see that those toxic patterns are repeating themselves and that he has once again positioned himself to pursue another relationship. Only this time, he’s convinced he’s doing it the right way.

Through both the perspective of Candace and Love (Joe’s new romantic interest), we see Joe’s own problematic habits leveled back at him. For once Joe is on the receiving end of obsession but, frustratingly, he is not able to recognize himself. The deeper he digs himself into fantasy, the more trouble he finds himself in. The players in LA are going off-script and Joe’s carefully laid out plan (and narrative of himself and others) begin to spin out. The end result: Joe is ensnared by his own web.

Beyond the Love Story

Content Warning: Brief discussion of sexual assault.

You dipped its toe into the deep end in Season 2. The show aspired to be more than its hot drama by foraying into a broader social discussion. In particular, the show highlights the #MeToo movement as a central plot point and brings discussions of wealth and privilege to the forefront (a popular trend in 2019, apparently).

Joe, among his many delusions, suffers from a White Knight complex and both seasons of the show have used this to deepen his character and complicate the viewer’s feelings. In Season 2, Joe’s cause du jour is exposing the sexual misconduct of a prominent celebrity and encouraging a female journalist he befriends to share her #MeToo moment. Beyond being a timely plot point, You digs a little deeper into the grey area that complicates these sorts of crimes and the stigmas and challenges that impact victims, long after their assault. In fact, Joe’s naivete about these issues ends up being his downfall. As a man, he can’t understand why the women in his life would choose to react differently.

Wealth and privilege are another social cornerstone of You. When Joe falls for Love Quinn, a member of a powerful and wealthy family, he discovers a new set of circumstances he could not have prepared for. Love’s wealth gives her access to resources. She can make things happen, she can make things go away, and she can investigate and control her surroundings in a way that Joe never could have expected.

At multiple intervals in the show, Joe finds himself sucked into the strange customs of Love’s wealthy family. He’s kidnapped, drugged, and held at gunpoint on the whim of his new high-class circle. Once again, Joe finds himself on the receiving end of some of his own problematic behavior… only this time, it’s not a crime because the wealthy can pay to cover it up. As far as meditations on class go, it’s a bizarre but effective look.

Season 2 in the Context of the Entire Show

At this point, this critic and many other viewers will lap up anything that You gives us. Season 2 added new and exciting layers to an already fabulously complex story. It also came up short in some areas. Joe in Season 2 appeared to be more sloppy in his cover-ups. While this could be a greater indication of his own losing control, it could also be the symptom of packing too much into too little screen time. The threads of You Season 2 were many and sometimes it felt more like a tangled yarn ball than a meticulously crafted web. Perhaps, in the third season, all those tangles will smooth out. It remains to be seen.

Story stumbles aside, You delivers on all the hot, steamy intrigue that we came to love in the first season. Penn Badgley continues to deliver a masterful performance and this is a world that one just can’t help being sucked into. You is the very definition of must-binge television.

Have you seen You Season 2? What did you think and what do you think will happen next?

YOU is now streaming on Netflix.