We have a problem with You. (Not you.)
Note: contains spoilers for You season one (obvs).
Netflix's You feels slightly more dark teen drama than hardcore psychological thriller.
Sure, serial killers exist. And so do stalkers. But despite the depiction of some fairly murky themes, You treated its subject matter much in the same way as Pretty Little Liars and Riverdale. It was every bit as far-fetched, and every bit as bingeable.
Parking some of the obvious loose ends left behind by season one's finale, however, there was one moment that left a bit of a bad taste in our mouths (and not just because it was a sinister one).
We're talking about the final death of the series – and, as it turns out, we weren't alone in our reaction. One quick glance at social media and you'll find a bunch of viewers who felt 'cheated' and 'disappointed' by the way it all came to a close.
It goes without saying that Joe Goldberg, killer and coercer of women, is unhinged. An argument could be made that even this failed to stick (one minute he was in full psychopath mode, lacking empathy and hammering the teeth out of a rotting corpse, the next he seemed visibly shaken as he suffered flashbacks to Benji's gruesome end), but that's a conversation for another day.
The seed for bookstore owner Joe's obsession with writer Guinevere Beck is planted as soon as he lays eyes on her in episode one. He starts by stalking her on social media (surely a dig at modern dating habits) and masturbating outside her window, but soon steps things up a gear by kidnapping and later murdering her n0-good boyfriend in order to clear a path to her.
His narration of the story attempts to explain his motivation for this incredibly disturbing behaviour. While clearly unhinged, his actions were consistent in that everything he did, he professed to do for his 'love' of Beck. We are, of course, referring to his use of the word love, because unlike many commentators on the internet we do not wish to romanticise this creepy AF situation.
So when the final turn of events began to unfold and Joe instead started to commit atrocities to save his own skin, it felt like a betrayal of the already shitty character we'd come to know and fear.
He does acknowledge this, at least. In the final episode, while scouring Beck's apartment for evidence that could link him to her disappearance, Joe says that "it's all starting to feel a little dirty, because I'm not doing it for you any more."
It's a clear shift in priorities and one that, in this writer's humble opinion, doesn't quite fit with the motive presented throughout the show. It also, ultimately, renders all of his previous atrocities redundant.
It could be argued that Joe is showing his true colours and, by doing the one thing that nobody expected, You would jolt its viewers into the final realisation that nobody – not even someone he professes to love – is safe from his murderous tendencies. But, in practice, this doesn't seem to have worked.
It should concern you to know that some fans are still lusting after the character – something that Penn Badgley himself has had to call out for being incredibly problematic.
Related: This is why You on Netflix has different ending to the book as writer explains the big twist
Of course, the TV series is based upon the 2014 novel of the same name by Caroline Kepnes. While there are a number of subtle changes, the overall plot is largely the same and Beck's ultimate demise is in keeping with the original story.
However, in the book Joe had previously murdered his former girlfriend Candace by this point; a twist that was heavily alluded to throughout the 10-parter, but was the subject of a massive curveball when she seemingly popped up, alive and well, at the end.
Had Joe actually killed the subject of his obsessive affection at least once before, it may have felt a little more plausible this time around, what with it being part of his modus operandi.
Or perhaps we were just naively rooting for a better ending for Beck. Because hadn't she suffered enough already?
You is available to stream on Netflix now.
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