*SPOILER ALERT FOR NETFLIX SHOW “YOU” SEASONS 1 + 2*

Alright, you’ve been warned! When I first started watching the Netflix original series “You”, admittedly I was pretty creeped out. It’s a story that follows Joe Goldberg, a New York City resident who works in a bookshop and takes an interest in a young writer named Guinevere Beck. It seems like any ordinary romance story until you realize, very quickly might I add, that Joe is a psychopath who has become fixated on Beck to the point of stalking her so he can cultivate their romance story how he wants. Slowly, Joe begins kidnapping and/or murdering the people in her life that he deems a threat to her and their relationship, all the time justifying it because he was just trying to”protect her”.

During all of this, Beck is blissfully unaware of what’s going on and actually begins to lean on Joe for support as the people in her life keep dropping like flies. Long story short she ends up figuring out what’s been going on which leads him to capture her and keep her in the same weird basement aquarium that he’s been keeping his other victims.

It didn’t take a genius to guess that she was not going to forgive him for what happened and as predicted he ended up killing her and framing someone else for it. He afterwards, publishes her memoir and in general blames the fact that she couldn’t forgive him as the reason for her death. In the final episode he reunites with his ex Candace, whom we have heard mentions of throughout the entire first season.

Season 2 opens with him running away from Candace who wants him to pay for the fact that he almost murdered her when they were together and he finds himself in LA, the place he hates the most, in hopes that she won’t find him there. Despite the fact that initially it seems as though he meets his new love interest, Love, on accident; we discover that he actually manufactured their meeting in the same way he did with Beck.

Despite the fact that he did manufacture the “fate” that brought them together, it does seem like he is trying to stop being a killer. He wants to be a better person for this new love of his life that he has met; he thinks that if he keeps killing, not only will Candace find him but that he won’t deserve Love anymore.

I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with serial killer documentaries, crime shows, and things like that; so it’s safe to say that I’ve seen a lot of them. But I can say confidently that this is the first one that I’ve ever seen that shows events from the inner thought process of the serial killer. One of the most interesting things about it is that, throughout all of season one and most of season two, he doesn’t even think that he’s doing anything wrong. The justifications that he comes up with make a certain amount of sense; he views it as him protecting the person he cares about, even if that means him doing something bad.

The calm and rational way that he comes up with his logic isn’t really what makes him such a likable character, though. It’s the fact that, he is such a charismatic person and even genuinely feels afraid and bad when he does kill people. It’s very odd, to feel empathy for someone as twisted as Joe Goldberg. But throughout the entire show I found myself wanting him to be happy, to stop killing, and just finally live the life he wanted.

I felt worse for him when I found out that the reason he became how he was is because he literally shot and killed his father for beating his mom. Then, his mother placed the mantra in his head that he repeats the entire show; “you would never hurt anyone, you’re a good person, you were just protecting me.” Shooting and killing a man and then having your mother tell you that it was the right and good thing to do can really fuck up a 9 year old.

Season 2 had me on the edge of my seat as I watched Joe try to figure out how to be a better person while all the time getting more efficient and effective at killing people. Unlike season 1 however, I was completely taken off guard by the ending. I expected that Love might forgive him and let them move forward together, but the reveal that Love was the one who killed not only Delilah but also the au pair? That was out of left field in the best way possible.

The writing for this show, is phenomenal, the characters are well developed, and the acting is top tier. At the end when Love and Joe move in together, expecting a baby, and living happily ever after, I almost thought that it was going to work out. And quite honestly, I was rooting for them at that point, but then the show pulls you right back in to the harsh reality of who these characters are. Just as everything settles down and the show comes to a close, Joe peers through his backyard fence at his neighbor, undoubtedly the new obsession for the next season with the creepy words:

“But that’s not how destiny works, is it? This is just the beginning…because this is where I had to be, exactly… where I had to meet… you.”

Perfectly echoing the words he says to himself when he first sees both Guinevere Beck and Love Quinn.

Overall, it’s one of the best shows that I’ve seen in a long time. From the writing to the acting, You is absolutely a must watch, and I am very excited to see what’s going to happen in season 3.