Words: Alice Frost

Our favourite serial-killer, hate-to-love couple are back and creepier than ever (spoilers ahead!)

Three years on since the smash-hit Netflix series You first came onto our screens, prompting us to question why we were thirsting so hard after a stalker/serial killer (it’s because of Penn Badgley), Joe Goldberg, still delirious “nice guy” as ever, is back. But this time he’s joined by his wife, Love Quinn-Goldberg – FYI also a serial killer. 

Within minutes of series three, Joe (played by the ever-intoxicating, previously mentioned Badgley) is horrified to discover that his and Love’s baby is in fact a boy and not the baby girl they’d been told they were having: “we’re fucked” Joe claims. But if we’re being completely honest, this child is fucked either way, with little to no chance of a normal life given that poor baby Henry has serial killer parents, with a combined kill count of 11 people… so far. Bringing a child into the mix was always going to be an interesting development for the series. Firstly, because up until revealing that she was pregnant, Joe was moments away from killing Love at the end of series two. And secondly, now that Joe has his own mini-me he seems determined not to let his and Love’s murderous antics ruin, or in any way impact Henry’s life.

However, and to literally nobody’s surprise, that lasted all of one episode with the neighbour and Joe’s new ‘you’, otherwise known as Natalie, dead at the hands of one jealously induced Love. By episode two, my theory for this series had been completely debunked: that Natalie was an undercover detective of some kind, aware of Joe’s killer antics and determined to bring him down. Being that this show is in its third series, I half expected and would’ve enjoyed watching a game of cat and mouse whereby Joe is drawn in by his new ‘you’, who is actually out to get him by posing as his perfect woman, which is exactly how Natalie appeared. All of their interactions felt staged; the upfront, flirtatious conversations often initiated by Natalie, and the cut hand as an excuse to lure Joe in and bring them closer felt all too easy for the first episode. But instead, this was only a mere red herring, as we now know that Joe’s real ‘you’ was actually Marianne; poor, clueless Marianne who deserves so much more than her arsehole of an ex-husband Ryan, and our resident creeper Joe. Although disappointed that my initial theory didn’t pan out, misleading moments like these is what makes You such a compelling, unpredictable, and ultimately enjoyable series.

Although we’re watching a couple of serial killers – literally a couple – whenever Love lashes out at someone, either badly injuring (sorry Gill) or straight up killing (RIP Natalie), it’s not always entirely clear at first if it’s a dream, hallucination or real. In comparison, Joe is undoubtedly calculated and cool in the execution of his murders; they come from a place of reason – at least justifiable reason to Joe – but with Love, her killing is charged with emotion making her erratic and unpredictable. She truly believes that what she is doing is in the best interest of her family. Yet Joe is pretty much repulsed by Love now that he knows who she is and exactly what she’s capable of. She no longer fits his perfect image of a woman who needs saving; someone who is vulnerable and delicate. Though Love is undoubtedly damaged, mostly emotionally and mentally from her own upbringing, she isn’t exactly in need of saving, maybe only from herself. Therefore, it’s difficult not to feel even just a tiny bit sympathetic for Love when Joe saves himself by killing Love, the only woman who will ever accept him for being a stone-cold killer. She is Joe in female form, and understands him better than anyone ever will, as she explains to Joe in her final moments, “We’re perfect for each but bad for Henry”.

Watching Victoria Pendretti in that final scene, and throughout the entire series, in fact, is one of the most appealing aspects of series 3 of You. As previously seen in Netflix’s super creepy, love story The Haunting of Bly Manor, there is no doubting Pendretti’s emotional range. Any scene in which she appears in You is an instant scene-stealing moment, even from series lead Penn Badgley. You can’t help but root for her, occasionally having to remind yourself that she’s not a good person. Talking of scene-stealers, another worthy mention goes to Shalita Grant’s Sherry Conrad, who is Instagram obsessed, suburban living personified. In fact, if there’s anyone worth rooting for in this series, it should be the Conrads. They too, also weren’t quite what they seemed at first, and really shone in arguably the best episode of the series, episode eight, where they began to explore an open relationship with Joe and Love before overhearing Love confess to killing Natalie. It was actually a relief to see the Conrads escape the basement cage Joe and Love trapped them in, and hilariously capitalise from this dreadful situation when we see them discussing their ordeal in their own TEDx talk at the end of the series, which to be fair, I would absolutely attend.

With the recent announcement that You has been renewed for a fourth series, it’s interesting to look ahead and discuss the series’ future. Although series three may not stand quite as strong next to its predecessors – still reeling from that series two plot twist revealing Love’s true character – series three still delivers the thrills and unexpected moments that make it such binge-worthy, brilliantly executed TV.

For a fourth series, it’s difficult to imagine what direction it could go. With 10 murders now under his belt, Joe’s past will surely catch up with him and he will either be caught – which would make for some interesting and dramatic confessional scenes, and maybe even reveal more murders that we have no knowledge of – or he will be killed. By Marianne? By Ellie? Will Dr. Nicky break free from prison and take revenge on Joe for framing him? Or could it be that Love is actually still alive? It seems unlikely given that not only was she lethally poisoned, but left to die in a burning building, however stranger things have happened in drama series like this one. Let’s not forget after all that one of You’s executive producers is Leslie Morgenstein, credited for his work on producing plot-twist heavy shows like The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars so within reason, anything could happen in series four. In the meantime, we have no choice but to re-watch the first three series of You, looking out for creepy clues we may have missed. Who knows, maybe Beck is even still alive, and she’ll be the one to finally take Joe out? Maybe not.

All episodes of You are now available to watch on Netflix.