'You' Reinvented Itself In the Wrong Way

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 17, 2023 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 17, 2023 |

You has never been a great show — it has and always will live in the shadow of Dexter — but the first couple of seasons were as binge-y as anything else Netflix has ever created (even if Lifetime created the first season). They were entertaining as hell, and we breathlessly clicked NEXT after each episode until our brains had gorged on the carnage left in Joe’s wake. The first season explored dating (and stalking) in New York; the second season moved to Los Angeles; and the third season added a wife-and-kid into the mix.

After the third season, Joe burned it all down (literally) and relocated to London (which is probably what Dexter should have done after the fourth season). Showrunner Sera Gamble has done an admirable job of trying to inject new life into the series instead of simply replicating the You formula in a different city. She’s introduced a whodunit murder mystery set in the world of wealth and among Joe’s new obnoxiously rich friends. Bravo.

It is kind of Knives Out meets Donna Tartt, but it still can’t escape the Dexter of it all. Joe the stalker is being stalked by a serial killer who is picking off his obnoxious new friends, while Joe himself continues to stalk one of the women in the group, Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), the only character this season you don’t actually want to die (and only barely). The exploration of wealth and class, meanwhile, is superficial at best — these characters are straight out of grown-up Gossip Girl. There is no nuance — the characters treat their servants as ornaments to be used as obstacles in lawn games. They’re terrible Scooby Doo villains, which is the only reason why it’s vaguely believable that the characters casually continue on with their lives as their best friends are murdered one by one. They’re so indifferent that they actually plan a murder-mystery party amid the serial killings.

It’s not that it doesn’t work, it’s that it’s not nearly as addictive as it once was. It’s not for lack of trying, and it’s even admirable for the way it has tried to reinvent itself. But the premise is not elastic enough to support this many seasons, and once the identity of the murderer is revealed this season, it’s hard not to imagine that Joe and the other serial killer won’t take on a Dexter/Trinity Killer vibe (stay away from bathtubs, Kate!). Moreover, four seasons in, Penn Badgley’s voiceover narration is downright grating — I don’t even know who the “You” to whom he continues to refer is. Kate? The serial killer? Marienne? Is he talking to me?

Joe spends the season trying to control his urges while another person kills all his friends. In an ironic twist, this is a season where it would have been more satisfying if Joe was doing the murderin’. Every one of the characters who dies fully deserves it, and yet we’re supposed to root against the serial killer? Bring it on!

Not that any of this matters. In for a penny, in for a pound. Those of us who have watched the first three seasons, which are very much worth watching, aren’t going to stop now, regardless of the reviews (and the fourth season, which isn’t as good, is still worth watching). Netflix cancels everything, and yet it may end up bleeding You dry. How many times can Joe move? And how many reinventions does the show have left in it? I still stand by my assessment that, instead of burning it all down last season, the best way would’ve been to leave Joe for dead and pass the baton on to Love. That’s how to keep the show fresh — instead of changing locations, change the lead. As good as Penn Badgely is, his character is cooked.