You kept lowering the bar each season, and the finale was the show’s desperate attempt to redeem itself. The first couple of seasons were decent enough for mindless binge-watching, but then it got a little too messy. A serial killer getting away with murders, moving to a different country, and being appointed as a professor at a university, falling in love with the daughter of an elite businessman, and then returning to New York with a clean slate and living the life of a celebrity was, to put it mildly, a stretch. Joe Goldberg thought he was the smartest person who could get away with anything, and well, he was not wrong to an extent. He seemed to be above all authorities, and even though he had skeletons in his closet, he led a peaceful public life, and no one really cared to investigate him.
In season 5 of You, the external parameters, such as curious internet sleuths and the relatives of Joe’s victims, were finally considered, and they significantly impact the way the new season unfolds. The previous season established that Joe had accepted his dark side; he didn’t need an elaborate reason to justify his actions. He had started to feel invincible, and marrying rich further helped him cover his tracks. Season 5 can be divided into two parts—one has to do with Kate and her family, and the second half is all about bringing justice to Joe’s victims. Love was Joe’s driving force, or at least that was what he told himself. He always needed a muse to feel excited about his existence, and he had convinced himself that he was a knight in shining armor who wouldn’t hesitate to kill for the woman of his dreams. He felt the desperate need to protect the women he thought he was in love with, and whenever they questioned his sanity, he told himself that they weren’t willing to commit to the relationship as much as he was. He was always the hero in his story, and anyone who dared to cross paths with him or attempted to change the narrative was murdered. While in the previous season Kate thought she could relate to Joe and readily accepted him and his dark past, in season five, she questions her decision. She had hoped that together they would try to heal from their past and become better versions of themselves, but she gradually realized that as long as she was with Joe, there was no way she could change. He was almost like the devil’s voice encouraging her to take drastic measures for her personal gain, and even though she had heeded his advice at times, she later understood that she would turn into her father if she didn’t learn to silence the voice.
In the new season, Joe, once again, thought he’d finally found love when he crossed paths with a bibliophile. Joe’s marital life was in shambles, and he felt aroused thinking of this new woman who could drastically change the course of his life. She encouraged him to write more often, and he felt validated when she was around. Joe realized that the thrill of a new relationship was exactly what he was craving. But did the woman know that she was engaging with a serial killer? And will she stay by his side even after discovering his secret? Well, you’ll have to watch the new season to find the answers.
The way Kate’s chapter unfolded was too predictable. It didn’t come as a surprise that Kate had grown to be afraid of the monster she’d married, and the entire fiasco involving her family felt unnecessarily stretched. This season could’ve solely been about Joe’s survivors seeking revenge. The season would have been quite compelling if the survivors’ perspective was explored in six hour-long episodes. But the need to constantly shock the audience with new twists and turns diluted the script. Characters make it out alive from impossible situations, though by now You has established that logic is not its strongest forte. Even though I’ve never been a You fan, I get that it’s a guilty pleasure, and the audience is not really looking for logic there. But even when it comes to the entertainment quotient, the series doesn’t pick up pace before episode 5 or 6.
The saving grace this season is definitely the ending. If you’ve been watching You, thinking, ‘why is the whole world obsessing over a misogynistic killer?’ then you’ll find your answer at the very end. But I really wished the creators would’ve delved deeper into the message, because where the series arrives in the end is crucial and impactful. But after almost nine episodes of watching Joe come up with the most random plans and succeed to an extent, the final redemption episode was just not enough. For five seasons, the audience was expected to accept that Joe could wriggle out of any given situation. It was not just Joe who thought he was invincible, even we did! So, the ending, even though powerful, didn’t really make sense. Did we really need five seasons to arrive at this conclusion? Well, that’s surely up for debate.
If you’ve been watching You for Penn Badgley, then go ahead and tune in already. From playing Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl to stepping into the shoes of an obsessive serial killer in You, Penn Badgley surely knows how to portray shady characters. I cannot imagine anyone else playing the wide-eyed, seemingly-innocent, curly-haired man with an endearing smile and skeletons in his closet except for Badgley. This season also features Madeline Brewer in a pivotal role, and she does a phenomenal job at that. If you’ve been following You all this while, then you must watch the final season for a sense of closure. But for someone who might be new to the You universe, then you can surely give it a pass or watch it when you’re totally out of interesting content online. I never really could make sense of the hype around You, but I can imagine it being a fun, mindless watch. But whether or not you wish to commit to ten episodes of somewhat of an illogical crime thriller is definitely up to YOU.
