For you, Netflix dropped the long-awaited Season 3 of their finest thrilling series You last Friday. And this time, serial obsessor Joe Goldberg has well and truly met his match with seriously crazy Love Quinn.
When we last saw Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) in 2019, he had changed his name and ran away to LA, where her fell in obsessive love with love herself, Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti). But by the finale we learned his murderous escapades were rivaled against Love’s own crazy obsession with Joe, and together, they hitched up and moved to the suburbs of San Francisco, awaiting the arrival of their baby girl.
With a COVID-delayed production and an all-out binge in one day release each season, fans have been waiting almost two years to see how these two would make suburban living work. And finally, Season 3 has arrived.
Now don’t worry, we won’t spoil all the precious Season 3 details – you’ll wanna check it all out for yourself.
Let’s recap where we left off: Joe, our lead stalker and sometimes (more often than not) murderer was obsessed with the sweet and innocent Love, who was just as much infatuated with him. In fact, too infatuated. Turns out she’s just as obsessed with Joe as he was with her, and had her own little killing spree revealed in the Season 2 finale. But she fell pregnant, and rather than either killing or ditching Love, the two have married and relocated to the suburbs of San Francisco – Mandre Linda, hoping to live a happy and healthy live with their son.
In Season 3, Joe and Love, now married and raising their baby, have moved to the balmy Northern California enclave of Madre Linda, where they’re surrounded by privileged tech entrepreneurs, judgmental mommy bloggers, and Insta-famous biohackers. Joe is committed to his new role as a husband and dad but fears Love’s lethal impulsiveness. And then there’s his heart. Could the woman he’s been searching for all this time live right next door? Breaking out of a cage in a basement is one thing. But the prison of a picture-perfect marriage to a woman who’s wise to your tricks? Well, that’ll prove a much more complicated escape.
Love and Joe seem to be a tight, close and loving couple of newlyweds from the outside, but there’s bubbling trouble at home with an increasingly frustrated Joe not happy with the cards he’s been dealt, including the fact their baby boy was supposed to be a baby girl.
But what this season toys with is an arc that we only got of a taste of in Season 2: Joe trying to redeem himself.
He wants to be a better person, a better husband and father at that. No longer is it completely about the woman, Joe is trying to be… well, normal. And Love is equally trying to live up to the role of a suburban wife, dedicated to her son and only wanting what is best for both him and her husband.
Their quest for being this picture-perfect couple adds a new layer to Season 3. He thinks she’s a better version of him, and in turn, she thinks he’s better than her. So watching them go on this suburban journey together keeps the story fresh – and that’s just what makes this season so successful. It isn’t JUST about Joe, it is about Love too. They pretty much share the spot of protagonist, even if Joe gets a majority of the voice overs.
And the upgrade of Love Quinn is remarkably enticing to watch. No longer on the receiving end of Joe’s obsessions (whether she knows it or not), Love is the obstacle and rival to Joe the show needed to reinvent itself. When they’re working as a duo – they’re incredible. When they’re competing against each other – it’s unturnoffable television. And I truly care about Love’s story as much as I am dedicated to the three-season journey of Joe. And that’s a testament to her actor.
Without a doubt the star of the show is Victoria Pedretti (Love). Watching her take on a whole new version of the role from what we saw last season is just mindblowingly exceptional. I’m so drawn to every decision, act or baked good Love spits out because Pedretti’s performance is just so spectacular. Love acts on impulse, and Pedretti nails the portrayal every time she’s on screen. I kind of feel unhinged with Love, and not watching from afar like I do with Joe.
Penn Badgley’s ability to show depth and growth to Joe is another impressive performance played out on screen. From Season 1 I was convinced I knew the character, but each time we get to look into another layer of Joe’s story, I’m jumping between emotions of sympathy, disgust and admiration. And that’s a credit to Badgley’s performance. He has always made the character watchable when there have been plenty of chances for you to turn away.
No doubt what the writers have done with Season 3 is quite interesting. With a similar theme running in Seasons 1 and 2, it was imperative to shake up the format a little bit beyond just adding Love into the mix of crazy. In the beginning it might seem like we’re watching a redevelopment of You’s winning format, but with the more you watch, you’re second guessing yourself and questioning exactly where you think the show will end up. Some twists you do expect, but some will completely surprise you.
There is somewhat of a lull in the middle of the season, partly because we’re in the turning point of setting up for the events that will play out in the season finale. The subplots we’re introduced to do feel a little forced, and a wake up call to reality – right when, in the essence of a murdering stalker show like You – I’m trying to escape reality.
In saying that, I am still ready to rewatch Season 3 in all its glory because I’m still so drawn by the characters I’ve come to know and build a love-hate relationship with. After two years, this season was well worth the wait and I’m so excited to see just where the show will go for Season 4, now confirmed by Netflix.
If you’re wondering if Season 3 of You is worth the crack, I say get to it before you find yourself stuck in a glass box.
