If LA was purgatory and suburbia was hell, London may be when I finally get to the good place. Or so Joe Goldberg thought. The deeply problematic, highly romanticised, and undeniably charming on-screen serial killer—played by Penn Badgley—has escaped his murderous past to pursue yet another object of his desire in the first instalment of the two-part fourth season of Netflix series You.
Nail biting, mind-boggling and intensely gripping from the get-go, be assured that you—yes, you—are in for a treat this time too.
A thriller like no other
Joe Goldberg is now Jonathan Moore, a suave literature professor at a posh London university. He is the perfect protagonist: mysterious, good-looking, and intensely self-righteous. He is on the lookout for peace, quiet and Marianne (Tati Gabrielle)—his love interest from the previous season who “got away” after learning the truth about him.
Just like in earlier seasons, Goldberg feels like a fish out of water, often expressing his discomfort and disdain in an internal monologue delivered in Badgley’s trademark baritone. According to showrunner Sera Gamble, the protagonist is “great when he is in an environment that’s not natural to him, that’s foreign to him,” and we really couldn’t agree more.
Goldberg wants a no-nonsense life with his books, but of course, that is not meant to be. After a chance encounter pushes him into an abyss filled with London’s snobbish and arrogant elite, Goldberg soon realises that he is being stalked and framed for high-profile murders he didn’t commit. Poetic justice, to say the least.
The story has all the markings of a quintessential murder thriller and feels much like an Agatha Christie novel, or, as Joe says in the opening scene, “A whodunit, the lowest form of literature”.
While you are forced to think that Goldberg will now obsessively stalk Marianne, the narrative takes a sharp turn as both the plot and the characters evolve to hook viewers like never before. No wonder Netflix revives this show, season after season.
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A stellar cast drives the show
Badgley is not the only one carrying You on his able shoulders; the rest of the cast is as brilliant, if not more. Charlotte Richie, for one, is extremely convincing as Kate Galvin, the brash art collector who is Joe’s neighbour and, perhaps, the first victim of the misfortune and gloom that always accompanies him. Tilly Keeper (as Lady Phoebe), Kate’s best friend and a London socialite, is perfect as modern-day Marie Antoinette, irritating, daft and glamorous in equal measure.
The makers also deserve kudos for capturing the essence of London, from its cobbled streets and reading culture to its somewhat inherent classism and ignorance. Like always, this season of You is as much of a social commentary as it is a psychological thriller.
But that’s not to say that part one, season four, is perfect. There is an overreliance on Goldberg’s stalking, incorrigible obsessive streak and the snobbery of the rich. As necessary as these characteristics are to the plot, one is left craving for a dash of freshness every now and then. But maybe it is too soon to make a judgement; part two will only be out this March, after all.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)