Hey You...

Yeah, you. The one reading this blog, I knew you would come. Welcome to my first blog post and review for the show, You that premiered on December 26th, 2018 on Netflix. The show originally premiered on September 9th on Lifetime (but nobody was talking about it). Did you feel a little invaded me knowing you’re next move? Well, that is exactly how the audience feels while watching this twisted and dark series. It's based on the book by Caroline Kepnes and if you haven’t seen You yet, you’re a little behind. The show has already been ordered for a second season.

You stars Penn Badgley who plays Joe Goldberg, and if you’re familiar with Penn he is famously known for his role as Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl. Think Dan's character but a million times worse. The show surrounds a young bookstore manager that falls quickly for a girl named Guinevere Beck, played by actor Elizabeth Lail (Once Upon a Time) after stopping in his store one day. But this is no ordinary love story, You begs the question, how far would you go for love? And Joe? He would do anything for it. Joe plots his way into Beck’s life, attempting to get her to fall in love with him by sabotage and trickery. But things do not go as planned when Beck’s best friend, Peach, played by Shay Mitchell, has different ideas for Beck and her life. Joe’s obsession brings you into the seat of his spiraling world and into the sick mind of a stalker and possibly someone who is even capable of worse. We begin to ask ourselves while watching, is this really love? Or infatuation at it's best.

This thriller confuses us by showing a side of Joe that humanizes him, even though he is capable of some pretty sick things. He develops a bond with a boy named, Paco, that lives next door to him in his apartment building and we see that he does care and value certain lives. It makes us question the monster within but reminds us that even the nicest people could be keeping the darkest secrets. And all these secrets are revealed within each episode and every one manages to get more twisted than the next. You start to think you're more hooked on You than Joe is on Beck (only half-kidding).

Overall, it is not the most original story, for example, Netflix features a movie called, Heartthrob, starring Keir Gilchrist, with the same premise of a man falling for a woman and not letting anyone stop him from getting to her. But, the show puts you into the mind of Joe, his every weird thought and feeling. In fact, that's our narrator throughout the series so hopefully his voice does not creep you out too much. You also manages to add story elements that no one could have seen coming. Penn Badgley was made to play characters like these and maybe only ever these characters. Elizabeth Lail's performance was personally nothing special and I know for some we sat here wondering why Joe was so obsessed with her. The character is a bit boring and her life seems to be a big pity party that crazy people are attracted to. John Stamos even makes a four-episode appearance, playing the good-looking and cool therapist. The last episode is one of the craziest and mind-blowing ones, the entire time you're wondering HOW they can even make a second season.

Netflix seems to have an interest recently in romanticizing by not romanticizing stories on men with dangerous minds so...

Why Does it Matter?

You is not just a show, but an intense experience. Because the most important part is what this show can teach us. Even when you're in a relationship with someone trust can be broken when your significant other invades your life in ways that makes you uncomfortable. We do not need another Ted Bundy around here, if something feels wrong it's okay to question it and get help. Joe manages to knowledge himself about Beck's life so he knows the right things to say to get her to trust him. And it is one thing to see a text message on a phone that maybe you weren't meant to see but it's a whole other boat if they keep a copy of your cell phone or watch you in the window for hours or know your entire schedule by heart and you did not even have to tell them. People like this aren't romantic, they are psychotic.

And remember, ladies, if he's got a cage... he probably isn't the one.

7.8/10 Stars

- Brittany Doyle