At first glance, You comes across as a pretty straightforward urban thriller — boy meets girl, boy stalks girl, boy dates girl, boy kills girl’s friends he’s threatened by. But as the layers peel, you discover a quality missing in most similar concoctions of psychopathic protagonists and romantic notions: self-awareness.
The voiceover (contemporary screenwriters’ go-to option for either exposition or character development) can be both informative and fun, or unwieldy and annoying. But creators Sera Gamble and Greg Berlanti and their co-writers make the voiceover their biggest strength, using it for both an insight into the character’s mind, and surprising comic relief.
Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley, marvellous casting) is the quintessential boy-next-door — a bookstore manager who can quote writers with as much sincerity as he courts women. And so it’s not surprising when Beck (Elizabeth Lail) takes a liking to him soon after she serendipitously walks into his shop one day. Joe is the kind of guy you take along to parties because you want to seem like a normal girl dating a solid dude, and who your friends find non-threatening (or so the show’s writers would want us to believe). But underneath the “good boy” shell is a monster with criminal tendencies.
Joe’s ruse is only for the characters he comes in contact with. To the audience, whom he addresses consistently, his deepest, darkest desires are no surprise. He tells us exactly how he feels when he’s nonchalantly committing immoral acts, be it imprisoning and torturing the ex-boyfriend he wants out of his way, or using social media to keep track of his girlfriend’s movements. The fascinating thing here is that Joe isn’t fighting his demons; there isn’t any inner conflict. In his head, there’s a completely reasonable explanation for his actions and, unexpectedly, the delusion feels justified. It’s a testimony to the writing that you don’t just often buy into Joe’s flights of fancy, but even revel in it. The American Psycho-meets-Mr Robot territory is a tricky one to navigate, but You somehow strikes the right balance.
What also helps is that the characters aren’t unidimensional prototypes, as we’re used to seeing in similar storylines. Not just Joe, even Beck emerges as a well-built character; both get fully-rounded backstories, and their personalities are a direct result of their surroundings. There are some far-fetched moments, but the slick pace and constantly-changing plot help cover over them. This is ideal binge material; there’s a twist at every turn, but they’re all within the realm of the show’s larger universe and hence, palatable.
I started watching You on a whim, expecting a passable thriller, but found a show that, in reality, puts a spotlight on the nature of modern-day romance; where keeping a tab on your partner’s every move is a cakewalk, and erasing the memories of past relationships impossible. Watch with your phones switched off.
The first season of You is now streaming on Netflix.
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