FilmProbe's thoughts on part two of Netflix's hit thriller, mystery series, YOU (2023)
EP06
Episode six is an interesting beginning to part two of this thriller, mystery series. We get answers to an ongoing questions from the beginning of the season, who was that mysterious woman taking photos of Joe?
Episode six takes us on a slow journey but by the end a lot has developed. We see new characters introduced and Joe becomes an accidental ‘hero’ again but his main primary is trying to frame someone for the Rich Killer murders. This episode reveals a lot and leaves no stone unturned, although we saw a lot unfold this episode it still felt like a filler episode. A lot happened but the characters all ending in the same position they were at the beginning.
Kate is a hard character to warm to, she’s cold and I struggle to feel any emotion towards her. Sadly, her character is one of the weakest in the whole show and I hope during the rest of this season something shifts. Kate and Joe have a strained relationship, it’s nothing in comparison to Love but they’ve tried to create an equal opponent for him but she isn’t quite working.
EP07
Episode seven delves deeper into the waters of Kate’s family, Joe is finally introduced to her infamous father. The interaction with Kate’s dad is truly thrilling, he is a strong character and I genuinely enjoyed his addition to the cast. Joe is essentially a middle man, he is a puppet for both Tom Lockwood and Rhys. It is really interesting to see Joe in a new light, completely unsure of what he should do next and simply following orders. Along with Joe going on a journey of discovery, so does Lady Phoebe. She is one of the most dynamic characters who goes on a full journey through this season, I really enjoy watching her and am intrigued to see where she ends up.
Sweet Nadia has become suspicious of her lecturer, she starts to uncovers piece by piece more about him and will eventually find a big reveal. This episode is home to the walking cliches, Kate Lockwood is a cringy character with awfully written one liners and some truly questionable acting choices, I still find Kate’s character to be one of the most distracting of the whole season and hope something sinister or monumental happened to change her.
EP08
Well, Episode eight takes a look at Marianne. Remember Marianne? From last season, well Joe has locked her away in his ‘iconic’ glass cage and has completely forgotten about her. This episode is by far the best of the season, so far. We get a look into Joe’s mental health spiralling out of control and what he is truly capable of when triggered. I call this episode, the cage chronicles because essentially, majority of it is set in a basement in a cage. Seeing Joe in a whole new way was mysterious, all suspicions became clear and all questions were answered in this episode. It finally all makes sense.
Episode eight has the biggest reveal of them all, a true gob smacker if you ask me! For any fans of the series who are yet to watch this episode, do not, I repeat, do not read beyond this point… Nadia uses her intuition and a whole bunch of movie magic to find Joe’s secret lair where he has been keeping Marianne, meanwhile, it is revealed that Joe has been working alone this whole time. Nobody has been texting him, he has never even met Rhys and he completely fabricated his own blackmailer. Pretty trippy right? This season needed this major reveal, I was beginning to loose interest but now I’m more than interested to see what happens next.
EP09
Joe doesn’t remember what he has done to Marianne, after eventually retracing his steps he is shocked to find her but sadly for Joe, Nadia has beaten him to the punch and he has no idea she knows about his past.
Episode nine takes a look inside Joe’s mind. Seeing the people from his past try to convince him to end it all, this episode is a very surrealist take on Joe’s psyche and shows his world crumbling around him. Whilst Joe is trying to fix his own mistakes, a lot happened to his ever decreasing friend group. Every character has something monumental happen to them in this episode it is very well structured, easy to follow and not overloading the narrative. Revealing and answering just enough before the finale.
EP10
Episode ten has a sad beginning, we learn that upon learning the news of her daughter being taken away from her, Marianne took her own life.
Joe has seriously lost it, if he hadn’t before now then it is official. Joe has turned full psychopath. Joe has always been a murderer, since the first episode we knew this character was bad but likeable. Season four shows Joe in a new light and he is finally a true villain, I hated Joe through this season and I am ready for his story to end.
The ending was perfect, a great way to close all of the potential leads into the next season. Marianne is gone, Nadia is doomed and there’s nobody else left to turn on him. Joe merges into a completely deranged character during the course of this season, I enjoyed watching him turn into the real evil he always has been. The ending gave us a glimpse into the potential of another season but who knows what Joe will do next…
Overall, I have genuinely enjoyed YOU, it started as a unique thriller series with a compellingly charming villain at the centre. Penn performs Joe to perfection but, in saying that, I am starting to get slightly bored of the repetitive killing for very little consequence. In this season Joe appears to murder more people than ever before but has barely any heat around him, he avoids everything and it makes the show a little too bland. There is no chase in this series, it’s just simple killings and running away, starting over with very little thrill. If we get a season five, which I am sure we will, I hope it is the end and I hope it steps up from this season. I hope we actually get to see a chase, somebody coming after Joe and finally bringing him to justice.
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