If you’re looking for the best series recommendation from Netflix that combines soapy drama, murder mystery, and devilishly entertaining characters, look to none other than You season 4.
Everybody’s beloved toxic masculinity hero is back! After stalking beautiful women from coast to coast, committing countless grisly murders, and then settling down with someone his equal only to have that implode in spectacular fashion, Joe Goldberg has now started anew across the pond.
Season 4 will be You’s last, with two halves of the season released one month apart per Netflix’s recent tradition. As Joe’s misadventure comes to an end, will we finally see him pay for all his wrongdoings? The first part of season 4 leaves that question unanswered, but it sure is a doozy of a ride.
Plot
Living with a new identity in London, England, it seems that Joe – now Jonathan – is really determined to leave his past behind this time. But mayhem still catches up with him anyway. Shortly after “Jonathan” begins mingling with a circle of ultra-privileged wealthy Londoners, another murder occurs. Unable to resist his old snooping habit, he quickly gets sucked into another intricate maze of deceit.
YOU first began as a Showtime series that only a few people watched. Then Netflix put it into its platform, and suddenly the show became a worldwide hit. Its reverse of fortune also mirrors Joe’s fate this season, albeit the other way around. Having spent three seasons perfecting the art of stalking, Joe spends most of Season 4 Part 1 as the stalked one. It’s a refreshing change of pace for the series. Instead of having Joe trail obsessively after yet another love interest, his cunning skills now aid his whodunit quest to find a serial killer.
The new London setting is also hugely favorable for the series. 1) It makes sense for a book-loving Joe to settle down in the birthplace of all his favorite authors. 2) The land of Sherlock and Poirot makes the perfect stage for a classic murder mystery. And 3) it allows Joe to judgingly observe England’s class-based society, which doesn’t make as much sense in America. Aside from the murders and mayhem, Joe’s snarky inner monologues are this season’s biggest highlights.
The show has always straddled a fine line between Joe’s toxic compulsiveness and his compelling, intellectual side. It never paints his actions as anything but the heinous crimes that they are but also imbues his character with charms in spades, largely thanks to Penn Badgley’s boyish charisma and pleasant delivery. The show also likes to surround him with even more horrendous personalities, giving his supposed evil acts some sort of “they had it coming” edge. We’re never supposed to root for Joe, but they sure made it quite hard to dislike him – it is a commentary the show makes about how we allow good-looking men like Joe to get away with toxic behaviors.
You Season 4 proves that a streaming show with a high concept can still kill it year after year. With just two more episodes to go, let’s hope they keep this up ’til the very end.
