Breaking down “You” Season 4

By: Kyla Hollenback

The year is 2014 and Caroline Kepnes just published the first book in her thriller trilogy You, in which weirdo stalker Joe Goldberg manages to compile a list of deplorable acts so long it’s evocative of a ten foot CVS receipt. Four years later, fans of the series rejoiced upon hearing of the Netflix adaptation and at the end of season one, were left practically foaming at the mouth, eager to see more of Joe (Penn Badgley) on our screens.  

Netflix

The series was a success, to say the least, and the second season, dare I say, was even better than the first. The show’s track record of clever plot twists and cliffhanger endings continued into the third season, so it’s no surprise that watchers had high hopes for season 4.

Joe takes us to London, where he now lives as Jonathan Moore, a university professor who wears tweed, has a beard, and somehow becomes a part of  the worst and richest friend group in the city. We meet his new social circle and an entirely new cast of characters in the first episode of season 4, and none of them are likable. Not that Joe deserves good friends, because he doesn’t, but it feels like the show wants you to hate every character in this season with the exception of one or two mildly decent people. There are too many characters that have no backstory or redeeming qualities, and I found myself not caring about most of them and, subsequently, their storylines. This season sadly felt like bad fan-fiction with lazy writing.

When members of Joe’s elite friend group start turning up with knives in their chests, Joe makes it his personal mission to protect his most recent paramour and find the murderer so he can…murder them. Because, as we all know, Joe is a good guy and nothing he does is ever his fault, and he only kills people who give him no other choice.  

If you’re anything like me and find yourself thinking that the show feels a little formulaic this season, that’s because it is. Joe actually tells you in the beginning that the show will follow a “whodunit” storyline and later, one of the characters in the show coincidently explains the premise when the topic comes up with “Professor Moore.” Instead of laying low and keeping his hands clean like he swears he’s going to do, Joe throws himself into the eye of the storm once again.  

Let us not forget that Joe Goldberg is also a deadbeat dad who abandoned his son so he could chase pretty women and kill people who got on his nerves. Joe Goldberg is sick. We hate him. There is not a single lovable quality about this man. He needs to go to jail, or get beat up, or die. SOMETHING. This man faces no consequences, and conveniently seems to be a murder expert who never leaves evidence and does everything right and has everything handed to him on a golden, diamond encrusted platter. 

The season was unmemorable and fit to be background noise at best. If you want to have the pleasure of listening to Penn Badgley narrate more of Joe’s psychotic inner monologue, or if you just want to see him with better hair and a beard, then you should absolutely give this a watch. Looking for something good to get invested in? Look elsewhere. 

One would think that a show that splits itself into two parts would have more build-up in the first half or more payoff in the second but, sadly, both sides of the fourth season of Netflix’s You were devoid of either. There is one fact that remains true even years after the release of the first season, Joe Goldberg is still full fat, extra sugar, deep-fried fucking insane.

Rating: 3/5