Taylor Moore
LV Life Editor
Netflix released the first part of season four of “You” on Feb. 9, and splitting the show into two parts was not the only change made.
The first five episodes of the latest season take on a different approach from the standard formula of the psychotic protagonist finding a new love interest to obsess over. Instead, Joe Goldberg, the series’ protagonist, finds himself stalked by someone who wants to frame him for murder.
Goldberg also finds himself in another new setting, which is a page from the show’s formula. This time, the show is set in London after Goldberg followed his last obsession, Marienne, in hopes of winning her back. Once that falls through, he takes on a new identity as a professor at Oxford University.
A new setting also means new characters. This season’s new additions are a group of wealthy, self-centered aristocrats who start dropping like flies after the emergence of the “Eat the Rich Killer.” This killer also becomes Goldberg’s obsession after he receives an anonymous text threatening to unveil his real identity and frame him for a murder Goldberg did not commit. Then it is back down the rabbit hole.
I wish I could say that the switch from a slasher romance to a whodunit was welcomed, but this season was significantly lacking compared to the last three.
For one, the previous seasons had compelling characters that viewers actually enjoyed watching. While Peach from season one was manipulative and another stalker to the love interest, she was a character that deserved a different ending than at the end of Goldberg’s gun.
This season tries to copy that method with Rauld, one of the aristocrats from the inner circle, who is obsessed with Kate, a woman with whom Goldberg is beginning to develop a romance with. However, what Rauld lacks is the redeemable quality that Peach had. Yes, Peach was not the best friend to Guenivere Beck, the love interest from season one, but she had issues that personified her and made you root for her to be a better person.
Rauld does not. He is a man who thinks he deserves the world simply because he has money, so much so that he feels that he is entitled to Kate because they both come from wealthy families. He, along with the other rich friends, trample over those they think are beneath them, which tend to be everyone in their eyes. These characters were terrible people, but they were written simply for the audience to hate, so when some of them are killed, you do not feel bad since you never formed an attachment anyway.
This season’s love interest was also lacking. Beck, season one’s love interest, Love Quinn, Goldberg’s love interest from season two and wife in season three, and Marienne were such well-written characters. All three had depth and were compelling to watch. Beck was the good girl caught in the spider’s web, Marienne was a mother desperate to fight for her child fooled by Goldberg’s lies, and Quinn was Goldberg’s reflection.
She was his match made in hell. While she was a murderer and extremely twisted in her own right, her devotion to her marriage and child set her apart from the other love interests. Not to mention, she has been the only character in the series to be able to put Goldberg in his place. Quinn was a reflection of Goldberg, which made their dynamic so interesting to watch. Goldberg hated his marriage with Quinn because it was too difficult to face himself since she mirrored him. Now, we will never see Goldberg come to terms with who and what he is; a killer.
This season tries to have Goldberg meet his match with the “Eat the Rich Killer.” The stalker seems to give Goldberg a run for his money because both characters are so brutal in murder and take their manipulation to a different level. Once the killer is revealed, it is another failure from the writers.
Personally, I saw the reveal from a mile away. This character was not part of the inner circle of friends, which was why Goldberg was drawn to them. They had a similar background to Goldberg in the sense that they both came from “nothing,” and we know from past experience that whenever Goldberg starts to like a character, they tend to have murderous tendencies, like him.
This show was one I personally enjoy, but I found my attention drifting away whenever I sat down to watch it this time around. It could be because this season did not have any returning characters besides Goldberg and a brief appearance from Marienne, but it could be that the show did not introduce any new characters worth watching. When the new characters were introduced in the previous episodes, I was interested to learn more about them. We were never given a chance to get to know them before they were killed. If the writers were going to make a whodunnit, they should at least make the characters memorable and have more mystery regarding who the killer is.
The second part of season four airs March 9. The trailer has revealed that we will see more of the “Eat the Rich Killer,” Kate, and the rest of the inner circle. However, the trailer also hints at the return of a fan-favorite character. Whether it is a hallucination, flashback, or a present scene, I am hopeful their return will restore the show’s appeal.
Taylor Moore can be reached at taylor.moore@laverne.edu.
Taylor Moore is a junior broadcast journalism major and LV Life editor for Spring 2023. In her fourth semester on Campus Times, this is her second time serving as LV Life editor. She has also served as social media editor and staff writer.
