You the Final Season: Some Thoughts

I just finished binging the final season of You.  Some thoughts:

[No spoilers ahead, until I warn you about them.]

For some reason in this final (5th) season of this series about the deeply complex serial killer  Joe Goldberg (though I guess most or even all serial killers are complex), I began thinking a lot about its comparisons to Dexter and its spin-offs (my all-time favorite serial killer series, and one of my all-time favorite TV series, period -- in the Top 5 all-time, I'd say).  Now, I may have made comparisons of You to Dexter in my reviews of the first four seasons of You, but I'd rather write this review right now than read over those earlier reviews, which of course you are welcome to, if you like (see the links at the end of this review).

Now Dexter Morgan, as we know, has a code -- he kills only monsters, including other serial killers, that for whatever reasons the police can't touch.  Dexter almost definitely would've killed Joe, even though Joe occasionally kills people who deserved to die, too.  Joe didn't have much if any of a code, but he does have something of a redeeming characteristic in his literacy.  Not that his way with words, spoken and written, in any way justified his killings, but they certainly made Joe much more worthy of a story than the kind of serial killers you encounter just about every week in Criminal Minds.

And Joe is refreshingly hipt. His inner voice tells him -- inner voices are another thing Dexter and Joe have in common -- and Joe's voice observes at some point, when he's annoyed at the press coverage his deeds or people he's involved with are receiving, "no wonder journalism is dying".  Good for Joe!  He (or actually his writers) must have read Andre Mir's masterful Postjournalism and the Death of Newspapers  (which I highly recommend).

[And now I'll warn you about some very general spoilers ahead ... ]

I thought this finale season did a great job tying in major characters from previous seasons, including ones we thought were no longer with us, including a central character who is in fact gone, and another who in fact is not.   I also thought Joe grappled with this in a suitably entertaining way for a story like this, with an intriguing mix of unpredictability and predictability.  When a TV final season brings in so many different characters, it runs the risk of coming off like everything and the kitchen sink.  This concluding season of You by and large avoided that pitfall.

But here's what I didn't much care for in this last season.  When the first season debuted back before COVID in 2018, a lot of reviewers said they felt "conflicted" about enjoying so much a series about well, a cold-blooded psycho, however literate he might have been.  I entitled my review of that first season "Review from an Unconflicted Fan".  I thought the first season was brilliant, not because there's anything I admire about real-life serial killers, but because You did an excellent job of telling a unique story about a fictional serial killer.  In the final episode of this final season, Bronte/Louise tells us that falling in love with a fictional serial killer is a good way to learn more about how to apprehend or recognize and stop a serial killer in real life. I thought that was a very keen and apt observation.  But for that reason, I didn't much care for the heavy-handed way in which Joe got his due at the end.  It was almost as if the show's creators felt the need to shout from the rooftops that they were no fans of real-life serial killers, something that didn't need to be shouted because it should be obvious, and of course in fact manifestly is.

In any case, congrats to everyone who created, wrote, directed, and acted in this very memorable series.

See also:  You: Review from an Unconflicted Fan ... You 2: Killer Charm ... Spoiler-Free Review for You 3 ... You 4.1-4.5: So Far, Less than the Previous Seasons ... You 4.6-4.10: More than the Previous Seasons

 

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You 4.6-4.10: More than the Previous Seasons

Well, I entitled my review of the first half of You Season 4 on Netflix, "So Far, Less than the Previous Seasons," so, in all fairness I entitled this review of the second half of Season 4, "More than the Previous Seasons".   That is, more as in better.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Let's start with one part which was very well acted and executed, but a bit cliche, since Fight Club and everything that's come after.   Rhys is a manifestation of Joe's most evil side.  But Ed Speleers, whom I've now seen in Picard Season 3, is a first class actor, and he does a fine job bringing Joe's malign id (see Freud) to life.  Plus, it's refreshing to see Joe talk to himself, when that self is another person, rather than just talking to us, the audience.

And the rest was nonstop catapulting of the Joe Goldberg story into a another, higher level.  The season ends with Joe and Kate not only together, but fabulously rich, which of course will enable Joe to do all kinds of more damage in a subsequent season.  Love Quinn never lifted Joe to this level, and it will be fun to see where that goes.  I also have to say that, for some reason, Joe and Kate remind me of Harry and Meghan, and I mean that as a compliment, because I certainly don't think Harry is a killer.

The Nadia story was good, too, and, in general, I liked Joe as a professor.  If he ever applied for a job at Fordham University in the Communication and Media Studies Department, where I'm a Professor, I would definitely want to hire him -- of course, assuming that he wasn't also a psychotic killer.   The Marianne, Phoebe, and Tom Lockwood stories were ok, and served their purpose, even if none of those characters were as memorable as Kate and Ed Speleers's "Joe".

Last, the effervescent literacy that lifted all the seasons of You is back in fine form in Season 4.  My favorite line?  Actually, it's a phrase -- "analog book" -- an excellent retro alternative to printed or paper book.  Hats off to Michael Foley and Sera Gamble (the credited writers), assuming they were the ones who came up with this phrase.   And Penn Badgley for another great performance as Joe/Jonathan, and Charlotte Ritchie as Kate.

See also:  You: Review from an Unconflicted Fan ... You 2: Killer Charm ... Spoiler-Free Review for You 3 ... You 4.1-4.5: So Far, Less than the Previous Seasons

 

Sharper: Scams Cubed

This seems to be a season for non-linear neo-noir caper thrillers set in the New York area.  A few months ago, Kaleidoscope appeared on Netflix, so linear you were invited to watch the episodes of that series in any order you chose.  Sharper, which debuted on Apple TV+ a week or so ago, is a movie, not a series, so you can't really choose the order of the parts.  But the parts are equally non-linear, and the story just as captivating.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

This time, we're treated to scam artists not bank robbers.  But given that the object of the scam is a billionaire, the money in Sharper is even bigger than the object of the heist in Kaleidoscope.  And the complex story is just as much a pleasure to watch unfold.

Tom works in a bookstore in the Village (we find out a little later that he owns the bookstore, and in still later segment that that's because his father is a billionaire).  He meets and starts falling in love with Sandra, a student at NYU, who of course has a dissolute brother who desperately needs money -- some $350,000.  Tom is able to give her that money -- against her (faux) protests -- after which Sandra disappears.  Thus ends the first of a series of escalating, interconnected scams.   Here let me say that Justice Smith as Tom was good, and Briana Middleton as Sandra was major-league superb.  This is the first time I've seen either on the screen.  I'd say both have great careers ahead.

And this as I said is also just the first of the scams.  Julianne Moore plays Madeline, the billionaire's wife, and a master scammer herself.  John Lithgow plays the billionaire, and, unless I missed something, pretty much the only person in this narrative who is not a scammer.  It's always good to see both of them on the screen.  And especially so in the same movie.  (I read somewhere that Lithgow may be back again as the Trinity Killer in one or more of the Dexter spinoffs that are percolating, and it was great to see him as Churchill in the early seasons of The Crown.)  Sebastian Stan, in addition to having a memorable name, also puts in a memorable performance as Max, who, well, is and isn't what he seems to be, but mostly is.

On the rare chance that you've read this far and haven't seen Sharper, I'm not going to tell you much about the ending, except that it's satisfying and everyone gets their just deserts. (With those scenes in the Japanese restaurant, I almost said just desserts. Mine is mochi ice cream.) Put Sharper in the category of excellent narratives that begin in bookstores -- the Lifetime now Netflix series You would be another example -- which gives it double creds as both a bookstore and a non-linear crime story.  Either would be enough for me to see it, and just for good measure Sharper has some sharp acting.  Creds to writers  Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, and director Benjamin Caron.

You 4.1.-4.5: So Far, Less than the Previous Seasons

So, I watched the first five episodes of the 4th season of You -- Netflix's new way of breaking the streaming of a series season into two parts, as they did with the final season of the superb Ozark earlier this year -- and well .... 

I thought this first part of the fourth season of You was ok at best, even lackluster in comparison to the earlier seasons, which were whip sharp and exciting.

Joe's in England, now masquerading as a literature professor, which of course he's very good at, given his past experiences in bookstores and libraries, and his easy way with speech.  He's trying to stay out of trouble, and resist getting involved with a woman he sees in the window, ala Hitchcock and lots of other stories.  Of course, he cannot resist her, and the only surprise in that is that it took so long.

[Some big spoilers ahead...]

Of much greater interest, and what could be the saving grace of this season in its second part, is Joe finding a dead body in what looks like an attempt to frame him for the murder.   Further, he finds a wall with all sorts of news clippings that relate to his escapades in previous seasons.   His wrongly guessing as to who could be this new culprit is mostly tedious.  Until ...

We get to the single best part of these first five episodes, when this nemesis is revealed as Rhys, played by Ed Speleers, who did a top-notch villainous job as Stephen Bonnet in Outlander.  So now at last we have a strong, charismatic, potentially lethal opponent for Joe:   Rhys (Ed Speleers) vs. Joe (Penn Badgley).  That's a fight I want to see.

I'm also looking for a little more development of Joe and his possible new true love Kate (Charlotte Ritchie).  As of the first five episodes, their relationship is short of what we saw of Joe and his previous incandescent relationships and their complexities in the previous seasons.

See also:  You: Review from an Unconflicted Fan ... You 2: Killer Charm ... Spoiler-Free Review for You 3

 

Spoiler-Free Review for You 3

 Here's my specific-spoiler-free review of the third season of You, just up on Netflix yesterday, and superb:

1.  Joe and Love make an excellent killer couple, literally, with true love for their baby.

2.  Joe continues his literary panache, working in a library.

3. There are a plethora of people in the suburbs who could be Joe's undoing, or, at very least, many more than usual.

4.  The dialogue and ambience are hipper than ever.  At some point, someone remarks that "no one uses Tumblr" any more.  (Well, I still use it, but I'm not that hipt.)  Love's mother also says she's taking a Lyft (not an Uber).

5. You won't be able to predict the ending, unless you make a very lucky guess.

6. I don't think I said this in my reviews of You 1 and You 2, but Joe's self-narration reminds me a lot of Dexter's.  Speaking of which, I'm very glad that series is coming back on Showtime on November 7.  I'll definitely be reviewing it here.

7. As in the first two seasons, the acting in You 3 was outstanding.  Penn Badgley is great again as Joe, and Victoria Pedretti perfect as Love. I also especially liked Tati Gabrielle as Marienne and Dylan Arnold as Theo.   All of these performances ranged from charming to frightened to in some cases frightening, which in effect is the essence of this series.

Netflix has already commissioned a fourth season -- I'll see back here shortly after it starts streaming.  See You then.

See also:  You: Review from an Unconflicted Fan ... You 2: Killer Charm

 

You 2: Killer Charm

Well, it's rare that a mystery or thriller surprises me with almost all of its twists, but the second season of You, now streaming on Netflix, did just that.  And with the same wit and style that lit up the first season, maybe even more.  All of which adds up to a highly, often immensely, enjoyable second season of this literate and introspective serial killer.

Joe Goldberg worked in a bookstore in New York City in season one.  Now he's trying to establish a new identity out in LA.  He employs his time-honored way of making things happen: he locks a guy up in his basement and assumes his identity.  Just before he falls in love with Love.  Well, Joe was already in love with love, certainly obsessed with it. but this Love is Love Quinn, perfectly played by Victoria Pedretti, whom I last noticed in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

But she's just outstanding in You, down to that smile she gives us when she realizes that she's finally getting Joe to sleep with her.  Her character is complex, to say the least, and I actually liked her even more than Guinevere Beck in the first season, as Joe's all-consuming passion.

[big spoilers ahead]

And the plot is brilliant.  Here are some of the surprises I didn't get:  Joe letting the real Will go - the guy whose identity Joe stole.  The best surprises are well-motivated, and this one was a logical result of Joe wanting to really be a good person, as part of his love for Love.  The cop killing Forty at the end, and, for that matter, Forty figuring out that Joe killed Beck et al back in New York.  Candace's deployment was not surprising, but very well played.

The one big twist I sort of saw coming - indeed, the biggest twist in the season - was Love killing Delilah, etc.  I put her at the top of the list via process of elimination, behind Love's parents, all higher as would-be protectors of Joe than Joe himself, which have been too obvious.  And I can't say I was thrilled by the very very ending, with Joe starting to fantasize about the neighbor we don't really see.  But, hey, I liked seeing Huxley's Brave New World among her books, and that's just entree to the next season.

All of this is brought to life not only by great acting - the scenes with Joe (also perfectly acted, by Penn Badgley) and Love are nonpareil - but sparkling dialogue, mostly from Joe, often interior, as when he grumbles that "this is what I get for trying to out-tech a teenager" (Ellie) or "the robots are not our friends".  Yeah, though Joe is social media-literate enough, his true talent are words and word-play in the Victorian tradition, and thus he's often challenged by latest tech, all of which adds to his charm.

And charming might be one of the best words to describe this second killer season.



See also: You: Review from an Unconflicted Fan ... Spoiler-Free Review for You 3

You: Review from An Unconflicted Fan

I've been hearing a lot about You recently - originally on Lifetime, more recently binge-able on Netflix - usually along the lines of "I didn't like it at all, but I couldn't help watching it".  Count me as someone who also couldn't help watching it, but/because I liked it a lot.  Indeed, pathbreaking, revelatory, and tour de force are not too much to say about it.   Including that last episode, and that jolt of an ending.

The series has something of American Psycho in it - being about a stalker and a kind of serial killer - but it's much more than that.  It's about why people are especially afraid to fall in love with people who love them deeply.  It's about the power of books, and words, and lies.  And it's about a world - our world - in which social media have made it so easy to deceive.

Our protagonist Joe Goldberg (who manages a bookstore with a handy basement) does have a heart in him somewhere, as Beck, his obsession, tells him.  He does his utmost to protect Paco, his neighbor's son, in danger of being beaten by the lout who lives with Paco's mother.   Joe will do almost anything to support and protect Beck, except when that gets in the way of his own self-preservation.   He may be a sociopath, but he's a much better than average boyfriend.

There's a literacy in this story, more than a passing glance at fables and white and black knights and princesses, which leaven the depravity, and serves as almost a co-equal foundation of the series.  There's an understanding of human nature, what makes us all tick, that supports Freud's contention that the difference between sanity and psychosis can be razor thin.   All of this animates a plot that's full of surprises and twists, though I did guess a few of them. Penn Badgley as Joe and Elizabeth Lail as Beck are just perfect in their parts, and I can well understand why Joe loves Beck so hard.

Netflix has called for a second season.   I'll be watching it for sure, an unconflicted fan.




See also  You 2: Killer Charm ... Spoiler-Free Review for You 3