{"id":38165,"date":"2021-10-19T10:44:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T23:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=203602"},"modified":"2021-10-19T03:07:18","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T03:07:18","slug":"you-season-3-2","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/you-season-3-2\/","title":{"rendered":"“You” Season Three Grapples With The Impact That Parenting \u2013 And Murder \u2013 Have On Relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"You
YOU’S VICTORIA PEDRETTI as LOVE QUINN and PENN BADGLEY as JOE GOLDBERG in episode 301 of YOU Cr. JOHN P. FLEENOR\/NETFLIX \u00a9 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I wasn\u2019t sure what to expect with season three of <\/span>You. <\/span><\/i>For the uninitiated, <\/span>Netflix\u2019s runaway hit series follows an obsessive guy, named Joe Goldberg (played by <\/span>Gossip Girl<\/span><\/i> alum Penn Badgley) as he becomes infatuated with various women \u2013 and ultimately kills to be closer to them. <\/span><\/p>\n

We left Joe at the end of season two in a new relationship, with a baby on the way no less, moving to the suburbs. How could a third season maintain the suspense and thrills if Joe had settled down?<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, there\u2019s the fact that Joe married the equally chaotic Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti). In season two, Love is revealed to be just as obsessive and prone to violence as Joe, making him her \u201cperfect match\u201d (if your perfect match is supposed to mirror your toxic traits, I guess). We also had Joe peering through his suburbia fence and spotting a gorgeous female neighbor, with the implication that Joe was an old dog who would definitely not be learning any new tricks.<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: Meet The Woman Behind “You”: how Showrunner Sera Gamble turned her broken heart into tv gold<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

But season three doesn\u2019t go down the way you\u2019d expect. If you thought we\u2019d be strapping in for another ten episodes of Joe relentlessly pursuing a new woman and abandoning his wife and child, think again. Without giving away any spoilers, there\u2019s a pivotal moment in episode one that binds Love and Joe together like never before, with the season focusing on the push-pull of their need to present a united front, alongside their increasing distrust of each other.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It makes for great tension \u2013 you aren\u2019t sure if you\u2019re rooting for them as a couple, or hoping they\u2019ll split up without killing each other in the process. Add their new baby into the mix and the stakes are higher than ever \u2013 and while season three has plenty of intrigue and, yes, murder, it\u2019s really about how Joe and Love navigate being <\/span>literal<\/span><\/i> partners in crime, as well as being a family.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty impressive that a series about toxic obsession and crime managed to seamlessly mix in the highs and lows of parenting. <\/span><\/p>\n

This season is as much about what\u2019s happening with Love and Joe outside of their home as it is about what\u2019s happening inside it; Joe\u2019s struggle to connect with his child. Love\u2019s changing relationship with her mother now that this woman is also grandmother to her baby. Finding romantic and sexual connection as parents in a new dynamic that sees them sleep-deprived and busier than ever. I thought I\u2019d tire of following Love and Joe\u2019s parental woes but it humanizes them in a way season two could never \u2013 you wind up wanting these people to cover up murders and criminal activity so they can remain a family for their son.<\/span><\/p>\n

You<\/span><\/i> really needed to make us root for Joe, too \u2013 the series has already been renewed for a fourth season, and while the writers had definitely tried to humanize Joe with his broken childhood and compassion for others experiencing abandonment and abuse, season three\u2019s new stakes are also new stakes for us as viewers. We need Joe to escape his crimes because we want him to be a parent to his new baby.<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: Meet The Woman Behind “You”: how Showrunner Sera Gamble turned her broken heart into tv gold<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

It all gets a little uncomfortable, as this series always has been. In a way, the complicated relationship we\u2019ve had with Joe in the past is mirrored in his relationship with Love during season three. She is undeniably even more toxic and erratic than Joe, and he grapples with covering up her crimes because he cares for her, over abandoning her entirely. Essentially, Joe is us circa seasons one and two, which is very clever.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, is it worth a watch? Yes. Somehow, we\u2019re still left hoping Joe will find peace as a father, and a happy relationship \u2013 even if we\u2019re unsure he deserves it after everything he\u2019s done. Oh, and everything he, erm, hasn\u2019t learned in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

YOU Season Three IS STREAMING now on Netflix.<\/span><\/p>\n