Thriller Series Review: ‘YOU’
Review made by Nada Elhelbawy
Based on: You by Caroline Kepnes
Inside the mind of a psychopath in love.
I’ve been trying to watch a good series lately and for me to find something that interests me and keeps me watching was hard deal so I literally went through half of the series on Netflix and watched their trailers, I came across YOU’ .Let me tell you;YOU is the perfect midwinter guilt watch, in your cozy apartment with the shades down and a mug of tea or cocoa in your clammy paws, you snuggle deep into some blankets and watch hours of this well acted series.In my head, I said it looks like my type of movie so I started watching and let me tell you,I binged watched the whole series in 2 days ! I feel like this series was made for overthinkers because it made me and I’m sure many others think of how much we question things that are happening in our lives and how our behaviours affect our actions. Caroline made us dig deeper into the mind of a psychotic stalker and in an interview with a Hollywood reporter,she claims that her main inspiration for this series was her mixed emotions of social media and that inspired her to show people how social media can have a dangerous effect on someone’s life.So,let me introduce you to Joe Goldberg, which was played by the talented actor Penn Badgley Joe Goldberg was attracted to a gorgeous girl who walked into the bookstore.Once, he laid eyes on her,he started watching her,he started noticing what books she picked and the way she’s dressed he started saying “Oh.Are you not wearing a bra?And you want me to notice.If this was a movie.I’d grab you and we’d go at right in the stacks.That voiceover made me also think how people thinks and judges you based on what you’re wearing .Joe is a very intelligent person and how he shows us how his overtalking affects his behavior takes him far through the series .How can someone be able to tell a lot about a person by just the way they’re dressed and the books they picked,well Joe did like I said!He fell in love with someone from first sight.He fell in love with Beck,Yep her name is Guinevere Beck and she’s a writer. He fell in love with the little things that she was doing when she entered the bookstore but the questions came to why he picked her ?Watch and you’ll be shocked !No doubt that Joe has made us head over heels over the show.Also,in an article by Eleanor Stanford she also talks about what joe wants us to learn from the series which was that you should be careful what you share out there because many can see your story and not just close it but stalk you and that was the main reason many watched the series because.This series is truly a thrill ride, every episode has you sitting on the edge of your seat !I’M OFFICIALLY IN LOVE WITH “YOU”.
Joe pushes himself throughout the edge to learn everything about Beck.He started following her and he used social media to learn everything about her.He carefully started inserting himself into her life by seeing where she was from her instagram and going there and just being everywhere she is.Isn’t social media dangerous ?Someone who we think just followed us on instagram,can be someone who’s stalking us and just wants to know everything about you!Will Beck understand this kind of coincidence that makes him meet her everywhere she is ?I feel like many should watch it just to see how social media can be a bad idea sometimes so be careful what you share with everyone.Caroline was in a hollywood interview and she was talking about how she had mixed emotions about social media and how she felt that a series like this is a must so people out there can be careful on what they share and when I saw the interview I felt more inspired to watch the series because I wanted to see how she warns about how social media can be a dangerous tool.
Caroline made it so effective to the point we heard the psychopath’s reasoning and I feel that is the best Caroline have done because when you hear how someone thinks and what’s behind their behaviours it makes you question why we handle things like that and why do we overthink everything.The psychopath’s reasoning is what pushed this show over the edge.We were with Joe in everything he has done and hearing what he believes to be right,changed my perspective on the show because it made me feel how a psychopath in love thinks.Joe eventually keeps murdeings his loved ones and yet he gets away with them.While watching episode 9 at 44:28, he buries Beck’s lover and people walk in while he’s burying him and i suddenly have the feeling of anxiousness because I didn’t want him to get caught so why do we not want him to get caught and why do we feel a sense of relief for him?Is there a little psycho in all of us ?This show makes us question our behaviour and what we think when we are deeply in love.I loved how Caroline Kepnes did a great series and how she makes it not like others series out there.
Work Cited
“Unlimited Movies, TV Shows, and More.” Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/80212210?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2C07ee59f5deb8a54c5fe8e8ae91ed578a071feebf%3Af268a91374b715e75953912c16dfcc7945ca84ac%2C07ee59f5deb8a54c5fe8e8ae91ed578a071feebf%3Af268a91374b715e75953912c16dfcc7945ca84ac%2Cunknown%2C.
-Stanford, Eleanor. “What Penn Badgley Wants Us to Learn From ‘You’.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Jan. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/01/24/arts/television/penn-badgley-you-netflix.html.
Mackelden, Amy. “Watch ‘You’s Penn Badgley Go from Zero to Serial Killer in Mere Seconds.” Harper’s BAZAAR, Harper’s BAZAAR, 13 Mar. 2021, www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a30478989/penn-badgley-joe-goldberg-you-creepy-video/.
