What to Watch: You

by Mike Lunsford, Editor-In-Chief Great Geek Refuge

Hey, it’s the first “What to Watch” for 2019! It only took 3 months but I finally have a show that I really want to discuss with you guys! I have watched plenty of other shows up to this point in the year, but nothing that was really noteworthy. A few comedies, some comic book shows, and another watch-through of King of the Hill made up the roster. Then my wife and I saw a preview for a now-on-Netflix-but-had-it’s-original-run-on-Lifetime drama called You. It looks like a love story…but there’s hints of obsession, stalking, and some other dark themes. If we’re having to define the genre, psychological thriller seemed to fit. It was enough to interest us to see how this 10 episode series would play out.

The series is based on the 2014 novel by Caroline Kepnes of the same name and follows Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley, Gossip Girl), a New York City bookstore manager who falls in love with a customer named Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail, Dead of Summer, Once Upon a Time). Beck, as she is known, is an aspiring writer and grad student at NYU and like most young women of the time, a stalwart on social media. Joe, initially smitten with her, begins researching her online, checking all of her various accounts, to a bit of an obsessive manner. But that’s what makes this series so interesting: who in our modern era has not “stalked” someone online when they are interested in them? Is it really stalking when they make all of their social media accounts public? I would say no. He had a wonderful conversation with a beautiful woman and they shared a moment in a real life interaction! This is the stuff rom-coms are made of! People who eventually got married and stayed together for decades have stories that start like this!

What follows makes that initial thought of cutesy romanticism quickly turn to bile in your throat. The social media stalking turns to actual stalking as Joe begins following Beck. The series is a well put-together breakdown of the traditional psychological thrillers and romantic comedies. Typically, the “stalker” is ultra-creepy, socially inept, and a disgusting monster. Joe Goldberg is not that. He’s charming, he’s funny, he’s attractive and he’s attentive: the exact opposite of so many of his contemporaries in the 20 something dating pool of New York City. These points are highlighted as the series unfolds and you often find yourself rooting for the “bad guy.” But that needs to be reinforced: ultimately, he IS the bad guy.

The series is incredibly well put together. The writer and actors deserve praise as there are no definitive heroes or villains. Even Beck, who should for all intents and purposes be the heroine of this series is often unlikeable, making the viewer sympathetic to Joe. Beck’s friends are insufferable and irritating, always giving her awful advice and in many cases, succumbing to their own destructive tendencies. This makes the show much more realistic. Who among us always has amazing advice and life examples from our friends? Rom-Coms often trend to the “sage like advice from friends” that becomes an irritating trope. Even Beck herself is horribly self-destructive, impulsive, a liar, and selfish. Again though, that’s what makes this show so captivating. These characters are real. We all have had these tendencies and it makes it easier to relate.

Beck, on the right, and her friend Peach (Shay Mitchell)

I was incredibly impressed with the way this series really deconstructed the fine line between romantic and obsessive. Isn’t all love a little bit obsessive? Viewed through the right lens and with the right perspective, isn’t obsession a show of love and romance? This show makes you question where that line really is. It plays with the concept of an unreliable narrator as most of the story is told from the perspective of Joe. Can we believe what he’s really saying/thinking? Is there a decent dude in there? Stories like these remind us that in our modern world, in the midst of the #metoo movement, that guys who keep trying to convince us that they’re “good guys” are often far from that. I have my opinions on how the show ended up playing out, but that would mean spoiling the series which, honestly you need to see for yourself. We save spoiling things for the podcast!

For those who have not watched the show or read the book, going in with a fresh set of eyes and no preconceived notions was a nice change of pace. It’s rare in our modern world to not hear from a million different places either digital or not all about a piece of media before you get to view it. Maybe I’m just not hip enough to have heard about You when it initially came out in December on Netflix. Wouldn’t be the first time, haha.

I give You on Netflix a 7.5 “awww, that’s sweet…wait…no, it’s creepy”’s out of 10. It’s not the best media I’ve ever seen, but it was enthralling enough to keep me engaged until the end.

Thanks for reading the “What to Watch” series. Make sure you tune in to GGR Pirate Radio soon, as we’ll discuss You in greater detail, with all the spoilers!