You Season-Premiere Recap: Start Spreading the News

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We’re back to our starting point, significant for this series and on a deeper level for the character who morphed into the book-obsessed serial killer of “You”: New York City once again!

Joe is an adult who sincerely clings to the stories of fairytales. However, his quest for ‘happily ever after’ has not unfolded as he envisioned. His first damsel in distress, Guinevere Beck, became excessively troubled, forcing him to take her life. His following supposed soulmate, Love Quinn, was equally unstable, leading him to kill her and leave their child, Henry, on a doorstep (a fortunate turn of events for the baby). Joe encountered another ideal woman, this time named Marienne, who seemed ordinary until her profession as a librarian was revealed (Marienne the Librarian); he discovered that she saw him more as a nightmare. To evade him, she fled to Paris, and when that failed, she staged her own demise.

As for me, I truly believe I’ve cracked the code this time around. Having relocated to London, where a series of events led to my altercation with Rhys – a tale too complex and convoluted to recount here – I underwent an intriguing transformation, temporarily embodying the character referred to as “you” in the novel “You”. This near-fatal encounter made me realize the importance of life, as I stumbled upon a woman who offers redemption: KATE. In an unusual twist, I’m deviating from the norm with her name, although there might be some intriguing details about Katherine Lockwood that I’m not privy to yet.

In their individual journeys, everyone carries burdens, and that’s certainly true for Kate: Her father was a ruthless wealthy man, notorious for his cruel deeds in the classic rich-man-gone-wrong style. For a while, she followed his orders, manipulating research findings to justify a pipeline construction project, which turned out to be harmful, causing cancer in children despite initial claims to the contrary. This act of deceit haunts her now. As for Joe, he has quite a few homicides under his belt, at least three that we know of from last season. Despite his concealing numerous murders, including one as recent as this morning when he framed Nadia and got her imprisoned, Kate chooses to trust him, believing him capable of upholding her ideals of good.

With Kate possessing her substantial assets and public relations influence, Joe chose to publicly identify as himself (he had been using a pseudonym, often preferring anonymity). After their union, they returned to New York, the city where they currently reside. Intriguingly, behind-the-scenes maneuvers led to Kate transferring young Henry – who was thriving in Madre Linda – into their lives. We recognize Henry as a Good Person according to Joe Goldberg’s standard of goodness because he desires to read from a genuine book.

Kate is known for being a dedicated CEO with a strong focus on promoting goodness rather than evil. In the limelight, Joe is recognized as a loving and supportive companion to his powerful female counterpart. They’re a popular couple, gracing magazine covers and making appearances at galas, reminiscent of TomKat’s romantic displays on the red carpet. Despite facing adversity and attempts to harm or blackmail them, Joe has managed to avoid any violent acts for three years, and he wants to keep that record unbroken.

I appreciate how Kate’s concept of ‘doing good’ allows her to act as if she were a dictator. She presents her recent idea for the Lockwood Foundation – dedicating a quarter of their earnings towards a literacy program in foster care homes – to the board without first gaining any support or consensus. As you could imagine, this approach doesn’t sit well with everyone.

Introducing our new side characters: Anna Camp plays dual roles as twins, who are also Kate’s half-sisters. Reagan, the CFO, expresses strong disapproval of Kate’s announcement without providing any supporting documents (although a prospectus might have been prudent!). Maddie works in the realm of PR and is known for her party lifestyle. “Buffalo” Bob, Kate’s uncle and COO, serves as a mentor figure, while Teddy (Griffin Matthews), an openly gay man who was previously excluded from the inner circle, has recently been welcomed back by Kate, serving as her chief of staff. Some might argue that race had no part in his previous exclusion.

At present, as a devoted supporter of Kate, Teddy shares with Joe an upcoming story in Forbes that suggests Kate manipulated environmental reports. However, I find it peculiar that they would use Forbes for such a serious allegation, given its reputation for having a lax contributor network. If the show aimed to create a credible threat, it wouldn’t be from Forbes. Instead, this feels more like something that would appear in The Wall Street Journal. Teddy claims the evidence is solid, implying it came from an inside source. They investigate Reagan as the possible leaker, but she appears unaware, adding humor with her quip to Joe: “Were you planning on saying words or were you just gonna audit?” With no leads from Reagan, Joe turns to Maddie, who has feelings for him. He secretly searches her phone and finds that Buffalo Bob is planning a no-confidence vote to remove Kate from her position.

Joe shares the intelligence he’s gathered with Kate, who is disappointed as she hadn’t been involved in his reconnaissance missions up until now (Joe, the self-proclaimed master of manipulation: “It’s time for you to be included!”). However, Kate makes it clear that she intends to handle this situation herself.

With Joe back home now, he’s able to return to his cherished spot: Mooney’s, a place he owns and hasn’t yet reopened but remains filled with his treasured books. His old studio above the shop serves as an outlet for him to unwind, where he pens intense, grisly tales – stories that no longer reflect his intentions, as Joe has transformed into a reformed individual! Ah, it feels nostalgic being here. Don’t you remember when we encountered the stairwell orphan? When this series was still airing on Lifetime? We were quite young back then!

In a studio, Kate encounters Joe and discovers his written narrative. She expresses her shock at the apparent pleasure he derives from imagining murder scenarios. Ignoring age-old marital counsel like “you can’t change a man,” she exclaims defensively, “You said you only killed when there were exceptional reasons!” My notes read, “Girl, are we really giving leeway to the man you plan on sharing your life and raising children with?” Eventually, Kate departs, feigning disdain. (I suspect her indignation is a veil for her affection towards this morally ambiguous partner.) Alone with his books, Joe believes he’s undisturbed, but then he detects an intruder!

In my case, I was geared up to tackle this mystery burglar with a statue of Emily Dickinson, as all my recaps seem intertwined. Yet, I halted because, in accordance with the laws of the universe we call “You”, the intruder turned out to be a strikingly beautiful young woman, who would later be identified as… Brontë (portrayed by Madeline Brewer). For the sake of these recaps, she is Bronte. I might grant that her parents could have named her Bronte, but I won’t entertain the idea of umlauts.

If you’re familiar with Joe, you know that he holds an unconventional view of crime; he thinks actions such as theft, trespassing, assault, and murder can be justified if they are committed for the Right Cause, and that a love of literature serves as a valid excuse for most things. To put it another way, Joe believes that literature is always a good reason for almost anything. Although Manic Pixie Dream Girl may be an outdated term, how else could I describe the fiery-haired sprite who keeps slipping in and out of Mooney’s because she feels compassionate towards the books, which she thinks are being neglected and will soon disappear due to the ruthless capitalist forces that consume everything good in this world? With a casual air that suggests she has been contemplating her actions for some time, Bronte recognizes Joe from media reports about his work. She refers to this man as “Prince Charming” directly to his face, so it’s reasonable to assume she’s up to something. But what is her ultimate goal?

In simpler terms, Kate challenges Bob over the pipeline tale, which he then admits, blaming her for losing focus since she returned from London with her husband and child. He warns he’ll expose her part in hiding Rhys’ death truth. With no other choices, Kate, who’s adopted her husband’s beliefs and has his son, approaches Joe. In typical fashion, Joe takes care of “Buffalo Bob” by making it seem like a suicide, sending out an email as if from Bob, retracting the pipeline story entirely.

Despite having vast wealth, Joe continues to grapple with an age-old dilemma for the privileged: his life seems devoid of meaning. If he isn’t engaging in nefarious activities, then who is he really? Upon visiting Mooney’s once more, he discovers that the woman he had shown leniency towards is camping inside the store. He doesn’t delve deep into her past beyond discussing Ibsen’s feminist views. She, too, avoids probing deeply into his life, questioning only if their encounter would lead to him writing a book using her as a character. With this mutual understanding, she becomes an employee. Joe appears to be reviving the store, seemingly a final stand against the encroaching tide of online retail and real estate development – more like a modern-day rendition of “You’ve Got Mail,” wouldn’t you agree?

He hands her the keys to all areas except the basement, yet I have a feeling she’ll catch a glimpse of that aquarium before the end of the season… and it seems likely she’ll be viewing it from within, regrettably.

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2025-04-24 15:54