You Recap: Old Flames

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Joe and Louise are experiencing a state of literary pleasure. Joe inquires about where Louise would want to travel if given the chance, to which she replies a mossy castle in Ireland. I ponder: What a simple task it would be to end her life there. This show has completely rewired my previously neutral thought patterns. I chuckled when Joe asked if there was space for Henry in this imagined scenario, and Louise responded with a tone suggesting she had no intention of reserving a place for Joe’s clinging child in her romantic fantasy.

Joe has chosen to disentangle himself from Lockwood and New York, his usual strategy for starting fresh in a new location, hoping that the same issues won’t follow him wherever he goes. Here are the steps he plans to take:

1. Plant Reagan’s teeth in Harrison’s gym bag as a means of ensuring his silence; then frame Maddie for murder, sending both of them to prison and out of his way. I’m glad we didn’t have to witness Joe pulling out Reagan’s teeth again. It reminds me of the first time he did it, when he wasn’t sure he could do it. Anyway, it’s nice that we’ve developed a shorthand, us and You.

2. Keep track of Kate using the earbuds she apparently forgot he could trace.

3. Carry an engagement ring to make a lifelong commitment with Louise official. When you feel it, you know!

In a surprising turn of events, Maddie makes an anxious call to Kate from prison. I can’t help but chuckle as Kate reminds Maddie they’re on a monitored line. Impressed by Joe’s work, Nadia believes the girls have gained an advantage over him: Kate intentionally left her earbuds connected, anticipating that Joe would follow them. Just when I thought Kate was handling things well, she admits to canceling her hitman’s contract. However, it seems my initial impression of fair Kate may have been misplaced. Now, Kate reveals she called off the hit man. In response to my surprise, she assures me not to worry. They need Joe’s confession, or they risk remaining in prison. Nadia is furious, as one would expect. But Kate insists their plan will succeed because they will offer Joe freedom in exchange for his admission of guilt. As for the location of this supposed freedom? The Human Aquarium!

Initially, it’s clear that Joe has an enigmatic wound on his arm, one that seems unlikely to be caused by mending books. Frankly, I find it hard to accept that Louise possesses any substantial analytical abilities, considering my doubts have persisted for numerous episodes. The puzzle here is figuring out the origin of this injury; my hunch is it occurred during the altercation with Dane. As for when and if Joe could have worked at the bookstore, or if Mooney’s is ever open, those are questions left unanswered.

It appears Louise knows about Harrison and Maddie possibly murdering Reagan, but she seems unfazed by the fact that several individuals linked to Joe keep mysteriously dying. This situation is making me question her perception of what’s suspicious.

In the meantime, without Louise’s knowledge or consent, Joe sent some of her manuscript pages to publishers. One of these publishers wants to meet with her today. Just to add to the intrigue, Joe searched online for a “mossy castle in Ireland,” but he would need to impulsively buy this property to access the funds, which seems suspicious – a warning sign, Louise! A WARNING SIGN!

Joe finds out that Kate has emptied his supposedly separate account and evicted him from the bookstore and the upstairs apartment. The locks have been changed, and everything is new! It’s all very fulfilling.

Since Joe is who he is, he suggests that Kate must perish. Meanwhile, Kate is preoccupied with meetings – she’s stepping down as CEO, a move that seems insignificant at this point – while Louise is engaged with her publisher. Interestingly, the publisher isn’t particularly keen on Louise’s romance novel but rather on her book detailing her relationship with the infamous #JoeGoldberg. Joe endorses this idea, claiming their story to be “the most romantic tale ever!” I would advise Louise to find an agent and save her work online, as her laptop remains in the apartment from which she and Joe were recently evicted.

Joe believes he’s trailing Kate into the garage, but it turns out to be a TRICK. Instead, one of Kate’s henchmen gives him an injection that knocks him out instantly – a common drug in the TV Medical Kit under the Inviolable Rules of Television Health! When he regains consciousness, he finds himself in an aquarium for humans. Nadia is engrossed in Louise’s poorly-written vampire novels, while Kate plays with the engagement ring Joe had intended for his future spouse.

Kate outlines her conditions: Joe must record a confession to free Harrison and Maddie, after which they will send him to an island without extradition treaties. Given Joe’s history of making such offers, he appears unconvinced, even when they detail their alternative plan if he refuses – initiating a carbon monoxide leak that would make his death appear as suicide.

In the upstairs apartment, Louise forces entry to retrieve her laptop. (It seems like she’s always making hasty decisions, doesn’t she? Yet, her wallet remained untouched this time?) Kate enters to express her concerns and remind Louise of Beck. “Don’t you suspect he had something to do with it?” Louise appears unsettled but holds her ground. Kate then grants her a ten-minute window to gather her belongings and leave.

While Joe attempts to manipulate Nadia, I can’t help but question the mental stability of everyone involved in this show. Nadia reveals a harsh reality: Joe was never meant to survive. Moreover, she wants him to admit to Rhys’s murder due to concerns about her own mother questioning her innocence. However, Joe wouldn’t apologize because he’s not the same person anymore, making it impossible for him to do so. In essence, both Joe and Nadia are equally blameless – a profoundly beautiful truth.

Nadia wonders if Joe has ever been troubled by Marienne Bellamy, and just as she does, there comes Marienne (played by Tati Gabrielle) into view. It seems Marienne has returned from the dead.

As a series approaches its conclusion, especially one like You, which is known for its dramatic dialogue moments, becoming more and more over-the-top to the point where it seems unrealistic, we often encounter lines that feel awkward or contrived. Lines like Marianne’s when she enters, “You should’ve killed me better, Joe,” are examples of such dialogue – the kind that might be rehearsed in a mirror but would never be spoken aloud in real life.

In simpler terms, Joe expresses that he’s happy Marienne is safe and alive. He strongly emphasizes that the “real” him isn’t harmful or scary. To put it another way, Joe passionately maintains his life’s mission is to rescue women from abusive relationships.

Marienne feels the need for a break, just like me. She heads upstairs, and who should be at Mooney’s door but Louise. I was quite anxious when Marienne opened the door, but luckily, these two knew each other. (You might know that Marienne’s daughter spends a lot of time on TikTok.) Marienne engages Louise thoroughly, guiding her using Joe Goldberg’s playbook. Tati Gabrielle’s portrayal makes it convincing. “You’re not dumb,” she tells Louise. “As long as you’re still breathing, there’s always hope.

In the lower part of their home, Joe confronts his captors by stating they won’t get away with it. Regrettably, his adversaries don’t seem bothered; Kate has made plans to serve time in prison, and she has organized for Henry to be sent to live with his father in Madre Linda (THANK you!). Nadia is tired of the back-and-forth and quickly retrieves a firearm, insisting that Kate open the door. Of course, opening the door would be a significant blunder. The women head upstairs for a private conversation, which, naturally, is also a significant oversight – why leave him unguarded?

I found myself bursting out in hearty laughter when Nadia declared that acquiring a gun in America was surprisingly simple. The women concur on their following action: Kate intends to eliminate Joe solo, while the others, having endured too much, decide to abstain. Given her position as the privileged white member of this group and her readiness to atone for numerous transgressions, Kate sends the others away. It seems everyone is fixated on acting independently these days. Isn’t it time we remember the power in unity? Aren’t communities what we should be striving for instead?

Simultaneously, Joe retrieves a hidden third key to the aquarium from within his arm! It turns out the injury wasn’t caused by the Danish attack as initially suspected! Somehow, he managed this without, it seems, contracting tetanus or perishing – events that would normally ensue if such an act were performed in reality. I momentarily considered querying, “Would death or something occur if you slice open your body to conceal a key within?” but then decided, “Perhaps it’s better not to ponder the specifics of that question.

Outside, Louise is persistently attempting and unsuccessfully reaching Dom over the phone. Meanwhile, Maddie is restlessly moving about, agitated, as Harrison admitted to Reagan’s murder, a confession that has led to his own life imprisonment while she walks free. This outcome Maddie can’t accept; she feels compelled to take drastic action, specifically setting a fire.

In the downstairs area, I stand frozen with dread as I gaze upon the vacant aquarium, my heart pounding. A chilling blow to my head comes from behind, delivered by Joe, who’s brandishing a hammer. Meanwhile, Maddie is holed up in the bookstore, planning to set it ablaze. Joe pleads for release from the basement, reminding me of Beck’s final words before he took her life, but I remain skeptical. However, his proclamation of “I am your fucking boo-boo!” leaves me struggling not to laugh out loud. As Maddie strikes a match and watches the building burn, I can’t help but feel a strange sense of amusement.

In TV shows like You, characters such as Kate and Joe often survive severe physical attacks and remain lucid enough to engage in meaningful dialogue. In this scene, Joe acknowledges killing Kate’s father, but she reveals that she was already aware of it. Referencing his past relationships where women have met untimely deaths, Kate mentions the fires. This triggers Joe to confess that he didn’t actually cause Love’s death by fire; instead, he poisoned her and set the blaze to dispose of the evidence. In a twist, Kate has been recording their conversation on a voice memo and plans to send it to Nadia for the police to investigate. Well done, though its impact may be limited!

Louise conveys a message to Dom: She apologizes, Marienne isn’t dead but got carried away by her feelings for Joe. However, she now understands the truth. Unfortunately, in her haste, she left her wallet behind and returns to Mooney’s apartment (essentially restarting her life, given her financial situation). To her shock, she finds that the bookstore is ablaze. Instead of summoning the fire department, she rushes into the inferno (!!) all the way down to the basement (!!).

In a fit of laughter, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the music cue just then. What were your thoughts? Was Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” too blatantly obvious for you? Or is it the layered storytelling with the hint-and-reveal technique that you’ve come to expect from this series?

Louise, limping on a busted ankle, miraculously rescued Joe from the basement. Despite her conviction of his guilt, she didn’t want him to perish. As they stood on the sidewalk, Joe reasoned that since he was already on his knees, he might as well propose.

Louise’s voice-over shared that she seeks justice and answers, so she agreed. “I’m the only one who can stop you,” she said. If she had waited just a few minutes longer, the fire could have halted him. If she lets this man escape, I swear…

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2025-04-25 17:59