(Photo courtesy of Netflix) “You” is already confirmed to have a season four
Troy Lafond
Connector Editor

On Oct. 15, Netflix released the highly anticipated third season of their massively successful show “You”. The new season follows Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg and Victoria Pedretti as Love Quinn as they begin a new life together, married and with a child, in the suburbs. Strong chemistry between these two leads and an increase in self-awareness result in this being the best outing of “You” yet.

Every season of “You” has taken Joe to a new location: with season one following him in New York City, season two in Los Angeles, and now season three in the Californian suburb Madre Linda. The twist of focus from city life to suburbia provides an interesting new perspective, which proves highly effective.

Focusing on the way suburban life tears at people’s seams was an interesting flip on the past season’s focus on city life. “You” has a tendency to create season main characters that plays on the stereotypes of the setting, and season three does this better than ever before. Sherry Conrad, portrayed by Shalita Grant, does a particularly good job of this, playing into the hyperactive soccer mom stereotype, with a more millennial twist.

The setting also allows for a unique dive into Joe’s character, with greater room for the show to explore self-awareness than previously. Joe and Love, in the wake of season two, are now aware that each other are serial killers, and this allows them to discuss killing in a way that the show usually kept tied to Joe’s internal monologues. Giving them the space to talk about what they are doing and explore how it is affecting them differently, which is a refreshing change of pace from the usual internal development.

Every episode is packed with twists and turns, and may be the most unpredictable season of “You” yet. While it may come dangerously close to jumping the shark at points, it manages to avoid this through its surprising emotional grounding. Both Joe and Love have been through, and are going through, a lot in their lives, and the show manages to explore their inner emotional turmoil without trying to fully redeem any of them. It’s a fascinating character study within a soapy stalking family drama.

Season three, without spoiling it, sets up an already-confirmed season four on a more familiar note. While the journey through season three was an incredibly engaging and unique ride, this final note seems to return the fourth season of “You” to a more traditional path.

It does not take away from the approach of season three much, but it was a bit disappointing to end such a unique season of the show on such a familiar note.

Overall. season three of “You” is buoyed by an engaging central relationship, the two central characters increasing self-awareness and a fantastically fun and twisty plotline.

While its future setup may seem a bit generic for the show, this nonetheless remains the best outing of “You” yet, and is well-worth a watch.

Grade: A-