You delivers a dangerous and thoroughly engaging story as Joe Goldberg (Gossip Girl alum Penn Badgley) tries to find the perfect partner while simultaneously lacking any coherent definition of the word — but he's really a terrifying and seductive stalker who thrives in psychological terror drama. But despite Joe's gaping oversight — he believes himself a romantic — he uses his observational skills to manipulate (though he thinks it's protecting those he loves).

The first three seasons of You explore very different narratives. In season 1, Joe is enchanted by the beautiful and mysterious Guinevere Beck. Season 2 sees Joe move from New York to California to escape his dark past and try to stay out of trouble. However, a new object of his obsession appears with a dark past of her own. Season 3 sees Love Quinn and Joe Goldberg making a life together, but Joe's infatuation is irrevocably damaged by Love's secrets coming to light.

Joe's Obsession Takes The Story Of You In Diverse Directions

You is a thrilling psychological drama where we get a front-row seat to the inner workings of a killer who views himself as the ultimate hero and hopeless romantic. Joe wants love. He wants to be head-over-heels about someone, and for that person to feel the same way about him. In this way, his intentions seem noble and chivalrous, but his actions speak louder than his words.

Joe is a terrible person, but he is profoundly interesting, and that is largely due to Penn Badgley's magnificent performance...

Joe falls easy and fast into love, but his idea of love is warped by a tragic and traumatic childhood, which leads to an adulthood where he has no clear understanding of a right way to behave. Instead, Joe sees the world through the lens of fantasy books and the romantic writings of the greats, and he fights to obtain it. Joe is a terrible person, but he is profoundly interesting, and that is largely due to Penn Badgley's magnificent performance — physically and vocally.

What stands out as unique is the sheer amount of time the show dedicates to exploring what is happening in Joe's mind. Joe is meticulous, careful, and profoundly clever, but he is also calculated and presents himself as a well-designed image to those around him. This means a lot of the character's exploration happens in voice-overs, with Badgley needing to perform silently onscreen before voice-overs are provided later. The execution is exceptional and creates a clear picture of Joe's inner workings.

You Seasons 1-3 Are Visually Stunning & Endlessly Thrilling

As far as the first three seasons are concerned, You continually delivers a captivating story with Joe Goldberg at the center. While season 1 is a standout, and the big reveals in season 2 are stunning, the narrative for season 3 is slightly less engaging, though things do get tense towards the end.

[T]the most compelling parts of the story happen under the cover of darkness

The visual style of the series is opulent and bright, with each scene being warm and colorful. This works well in contrast with the darkness of the story, as well as the cold and monotonous cage that Joe resigns himself to in order to work on his books in peace, and which is occasionally repurposed to trap those he usually ends up killing. You delivers beautiful imagery that is exciting and open. However, the most compelling parts of the story happen under the cover of darkness, as Joe seeks to meticulously coordinate his life and the lives of those he obsesses over.

In of shortcomings, the series has very few in its first few seasons. The biggest is perhaps that the story's quality wavers as it goes on, and the series could have easily been shortened. As the story goes on, Joe inherently becomes more defined, and making this complex figure into either the hero or the monster is too simple. He is conflicted. He can be a monster, and he can be a protector, but as the show delves deeper into the mind of Joe, it becomes harder to see the line that You has been drawing.