I quite like that Netflix has started separating shows into two different parts so you don’t just end up binge watching the whole thing in a day but have to wait and have that anticipation again. It’s a good in-between between people who want to binge watch shows and people who like to watch it every week as it comes out, and so I want to talk about the first half of You season four and whether it’s worth watching.

In You season four part one we see Joe having moved to London in England after having tried to pursue the woman he was obsessed with in season three, Marienne, after tracking her down to Paris and him coming to the realisation that it was never going to work between them because of how terrified she was him. He moved to London to start a new life and he gets in with a bunch of rich people, because he starts working at the university and gets along with one of the other Professors, Malcolm, who is living with his girlfriend Kate and is part of the friendship group.

However things take a turn when certain people in the group are murdered and Joe is sent an anonymous text from “You” telling him that they are the cause of the murder and they want to work with Joe to continue this rampage. However we see that Joe has turned a leaf in his life, he no longer wants to be this manic serial killer that he was in America and he quite enjoys his time in London and being around the students at his university. He may not be the closest to the group of posh people but the fact that one of them is a murderer makes him want to continue spending time with them to try and crack the case. This season is very much a murder mystery and I really enjoyed that fact because it’s so different from what we have seen before. Before there didn’t seem to be a lot of rhyme or reason to Joe’s antics bar the fact that they threatened his relationship, so to see a different side to him when he becomes more detective than killer is really interesting and adds a new dynamic to the show as a whole. It makes it very exciting to watch because you too want to find out who the murderer is.

And that’s a big thing for me in this first part of the new season, at the end we do find out who the murderer is, a person that I will not give away in this review. While it’s an interesting development and it gives you more character intrigue into them it does make me wonder what’s going to happen in the second part, we still have a few episodes to go through, and so why show the killer now? Why expose that person now because surely the big mystery is done? Maybe now we will get to see whether Joe will go back to his serial killer ways or whether he’ll stop this murderer, but I’ve been enjoying the murder mystery so much in the red herrings and the Easter eggs that I’m kind of sad to see it possibly come to an end.

I also found it interesting, watching this time around, before I would find Joe super attractive and really deep and intriguing. I just wanted to dive into his psyche and understand why he does what he does and get to know him on a deeper level, but now all that’s gone. I don’t know whether it’s the fact I’m now in a very healthy relationship that helps that mental change in me but the character of Joe, while still being intriguing, is no longer this attractive man that I thought he was in the earlier seasons and it seems a lot of other people in the fanbase thought this too. Now he’s just a serial killer to me and that’s perfectly fine, I can still enjoy it, but them trying to make him this sexy character just does not work for me anymore and so really the only thing tying me to this series right now is the murder mystery element and for that to be gone, I worry for what’s to come next.

This season is a jump from the rest in that Joe isn’t mindlessly killing people, someone else is and Joe is trying to hunt them down, he’s dealing with new people who have the worst British accents – I swear no one sounds that posh in this country but I digress – and it’s still a very fun show. If you enjoy murder mysteries this will be right up your street because it’s got the perfect mixture of characters you know plus new ones coming in that add to that mystery, and this whole murder subplot which is so interesting to dive into. I do hope as part two comes out on Netflix it’s still as good as part one has been and doesn’t suddenly ruin the story because we now know who the killer is.

What do you think of part one?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding