Why Joe is more problematic than ever in season 3 of "You"

• You

  , whose season 3 is available since Friday, is one of the most viewed series on Netflix

• The series has already been criticized for the glamourization of its serial killer to the air of Prince Charming Joe

• Season 3 takes on the appearance of a

  Desperate Housewives

  soap and satire

  , and asks the question of treatment - empathy or sympathy?

  - of his antihero

You

is not an easy series to love or comment on.

And to watch?

No problem, she has been able to set up a modus operandi to make viewers addicted, with its share of mysteries, cliffhangers and twists.

Posted on Friday on Netflix, season 3 quickly established itself at the top of the platform's Top 10, even taking the place of the

phenomenon

.

But once the binge is over, the fact remains that

have a problem on your hands.

As often happens to his (anti) hero Joe in the series.

Except that the problem is Joe himself.

--------- ATTENTION SPOILERS ON THE THREE SEASONS OF THE SERIES -----------

One tormented man, one more

From its inception, from its concept,

offers to play with our empathy, forcing us to espouse the point of view of Joe Goldberg, a Prince Charming-looking psychopath - the face of an angel Penn Badgley, aka Dan Humpfrey in

.

Nothing new under the sun of the series, in the era of antiheroes, "tormented men", like Tony Soprano, Vic Mackey, Walter White or, of course, Dexter.

Except that several viewers fell in love with Joe, to the point of screaming their love on social networks and to the point where his interpreter had to provide after-sales service and repeat that his character was a killer.

A: He is a murderer https://t.co/g2g4f3JvaF

- Penn Badgley (@PennBadgley) January 9, 2019

Ditto.

It will be all the motivation I need for season 2. https://t.co/fy2hojauDG

- Penn Badgley (@PennBadgley) January 9, 2019

Complexify or excuse the character?

Whose fault is it ?

Partly to the series, which, like other works, glamorizes its killer to the detriment of the victims.

We must not forget that at the end of season 1, Joe kills the "object" of his affection and obsession Beck, but out of scope.

As if to downplay his act, spare the character, as his other murders were shown on screen.

Season 2 sought to "complicate" the antihero, even to excuse or justify it, with flashbacks on his childhood and the origin of his "evil", as well as less and less culpable murders.

If the bad guy kills bad guys, isn't he kinda nice, a la Dexter?

The good idea, and the twist at the end of the season, was to make his potential victim, Love, a potential executioner.

And a distorting mirror.

A couple of psychopaths like the others

Season 3 begins with Joe and Love, newlyweds, parents of a little boy and newly settled in Madre Linda, on the outskirts of San Francisco. The opportunity for the series to indulge in an anything but subtle satire of the American suburbs a la

, where Instagram filters have replaced Colgate smiles. But she sends everyone back to back, from antivax to vegan, that it's hard to know where she's going, except perhaps sheer cynicism.

The series still has the funny idea of ​​treating its two psychopaths, perfect Penn Badgley and Victoria Pedretti, like a couple like any other.

With everyday wear and tear, libido at half mast and a visit to the therapist.

Except that they are not like the others, and every question, impulse, relationship can have catastrophic consequences.

But then again,

created an imbalance, to the benefit of Joe.

It's Love who kills and kills again, almost uncontrollably (hysterical?), And Joe who has to ensure behind, get rid of corpses, etc.

Joe only kills one person, one man, this season, and again, he kinda deserved it, right?

Love in season 3 of You is fucking hateful she pisses me off

- TinyTyrant⚔️ (@Bitterswweet_) October 15, 2021

OK season 3 of You only has one thing: to make Love unpleasant and detestable.

It's amazing how the whole storyline revolves around this.

Joe has held back no matter what the situation is when she is ONLY giving in.

It would be a question of dosing anyway

- Kyono TV (@KyonoTVOff) October 17, 2021

Fortunately, and without spoiler the end of the season,

do not completely save his character, who resumes his dirty habits, gives in to his worst demons.

At least not yet.

Whether the sequel - a season 4 is ordered - will grant him redemption.

The fact remains that the initial contract is no longer fulfilled. 

no longer a series whose empathy and ambiguity made it possible to explore and denounce toxic masculinities, but an over-the-top soap whose sympathy for its antihero is a problem.

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