![]() But in a way, I think that makes it better than anything else. Yeah, You is most certainly not like the best romantic comedies, romance dramas or any of that. But turns out, Joe is what I like to call a serial-lover – meaning he falls in love very quickly, and he will stop at nothing to make sure the person he cares about is his – and that anyone who is in the way is taken out. At first, he seems like he’s going to be just your average guy – works at a bookstore, is nice-looking, and seems to be a decent, charming man. If you’re wondering exactly what You is all about, it mainly follows Joe Goldberg. And it will be interesting to see if and how the show’s writers try to adjust in season two.The Story Follows Joe Goldberg And His…Romantic Obsessions “You” was never meant to be a prestige drama, a complicated unpacking of a bad man with questionable morals. It turns out, stripped of context, a dark satire merely reads as a replication of the tropes meant to be punctured. ![]() So what if he’s a serial killer - he’s got angst! He’s not an abusive, controlling man, he’s just misunderstood! The audience response, especially among women, prompted star Penn Badgley to practically beg fans to stop asking him to stalk them. On Netflix, many viewers seem to see the series less as a response to standard romantic tropes and more the saga of a misunderstood anti-hero in the vein of “Dexter” or Walter White in “Breaking Bad” - but without the nuance that made both “Dexter” and “Breaking Bad” worth watching. Stripped of the Lifetime branding, however, the weaknesses inherent in the show’s writing left “You” more open to misinterpretation. Opinion Netflix's 'The Punisher' season two is a bloody reminder that in Frank Castle's world, guns are a superpower Stripped of any Lifetime baggage (the official hashtag is strikingly not #You, but #NetflixYou and #YouNetflix, as if to erase any trace of the original network that aired it) most Netflix users had no preconceived notions about the show when it appeared in their recommended lists. Those who would like it didn’t watch, those who watched, didn’t like it. (No offense, Penn.) Moreover, the audience who do tune into Lifetime aren’t looking for something that bitterly undermines their favorite programming. But there are so many shows now, on so many channels, “You” may simply have gotten lost, or been written off as little more than a rehabilitation project for a has-been heartthrob. Lifetime has spent nearly 40 years peddling what often feels like a misogynist’s idea of “women’s programming.” The network has been attempting to slowly rebrand, as fans of shows like “ UnReal” already know. So why did the show find success on Netflix and not Lifetime? Part of it is expectations. ![]() In the end, execs threw in the towel and sold off the promised second season to Netflix, along with season one for streaming. 6 million viewers on average over the season. ![]() Lifetime was so sure it was going to be a hit, it greenlit a season two before season one even aired. The channel put plenty of advertising dollars behind it, and my inbox can attest to the PR campaign. And its surprise ending, involving a past girlfriend the audience has assumed to be dead, gives the show’s next season a million new directions to go in.īy rights, “You” should have been Lifetime’s first big hit in ages. ![]() The show is both unsettlingly creepy and riveting television. She is “you.” Even when the show switches to Beck’s perspective in the final episodes, it feels almost too late for the audience to get in her corner or feel much sympathy for her fate. This also changes how we think about Joe’s victim Beck, because the audience doesn’t identify with her. Expected, clichéd stereotypes are revealed to be creepy when viewed through the lens of a controlling man like Joe. But by taking the story and telling it from the killer’s perspective, viewers are in on it from the start, changing how Joe’s actions are perceived. “You” is a creatively bonkers take on a standard Lifetime movie trope: woman meets charming man, woman trusts man, man turns out to be a monster.Īs with all such tales, audiences figure out this romantic love story is too good to be true long before the heroine does. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |