Even weeks after its release, people won’t stop talking about the Netflix adapted series ‘You’. ‘You’ is the new psycho-thriller starring our very own Penn Badgley, aka Dan Humphrey. The series swivels around Joe Goldberg, a bookstore clerk, with a devotion of a beekeeper. Joe is a nobody, friendless and unambitious; living a bland thirty-something New Yorkers life. He finds his solace hiding behind the wooden shelves and in stitching together the backbone of old hardcovers. Joe is not a beholder, he is a watcher. Joe is everything you think a lover should be until you discover what he is really willing to do in the name of love.
The diegesis, in itself, is fairly tangible. It is the sound of hysteria-in the back of your head-that starts to question your intentions, as you find yourself commiserating with the Joe Goldberg. Much like the novel itself, the tv series chases the euphoria that once turned us, bookworms, into addicts. ‘You’ is a story about a pandemonium of thoughts, the social media predicament. Equivalent, to the modern day Macbeth, ‘You’ comes with its own offering smiles and lies of encouragement, with unbreakable toxic friendships and murder.
When a girl in a loose olive top, with a messy bun and jingling bracelets, walks into his store, Joe becomes obsessed. His mania is embellished with love, for Beck.
And he will not stop until he has her. Forever.
Guinevere Beck is a struggling writer with big, fat neon aspirations. Her boyfriend, Benji is the poster child for a privileged white male and her friends are the typical Upper East-siders. With each episode, a new layer is peeled off of Guinevere Beck – the girl with dangerous and exceptional pheromones.
The series revolves around very compelling characters, my personal favourite being Peach Salinger played by Shay Mitchell. What I absolutely love about this very character is the way we come to understand her psyche. Peach believed that the world is at the heel of her stilettos, and sometimes, it almost is. The psychological warfare, the incessant mind games that Peach plays with Beck are transparent to Joe but Beck seems oblivious. Joe is in an elaborate battle with Peach, their minds are at war; it is like a scene from ‘Death Note’. The fact that we never really understand Peach’s intentions, doesn’t let me sleep at night.
So far, all we know is there will be a season two. No information about when it can be expected has been released. Will season two be as ‘Beckalish’ as season one? Well, only time will tell. However, we expect to see more of Candace and Mr. Mooney, in season two.
By Vanshika Dhyani – Film Writer
