All is fair in love and war. This statement becomes all too true for Joe Goldberg, the protagonist of the Netflix series You. Joe will do anything for love, and I mean anything. From killing strangers to stalking loved ones, Joe will do whatever it takes to be loved. 

In the first season, Joe, played by Penn Badgely, the humble bookstore employee, runs into and instantly falls in love with Guinevere Beck (played by Elizebeth Lail). Beck is a struggling writer, and her life is a few threads away from falling apart. The show makes clear that this is how she has always lived. Luckily, our creepy hero Joe steps in to flip her whole life upside down. 

 Joe refuses to let anything come between his love for Beck. In order to create the perfect life for the two of them, Joe gets rid of (aka gruesome murders) anyone who poses a threat. After getting his hands dirty, he attains her love but it doesn’t last long. Beck finds out everything and Joe is left with no choice but to kill Beck. Big sad face emoji. 

 By the end of the season, Joe has racked up a whopping four murders and has narrowly gotten away with all of them. Right before the season ends, Joe’s ex, Candice Stone, who was previously presumed dead, reappears. He flees the city and moves to Los Angeles, the setting of season two, which premiered Dec. 26.

The beginning of the second season seems to be a rinse, wash, and repeat of the first season. This time Joe falls for a new woman, appropriately named Love (Victoria Pedretti). Joe attempts to leave everything behind, including his own name, in order to avoid the “failure” of his last relationship. He quickly finds, as you would imagine, that it is much more difficult than it seems. After all, the man is crazy. Candice (Ambyr Childers) is here to make sure Joe is exposed for the murderer he is. We sit and watch with anticipation as his life begins to spiral out of control even further than imagined.

 Turning on Netflix and finding a highly addictive thriller with crazy plot twists and turns was something that I was not expecting. Not only that, but they manage to turn a psychopathic murderer into a likable character (undoubtedly thanks to Badgley’s dashing good looks). The entire show delivers a heart-pounding rollercoaster of emotions. Seriously it’s like Badgley was a perfect fit for this role. He also does this weird thing with his eyes that give me shivers.

The thing that really hooks you in is the fact that we are looking through the eyes of a straight-up criminal, but you’re not supposed to see it that way. Joe is a man who walks the unguided path of right and wrong. To the viewer, it would seem as if Joe does all the wrong things for the right reasons. To Joe, this is purely a case of love and everything he does is justifiable by the pursuit of such a dream. 

You constantly has you questioning how far would you go for love, and how much is too much. After binge-watching this show for an entire weekend, I can tell you that this show made me question if I would ever go this far. The answer is obviously no, but still the use of a criminal protagonist. Yes, the show follows some classic clichés but from a completely different perspective. In this case the perspective of a deranged love-sick man. 

Joe serves as the protagonist and antagonist in the story. Most of Joe’s problems root from his own actions, making himself his own worst enemy. Even our beloved criminal mastermind can not avoid making obvious mistakes. Joe often times catches himself feeling unworthy, making him an extremely relatable character and, in turn, makes his actions seem somewhat justifiable. Because of this, it is almost impossible to hate him. But for the sake of the plot, he is not the only bad guy around. 

The whole show sells you on the fact that Joe is not the criminal he seems to be. Sure he can easily manipulate strangers, and always seems to have a plan but that is not the case. The truth is that Joe is not the perfect criminal.

The show is cheesy enough that it is amazing. From showing how easy it is to gain access to someone’s life to making fun of classic love stories, the show continuously makes fun of itself and everything around it. I definitely would recommend this show as one of the best to air in 2019.