‘You’ S4 Looks To Shake Things Up, But Falls Short

Part one of ‘You’ season four is officially streaming on Netflix, and this time around, the season has been split into two parts. The first part of season four starts where we left off, with Joe having escaped to Europe. He’s abandoned his previous life and looks to start off new after the finale in which he killed his wife Love, faked his own death, and left their baby behind. Joe has taken on a new identity, and as usual, is on the pursuit of love. He ends up making friends with a wealthy group of socialites, to which he gets caught in the middle of their drama. He soon finds out that he may not be the only killer in London, and that someone is targeting his new friends. From killer turned detective, Joe must figure out who is behind these new string of killings in order so save his future. Although the story for this season looks to change thing up quite a bit, I think most of it falls short. They turn the hunter into the hunted, but does it work? While, the big change in the season surely is welcome given that most seasons have followed the same formula, for me, these big changes didn’t land.

At the beginning of the season, we’re introduced to a new setting and Joe’s lifestyle in Europe, which in itself sounds like an exciting prospect but then quickly delves into new territory which for the most part, didn’t quite work for me. One of the biggest issues this new season suffers is that it becomes “too” different, and almost a new show entirely. The show transitions into a detective show, where the powers are switched, and Joe is now the one being stalked and hunted. While this premise sounds interesting on paper, unfortunately it lacks any charisma or exciting storytelling than it previous seasons. The season surrounds itself with bland and uninteresting characters and desperately tries to change the structure from what the viewers all know about the show, but they put it together in such an unremarkable “whodunit” package with some weak twists. Now granted, this season is being split into two parts, so maybe the latter half of the season can turn this around, but so far, the start of this season is the weakest of the entire series.

The main premise these first five episodes set up is that there is a killer going around murdering some of the rich folks Joe has recently befriended, while the unknown killer teases Joe and trying to frame him for something that happens early on in episode 1. The actual killer sends him texts, taunting him, and Joe is lost, trying to figure out who it is and suspects that it’s one of the people in this new group of friends, and decides to stick around to solve who the “Eat The Rich” killer is. All the while Joe starts slipping back into old habits where he finds himself falling for one of the women in this new friends group called Kate. Thing is, the new characters we’re introduced to aren’t engaging as the ones in the past.

If you’re a fan of the previous seasons of “You”, then I’d say go ahead and give this a shot. Penn Bagley is still charismatic as our protagonist “Joe”, and still shines as the shows lead. So far, I feel like maybe the show has overstayed it’s welcome with these first five episodes because we’re thrown in to a brand new story that I think would’ve been better if the characters surrounding the story were more interesting. My biggest hope is that once part 2 of the season rolls out on March 9th, that it’s able to stick the landing and make these first few sluggish episodes worth it.

‘You” Part 1 Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix