‘You’ Season 4 Review: The Horrifying Face of Self-Acceptance

The thrilling finale ushers in a new era for the series.

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Self-acceptance has many forms, not all of them laudable. In the fourth season of You, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) becomes self-aware, withstands a short period of self-loathing, and achieves self-acceptance. It’s horrifying.

And gripping. 

While the first half of the London-set season was overly indulgent of overbearing social critiques that detracted from Badgley’s compelling anti-hero, it also laid the groundwork for a thrilling ride through its second half.

When last we spoke I told you confidently—arrogantly, even—that aspiring politician and rags-to-riches poster boy Rhys Montrose (Ed Speleers) had been systematically picking off his irredeemable and fabulously wealthy friends one by one, with Joe working feverishly to thwart him. My apologies to Mr. Montrose, who is not the murderous Robin Hood I had styled him as.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    An interesting article about a show I will never watch. Still, I find the premise intriguing and the review a thoughtful and well-written exploration touching on human nature and elements of good writing (story, character, etc.).

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  2. Avatar photo
    Pterseus

    I felt the same way about the first half of the show. The trick for shows like this is to make a sympathetic character out of a psychopath, which was always the silliest part of Dexter (too bad we can’t have a Joe vs. Dexter season).

    By feeding Joe lines that reveal him to be on the side of the angels with climate change, class and identity politics, it marks him as a “good guy” in a valueless universe.

    If they do transition away from this ham-fisted characterization I’ll definitely give it a watch. It seems by making his angst an illusion and an expression of his own narcissism they come closer to the mark.

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