Things felt a little different on this season ofYou.
The realization hit me halfway through the first episode of part one.
I had a feeling of deja vuYouis doing the eat the rich trope too.
Netflix
Before long, things dissolve into manic, unbridled chaos.
There’s the Instagram influencer.
The billionaire tech or finance bro.
Lukas Gage as Adam, an entrepreneur, and Tilly Keeper as Lady Phoebe, a wealthy socialite
The actor, the model, the socialite.
These are people we have all seen before; these are the ignorant, self-obsessed ultra wealthy.
After seeing just how awful they all are, we sit back gleefully to watch their collective downfall.
Ozioma Whenu as Blessing, Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, Sophie Soo as Niccy Lin
And nowYouseason four is following the same path.
His stalking and killing days, he assures us repeatedly in his voiceovers, are behind him.
Of course, that’s what Joe always says.
Ozioma Whenu as Blessing, Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, Sophie Soo as Niccy Lin
But this time it seems to be true.
As Joe/Jonathan begins his new scholarly life in London, he becomes entrenched with a group of ultra-wealthy frenemies.
Soon enough, members of the group start turning up dead.
And, believe it or not, serial killer Joe appears to not be at fault.
Instead he thinks he is being framed for each murder by the mysterious Eat-the-Rich Killer.
Joe, in turn, becomes a sort of sinister detective.
Want to know what’s going to happen to Joe in part 2?
We asked for some hints.
In previous seasonsYou’s intrigue lay in its ability to confront us with our own moral flimsiness.
Despite his horrific crimes, we were encouraged to sympathize with and even root for the murderous Joe.
In part one, that particular moral conflict all but vanishes.
As Joe’s voiceover constantly reminds us, these people deserve what’s coming to them.
Someone drop a bomb on this house, comes his despairing voice during one elitist dinner party.
Or, when asked if Americans all have guns, his voiceover chimes in, I wish.
And, the show seems to say, neither should we.
More pressingly, theyre all far too similar.
The ones the chef carefully selected for punishment?
He didn’t have any human traffickers or murders or child abusers on his list?
That, of course, brings us back to Joeyou knowJoe, the serial killer?
When didhebecome the everyman that should see us through another eat-the-rich bonanza?
I’m inclined to agree with all of them.
And, of course, what’s to come in a potential season 5.
It is also rare for these works to turn the lens back onto us, the viewersthe would-be eaters.
Because in reality, the line between good and bad is rarely so definitive.
We lap up the stunning shots of Sicily.
We screenshot our favorite designer outfits.
And of course, in the real world, we have a similar relationship with the ultra wealthy.
We need something that asks us to confront ourselves too.
You’s fourth season makes it clear that the trope is getting old.
