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Penn Badgley isn’t just the show’s star actor, he’s also the voice of the narrator, which attracts even more eyes to the show.

If the golden rule of a story line is “two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead,” the narration then reveals all of the secrets that are meant to be kept hidden.

You is a suspenseful story that follows Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, a bookseller, who sees himself as the protagonist of his own story, perhaps more than others may see him. What is the goal of his grand novel of life? To sweep mesmerizing women off their feet. During the course of the show, you should never expect the same woman more than twice because Joe spends all of his free time stalking his latest target. Joe believes that anybody who interferes with his love interest shall be killed. The question many may wonder is; how do we know this?: Joe single handedly narrates every waking moment throughout the show. Even the horrendous ones. 

Joe’s narration also provides an effective answer to a common issue with the anti-hero protagonists: the common tendency to empathize with, and root for, a character who has a strong point of view and with whom you spend a lot of time with. As with a lot of shows portraying bad people (The Punisher, Breaking Bad, Dexter) Joe Goldberg, a genuine killer, escapes consequences for his acts for three seasons and so far. While Joe may be the show’s narrator, he is not the only character it follows. Joe is constantly a part of a community, and because “YOU” cares about the characters in that community, regardless of how enticing he is, he is usually a threat in disguise. Joe continues to fit in with the communities as he goes from city to city. Joe worked as a librarian in New York City, and he was antisocial and standoffish, so no one would ever suspect he was the neighborhood murderer. Following his time in New York, Joe relocated to Los Angeles, where he continued to be the uncomfortable grocery store clerk who fell in love with Love at First Sight. 

Over the past couple of weeks, I received six texts in two days from different people, all asking the same question: “Should I watch?” 

I responded to each of them with a resounding “YES, oh my GOSH,” having binge-watched the episode following its original September airing on LIFETIME.

Rating: 9.5/10