This post contains spoilers for You season 2—consider yourself warned.
If you’re anything like me, you devoured the second season of You on Netflix immediately upon its release on December 26. Honestly, I regret nothing. The show is nothing if not wildly entertaining—and also just generally wild. The second season brought Joe (Penn Badgley) to Los Angeles, where he goes by “Will” and is trying to hide from his not-so-dead ex Candace. Of course, it doesn’t take long before he meets the next object of his obsession, a woman literally named Love.
The twists and turns of the plot are fast and furious which is one of the shows many delights. But (and again, spoilers ahead!) most of us didn’t peg Love for being a totally murderous human who has no problem slitting throats to protect people in her life. That wasn’t the final surprise, however. In the final scenes, we see Joe and a pregnant Love moving into an idyllic-looking house.
Has Joe finally changed now that he’s settling with someone more like him? LOL, of course not. Joe peers through the fence and spots a neighbor sitting poolside reading Kafka, Jane Austen, and Aldous Huxley. “This is just the beginning, because this is where I had to be. Exactly where I had to be to meet you. There you were with your books and your sunshine. So close, but worlds away. I will figure out a way: a way to get to you. See you soon, neighbor,” Joe narrates.
Netflix
Netflix
But who is she?
Well, the prominent fan theory on the internet at the moment is that the woman is Joe’s mom. We see her in flashbacks throughout the season where she leaves him to go off with various men and is also the victim of an abusive husband. “The neighbor is probably his mom. Also, Love is crazy. Might be crazier than Joe. She gave me Gone Girl vibes,” one person tweeted. “Why are some people confused about the last scene? that woman/neighbor was definitely joe’s mom. the hands were a dead give away… #YouNetflix,” another wrote.
Though a few people are still holding out hope that somehow Beck is still alive. Or perhaps it really will just be a new woman to stalk.
A third season of You has not been confirmed by Netflix, but it seems pretty likely. Badgley recently mentioned a new season in an interview, saying, “You know, dare I say, in the third season—oh, god!” before switching gears. Hopefully we’ll get an official announcement soon—until then, we’re all about internet theorizing.
The second season of You dropped on December 26, and hardcore fans have already binged through the nine episodes to the ending, which contained a super unexpected twist involving Penn Badgley’s character Joe/Will and his new love interest. If you haven’t watched it yet—and we don’t blame you because it has only been three days—then we’ll warn you to turn back now. But if you have, then you’re probably dying to know what happens next. Lucky for you, Badgley accidentally let some intel slip during a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Badgley was discussing the insane twist that even his cast member Ambyr Childers (who plays Candace) did not see coming: It turns out that Joe’s new lady Love (played by Victoria Pedretti) is actually a murderer like Joe. In fact, when Candace threatens to tell everyone that Joe is a complete psychopath, Love actually kills her to protect Joe (and reveals that’s not the first person she’s killed.) Badgley talked to ET about Love’s shocking story arc and, in the process, he dropped that a third season is n the horizon.
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“She doesn’t appear to be the same kind of person. She doesn’t appear to be the same kind of predator,” he said. “She doesn’t appear to be the same kind of… you know, dare I say, in the third season – oh, god!” He switched the topic quickly and tried to backtrack, especially since a third season hasn’t been confirmed by Netflix. But since he’s giving us hope, we’ve started to collect every detail we know so far about the new season.
The cast is definitely going to include Victoria Pedretti and Penn Badgley.Badgley basically confirmed Joe and Love are going to figure some things out, so we can expect to see their faces again.
The season will likely coincide with the release of Caroline Kepnes’ third book.You is based on the novels by Caroline Kepnes, who has been hard at work on the third installment of the series. Hidden Bodies, the latest, ended with Joe heading to to jail, while Love waits for the unborn child to arrive. She says that in the third book, Joe is focused on being a better person for his future kid.
“Joe is really proud of himself because a lot of people in his position descend into darkness after having been through what he’s gone through in book two and then in the beginning of book three,” she said. “And he decides that he’s going to be a better person and he’s very proud of himself for that. Having dealt with Love’s family and dating someone with this close relationship with their twin brother, he’s very focused on the idea that he should be the one with the family. But yeah, the main thrust of it is that he’s very proud of his strength.”
Premiere date.We have no details yet, but we’re guessing it’ll premiere around this time in 2020.
This post contains major spoilers for You season two. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
So, season two of You just dropped on Netflix and you’ve already binged all 10 new episodes, haven’t you? Don’t worry, it might be a while before you can catch up with Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti), and their baby, but here are seven shows—and one movie—jam-packed with enough love and/or murder to hold you over until season three introduces Joe’s new suburban target.
If you never would have guessed the Love twist, but are absolutely here for it:
Killing Eve (2018—)
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Think Love (Pedretti) and Joe (Penn Badgley) are TV’s most unhinged murderers obsessed with people who don’t love them back? Allow me to introduce you to Villanelle (Jodie Comer), a deadly assassin who kills for a shit ton of money, but mostly just the thrill of it. In BBC America’s Killing Eve, Villanelle sets her sights on Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), the genius security operative tasked with taking her down. When Villanelle starts hunting back, her obsession with Eve warps into something more complicated than murder. Come for the Emmy award-winning performance by Comer (and the equally perfect Oh), stay for Villanelle’s wild assassination techniques and her wardrobe that’s somehow even more killer. Watch on Hulu.
If you’re all about Victoria Pedretti:
Haunting of Hill House (2018—)
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It’s kind of hard to believe that Pedretti is a Hollywood newcomer with only five IMDB credits to her name—including her recent turn as a Charles Manson cult member in Leo DiCaprio’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Lucky for you, it seems like someone at Netflix is a fan, considering she also stars in their hit series, The Haunting of Hill House. You know, the one Glamour once referred to as “This Is Us with ghosts.” No worries if you’ve already seen it, Pedretti will return in part two of The Haunting anthology, The Haunting of Bly Manor. Watch on Netflix.
If you miss Peach…and still want justice:
Dollface (2019—)
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While the new Hulu series is mostly focussed on a quirky LA woman attempting to rebuild her female friendships post-breakup, Shay Mitchell gets another chance to play a vapid socialite you can’t help but root for in Dollface. Only this time, she isn’t stalked and murdered for being hung up on her best friend (unless the series decides to take a very drastic turn). Watch on Hulu.
If you need to remember Penn Badgley won’t murder you:
Easy A (2010)
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Want a Badgley rom-com without the stalking and bludgeoning? Try Easy A, also starring Emma Stone. When Olive (Stone) lies about losing her virginity to some college boy, her nonexistent reputation gets trashed pretty much overnight. The only person in school who doesn’t turn on Olive is her childhood crush, Todd (Badgley). Badgley’s character is also—and I cannot stress the importance of this enough—known as “Woodchuck Todd” for a delightful reason. Yes, Gossip Girl could have worked for this one, but I’m not entirely convinced Lonely Boy hasn’t killed anyone. Watch on Netflix.
If you’re still pissed You killed off Delilah:
Veronica Mars (2004–)
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You season two has Delilah Alves (Carmela Zumbado), the fearless Hollywood reporter who devotes her career to knocking down problematic men whenever she can while working to take down the comedian who sexually assaulted her at 17 years old. Veronica Mars has Veronica Mars (Kristin Bell), the sarcastic private detective who will stop at nothing to find her best friend’s killer and solve her own rape, despite how unpopular both investigations make her at school. Warning: If Delilah’s unexpected death punched you right in the chest, you may want to skip Hulu’s 2019 revival of Veronica Mars, which made a lot of fans angry for…reasons. (NO SPOILERS). Watch on Hulu.
If you didn’t get that Jared Padalecki joke:
Supernatural (2005—2020)
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When Joe runs into Delilah at a party, she mentions she was looking into a story about Jared Padalecki, but he was “laying low.” If that name stood out to you, it’s because Jared Padalecki is the very real actor who has been playing the demon hunter Sam Winchester on the CW’s Supernatural for the past 15 years (though you may know him as Dean in Gilmore Girls). So? You’s co-creator Sera Gamble worked as a writer and producer on the network’s longest-running series from 2005-2012, even taking over as showrunner for seasons six and seven. Gotta love an easter egg. Supernatural is currently in its final season, but with 315 episodes aired so far, you might not finish until Netflix is ready to launch You season five. Watch on Netflix.
If you’re looking for a girl version of Joe:
Revenge (2011—2015)
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Before you say anything, Love doesn’t count because You isn’t her story, it’s Joe’s. Revenge, however, follows Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp), a very troubled young woman hell-bent on enacting—well—revenge on the rich family that ruined her father’s life. With the complete series available on Hulu, this juicy Hamptons melodrama gets even more outrageous than the second season of You, and the east coast Graysons will give you some intense Quinn family déjà vu. Bonus: If you’re a Gossip Girl fan, you will definitely notice a former costar of Badgley’s in a very prominent role. Watch on Hulu.
If you’re honestly just really into serial killer stuff (no judgment):
Dexter (2006—2013)
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Dexter Morgan walked so that Joe Goldberg could…stumble around peeing in jars, yet somehow not get caught? Sure, Joe supposedly learned all about book dungeons from his abusive mentor, but there’s no way he didn’t take at least a couple of lessons from the iconic serial killer played by Michael C. Hall. He even talks to Love the same way Dex spoke to his “dark passenger.” Hopefully, 96 episodes of the critically acclaimed HBO series is enough to last you until your new favorite murder couple returns. Just pretend the series finale didn’t happen, OK? Watch on Netflix.
