We’re All Mad Here
Episode 7 of You Season 3 begins two days after the sprinkler romance and Marienne is not messaging Joe. In that time though, Love winds up flirtatiously messaging Theo and even takes her top off for him, showing off a lacy bra from outside the window. Now, Joe’s not stupid, he knows what’s going on. Only, this game is one he’s willing to play in order to get closer to Marienne. She doesn’t feel the same way though, especially given the sticky situation with Ryan. At the library, Marienne is busy getting the place prepped for the party, something made all the more difficult by Ryan dropping off their daughter. This is just another roadblock for Joe to handle, and he’s determined to try and play it cool. However, he’s also thrown another curveball by needing to look after Henry. That doesn’t deter him from finding out more about Ryan, including all of his hobbies and lifestyle choices. As Joe himself mentions, it’s like he’s preparing for the “a**hole Olympics.” Ryan is about to put a sizable donation into the library though, so Joe decides to stir things up by digging into his addictive past. Specifically, Joe breaks into Ryan’s house and begins spiking his shakes, giving him Adderall in the morning and OxyContin at night – specifically to get him high as a kite and mess up his work life. But not only that, Joe also intentionally sabotages his alarm and car. It would appear as if this is one step closer to him hitting rock bottom. Love meanwhile continues to wrap Theo around her finger, convincing him to do her bidding for the time being. Trouble is brewing back in his house though, as Matthew has become obsessed and is not in a good way. He’s run down, has plenty of security footage set up but wants facial recognition tech to narrow down the people he’s after. Those people, of course, are Love and Joe. He even brings a detective onboard too, trying to convince them that it’ll be worth it to solve Natalie’s murder. Anyway, that evening Love and Joe both show up at the party where the latter finds himself unable to take his eyes off Marienne’s outfit. Given how amazing she’s decorated the library, Joe’s night turns from beautiful to ugly when Marienne and Love get talking. Unfortunately Matthew also shows up too, although it’s at this point that Joe realizes he’s been played. Matthew has been high as a kite and dosed up all this time, he was never actually sober. That’s why Joe’s spiked dosage is so ineffective. Matthew soon confronts Joe though, revealing that he’s cleverer than he looks and warns him to stay away from Marienne. He also questions correctly that this all stems from Marienne in some way. However, the pair are soon torn away from their argument by Dottie, going on a drunken joyride with Henry for company. After Love and her mother butt heads over their moral code, Joe drives Dottie to rehab in the morning. Only, just before they leave, Dottie brings up that Love could well have killed her first husband and as such, Joe could even be next if he’s not careful. Joe certainly has his guard up but it doesn’t stop him from being blindsided by Love, who teases the idea of an open marriage and even sleeping with Sherry and Cary, claiming it would be a “good hack” to supercharge their marriage. As the pair leave together outside, unbeknownst to them Matthew has been busy. He’s hired a facial-recognition expert to work through all of Madre Linda’s CCTV footage. And next on their list to watch? Love and Joe.
The Episode Review
We’re nearing the business end of the season now and it’s clear that we’re circling back to the issue surrounding Natalie’s murder. Some of this has gone under the radar in recent episodes, with a slower pace focusing on Love and Joe trying to work through their marital issues. Seeing both of them going about their business in strikingly different ways is pretty fun to watch but it does become a little repetitive after a whole. The problem though stems from the season’s lack of narrative focus, beyond the marriage issues. There’s no overarching story beyond the pair surviving, which feels very different to the previous two seasons where there’s been a consistent thread holding everything together. The first season revolved around Joe stalking Beck and finding out more about her, turning into a cat and mouse chase. The second season had Candace enter the fray, along with Joe trying to win Love over, only to find her more insane than him. Season 3? Well, it naturally comes down to the pair trying to keep their marriage together with casual bouts of fighting and murder thrown in for good measure. There’s nothing wrong with that of course but it does feel like You has lost its spark a little. Can the later chapters inject some much-needed urgency into the fold? If this ending is anything to go by, the answer appears to be yes.
