Please thank me. I watched ‘You’ so you don’t’ have to

Photo courtesy of Netflix.com.

Netflix has put out its latest drama from the producers of “Supernatural” and “Riverdale.” “You,” based on the best-selling Caroline Kepnes novel of the same name, debuted on the streaming service on Dec. 26. The show was originally on Lifetime but was canceled after the first season even though the network previously said the show was renewed for a second season.  

The show stars Penn Badgley, who plays Joe Goldberg, a bookstore manager who becomes obsessed with an aspiring young author, Guinevere Beck, played by Elizabeth Lail. The story is told through Goldberg as he uses every tool at his disposal to become closer to the woman of his dreams – even if it means getting rid of the people close to her.

One of the fascinating aspects of this show is that you find yourself rationalizing Goldberg’s actions. There are moments where I found myself rooting for him.

Since the show is told through his perspective, he has a way of making you believe that what he is doing is right and it is all in the name of love. Then you are snapped back into reality.

In a sense, while he is manipulating Beck into believing that he is the perfect man for her, he is also manipulating you into believing that he is a just a misunderstood guy who is looking for love. It goes to show how easily people can be tricked.

Another great thing about “You” is that it uses humor and wit to mask the trauma and horror that is shown throughout the show. It seems like, after every tragedy, Goldberg makes a sarcastic comment to lighten the mood.

People should also know that this show is not shy about showing a little sex. In the first episode, you are taken by surprise with the mention that Beck is not wearing a bra, and then there is a scene where Beck is having sex with her boyfriend and then pleasuring herself afterwards while Goldberg watches. This pivotal scene in the series because it shows how creepy Goldberg can be.

With all that being said, the show is boring. It had so much potential to be great but fell short. From how people were hyping the show up I thought there would be multiple plot twists, but there were only two in the whole series and you could see both coming.

The characters were uninteresting; the only one who showed some type of fascinating backstory was Beck’s best friend Peach, but she was just your typical rich snob so the interesting feeling you get when you first meet her fades fast. You become annoyed with her quickly.  

Beck was the worst of them all. She wanted everyone to feel sorry for her and honestly, I did. She was pathetic and whiny. She said her dream was to become an author, but she did everything except write and blamed it on everyone else. She was a liar who used her friends to mask the ugly person that she was. They tried to make Beck into a damsel in distress but failed miserably. There is a part in the series where Beck accuses Goldberg of not trusting her, but it turns out that she was cheating on him with her therapist. At this point I was completely done with Beck and could not wait for the show to end.

It is everyone’s dream to just sit back, relax and binge watch a new Netflix series, but I found myself doing everything but watching this show. I was checking emails, doing homework, even reorganizing my closet, just waiting for the 45-minute episode to end. The first season is only 10 episodes, so it should not take a person more than a day to watch but for me it took three days because I would have rather done anything else than watch this show.  

The idea for “You” was compelling; they just did a terrible job on bringing it to life. The writing is lazy at times. It seemed that the writers wanted to get parts of an episode done and over with instead of actually taking the time to decide if it would add information to the storyline.

I honestly wanted to stop watching after the first episode, but I kept going. I regret that because I feel as if I wasted so much time. “You” should have not been made into a TV show, it is more of a Lifetime 60 minutes movie.

It is safe to say that I will not be watching season two.