Why Netflix’sYou isn’t All that Great
Let’s be honest, we’ve all binge watched Netflix’s latest series, You, in less than a day. But if it’s caused you to secretly question your sanity (“well maybe this Joe guy isn’t thaaat bad…”) don’t worry, you’re not the only one. All the characters were skillfully written, multidimensional, and absolutely fascinating to watch! Well… almost all of them.
The creation of the show’s main character, Joe Goldberg, was incredibly strategic. Writers carefully crafted Joe to seem charming, sweet, and even a little adorable at times. Even though viewers eventually come to find that (spoiler alert) Joe’s a **bit** of a psychopath, at some points in the show, it’s hard not to feel a little sorry for him. He’s murdering people for love, right?? This kind of complexity to Joe makes him an incredibly well written, complex character. But what about the others? Can you really say that Beck’s character is equally as interesting as Joe? Or that Beck’s girl squad is anything more than a shallow group of socialites? Writers of You hit the nail right on the head with Joe, but they fell short with the roster of female characters in the show.
Let’s start with Beck. Although we get to see a little bit of depth in Beck’s character in episode four, which is told partly from her point of view, Beck is extremely one dimensional and flat (all tea, no shade). All that we know about Beck’s character is that she constantly needs to have some form of romantic relationships in her life, even when she knows that the men that she chooses aren’t necessarily good for her. The reason for this is because of her stereotypical “daddy issues” which leave her desperately seeking the attention of guys. She’s also really oblivious to all of the red flags that come up in her and Joe’s relationship, which hint at literally all of his creepy stalker tendencies. We see this kind of unaware female trope in media ALL. THE. TIME. The entire reason that Joe is so fascinated with Beck is because he thinks that Beck needs him to fix her life. Because, historically, that’s what all women need: a man to come solve their problems!
But if you thought Beck was boring, buckle up because the other female characters are somehow even worse. Although Peach is smart enough to figure out all the sketchy shit that Joe’s up to, she’s also known for being catty and pitting her friends against each other to vy for her attention. Not to mention she has this deep, closeted shame about her love for Beck, and we never really get any backstory on what could have potentially been a really interesting plot point (if the writers had paid any attention to it).
Then there’s Annika; a girl who is absolutely fixed on promoting a positive body image. Good right? Unfortunately, her obsession with the world’s approval ends up overpowering what might’ve been a really positive message for viewers; reducing her to just another side note. And as for Lynn? All we know about her is that, according to Joe, she is shallow and (besides a few comedic one-liners), irrelevant.
What we can conclude from shows like You, is that female characters in film and television are constantly overshadowed by male protagonists. Writers spend time and money adding layer after layer to male characters, but then back down and leave the women as shiny objects. It’s 2019, why are we still acting like a female character with a little depth is so hard to conjure up? Our take? Maybe it’s time to focus on making every character interesting. And ideally before Joe kills everyone off.