** this entire article reveals some spoilers from the Season 1 Episode 1. I didn’t ruin too much. Besides the first episode is so good, you’ll probably just binge-watch the whole series anyway…so it’s perfectly fine to read the article (:

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Dan Humphrey… you have some explaining to do. In case you missed that reference, Dan is a fictional character from a show that is near and dear to my heart: Gossip Girl. Only this time, instead of chasing after Serena Van der Woodsen, he is after another blonde girl in the big apple.

In Netflix’s You, Penn Badgley is Joe, a witty manager at a charming New York bookstore who has a crush on a girl named Guinevere Beck. But, his attraction quickly turns into something more. He plans a day “together.” And by together, I mean he lurks in the background of Beck’s life for an entire day as she is painfully blissfully unaware of his presence. How is he able to do this you ask? Through social media of course. If this was a subliminal message about the data privacy, this show nailed it. I’m 30 seconds away from putting all my accounts on private and shutting down this blog. Luckily, the Global Data Protection Regulation enacted in May 2018 has us kind of covered. As a law student, I have my thoughts on this. But I’ll elaborate later in the Law and Entertainment section.

I was hooked throughout the entire episode. Joe’s voice-overs were relatable. Real. Funny. And blunt with a splash of cockiness. Just how I like it. It’s edgy, mysterious and attractive. The perfect recipe for a Lifetime thriller.  

Joe Schmoe is reallll confident too. Especially when you see how homeboy gets into Beck’s apartment:

• He finds Beck’s schedule and her address online;
• Calls the gas company to inspect her apartment on her busiest day of the week and
• pretends to be her boyfriend (power move) so he can enter the house.

I know this is completely wrong, but I’ve never seen trespass to land look so sexy.

My only problem is Joe’s attempt to blame his manipulative actions on ”love.” You would think that with all his time in a damn book store he would know the literary difference between love and obsession. But since he doesn’t, let’s start with a basic vocabulary lesson:

Love, according to the dictionary means “an intense feeling of affection” or the “deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone.”

While “obsession,” according to Google Dictionary means: “an idea or thought that continually occupies or intrudes on a person’s mind. “

To be honest, none of these definitions sound particularly interesting. But it’s the dictionary, not the romantic rhetoric of Paulo Coelho quotes. So just sit there and deal with it as I make my damn point.

There is a clear line between love and obsession. We crave this romantic love. I would say it’s not our fault, but it is. Unhealthy relationships and habits are engraved in our culture. You know this love too. It’s the one somehow makes fiery arguments, busting car windows, or burning him with your curling iron out of jealousy a display of “intense feeling or affection.” But let’s keep it reel ( see what I did there lol). Blaming another person for your own emotions is just an example of poor personal boundaries. Jealousy is demeaning to your partner and implies that he or she can’t control themselves. Making up after breaking up is always a fun time. But if your partner always tries to nudge you in a certain direction by using sex, then you won’t actually find what’s really bothering you. I’m not saying don’t have a good time. Find the root of the issue. If not, the behavior is nothing more than a murky reflection of your values. A partner is more than an asset, they’re a person, willing to engage in emotional support.

Blah blah blah with all this serious talk. Let’s get back to the interesting parts. Isn’t this why we watch TV in the first place?!

There is something about this “attraction gone wrong” storyline that is just SO DARN APPEALING! I know it sounds hypocritical. But I need to watch the drama unfold…but I definitely don’t want it anything remotely similar to happen in my life (* Note: this is what people in your circle think when you’re going through some shit but no one ever says it).

Although we’ve all seen it before, as an audience, we can’t get enough of this dangerous love affair. This is why movies like Obsessed,  The Perfect Guy, Single White Female, and Fatal Attraction continue to remain popular. But the show You adds its own unique twist and I am LOVING it. Even the character development is on point. Benji, Beck’s sleeping buddy? ex-boyfriend is a frightening conglomerate of the worst guys I’ve met, seen, and heard about in my own life. It’s captured perfectly when Benji says to Beck, ” It looks good on you….the extra weight” after Beck had terrible sex with him.

Overall, we learned a couple things from episode 1:

• Joe Schmoe is a sneaky mofo. (The character’s name is actually Joe Goldberg, but I really wanted a rhyme.)
• Beck needs to look up from her phone more often.
• I should probably get some blinds on my apartment windows…

 

Lastly, episode 1 ends with Benji locked up in Joe’s dungeon underneath his bookstore and I SCREAMED at my laptop, OMG he’s gonna kill Benji!?!

I’m not going to spoil it for you. All I know is this: whether Penn Badgley stars as Dan Humphrey or Joe Goldberg, even if he does some sneaky CIA shit…THAT’S A SECRET I’LL NEVER TELL! I’m loyal to Gossip Girl and you should be too.

I know this post was a long one but Episode 1 had such great content so it really got me typing. Enjoy binging more episodes, you know I will.

xoxo, RR by LR

** I KNOW IT’S CORNY BUT I COULDN’T RESIST!!!!!!!

 

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