You has been one of my favourite series ever and although at one point I felt like maybe the show had ran its cause, I can’t help but feel gutted that the series has come to an end. I can’t tell you how many times I have rewatched the series (not including the latest season) but it never gets old and I’m sure I will rewatch it all from start to finish again by the end of the year. As I’m such a big fan, I decided now that it has very sadly ended, to rate all five seasons from worst to my favourite and see how other fans of the show would rate them too. I would love to hear your views! Honestly, there are ways they could bring this show back in the future but I think it would be like ten years down the line and as much as it pains me to say, the ending kind of tied everything off nicely. Obviously if this isn’t something you’ve watched then this post sucks for you, but if you have ever thought about maybe starting this series, just do it. For the most part it has a lot of twists and turns and you’ll just keep wanting to watch the next episode.
Season 4
I feel like most people will be with me on this one but I just didn’t enjoy this season very much. It wasn’t anything to do with the characters because I was drawn to a few of them like Rhys, Adam and I loved Lady Phoebe who was an extremely likeable character. I just feel the storyline was a bit flat and a few episodes in, I actually had to start the series all over again as I was already feeling a bit lost. Not something I have had to do with You before. I also didn’t feel like I was enticed to watch the next episode and was actually a bit worried that maybe the stalker series had run its cause. I did enjoy the fact that it was set in the UK but again, they could have done so much more with the location which caused further disappointment, not to mention at times things came a bit predictable. The season however was still too irresistible to resist and one I have still watched multiple times, but mainly because I was binge watching the whole series again, because it’s a massive guilty pleasure.
Season 2
I must admit it was difficult to place which season should be next as there isn’t an awful lot wrong with season 2. Season 2 was set in LA and I will forever be grateful for season 2 as it introduced my favourite of Joe’s love interests, which was Love. Love provided a great twist in the fact that she had provided what Joe always wanted in a woman, he had truly met his match with her. I enjoyed how we got to understand more about Joe’s past and dare I say it, even have a bit of sympathy for him. I was kind of annoyed that they killed off Delilah but I understand why they had to do it. Delilah was a likeable character and you wanted a happy ending for her however she got the complete opposite. I also liked that they had brought an ex, Candace into the equation, someone who is there to stir up trouble. A character I didn’t love was Forty, I just couldn’t connect to him as well as some of the other new characters. I think season 2 was a big step up from season 1 and had plenty going on to keep you hooked.
Season 1
I was actually going to put season 1 before season 2 however what persuaded me was without season 1, there would be no “You.” Season 1 set the premises for the rest of the series. I thought the whole thing was done so well and I remember binge watching the whole season from like 4pm till like 2am it was that good. It’s what introduced us to Joe and his stalker ways and it was so cleverly done. The season kept us guessing and the ending of each episode kept us wanting more. You wanted to hate him but you couldn’t help but feel sorry for him and at times I felt like Beck was really playing him. We found out what Joe would really do for love. Shay Mitchell’s performance also stood out to me and I think she played her character so well. In fact apart from one of my favourite characters, Love, I think season 1 had the strongest set of characters in and we really got to build up an in depth analysis of each one. This is one of the strongest introductory to a series I have ever seen.
Season 5
This might be a controversial choice of second place but I really enjoyed the last season and I think the ending was along the lines of what I was expecting. I like the way they switched things up and including some different twists you didn’t see coming. I also loved seeing a different side of Joe. We are so used to seeing a cool calm and collected Joe that it was interesting to watch a stressed version of him who has lost all aspects of control when he is usually 10 steps ahead all the time. It was great to see so many familiar faces return and how they tied them in to the plot, but a few of my favourites were missing including Love who I wish they found a way to include her and also Peach. Another feature I liked was right at the end when Joe is reading his mail and he gives this speech about how maybe the problem is us and I found that quite thought provoking. It was also great to see more of Henry and how he was processing things throughout the storyline.
Season 3
Season 3 of You is by far my favourite ever season! I feel like Love really got her chance to shine and it was so interesting to see how her and Jo’s relationship panned out. I feel like this season has such a strong set of characters and I could honestly just watch this particular season over and over again by itself. I really loved the ending to this season, I thought it was so well thought out and it was impactful. We also got to learn so much about Love without her twin brother and Victoria Pedretti did such an amazing job of playing her, not to mention her and Penn had such good onscreen chemistry. She was the female version of Joe and as much as we felt it was wrong to love her character, we couldn’t help it. I think it was such a turning point for Joe who thought he knew what he wanted in a partner but when he got that he realised that actually Love is not it. I felt sad for her but it added a curveball to the plot. I really can’t think of any negatives to add for this season as I never wanted this one to finish!
So there you have it, we have reached the end of the list. I think being able to rank the show is a testament to how well it reinvented itself. No matter how many times Joe relocated to a new city, we became the stalkers tracking his every move. The series constantly forced us to look at the dark, twisted reflection of our own obsession with true crime. Something I am very much guilty of myself. People will probably argue with this, but I feel every season brought something different to the table. Very few psychological thrillers can survive multiple seasons without growing stale. While season 4 definitely strayed away too far from the usual formula by trapping Joe in a murder mystery that lost the show’s core identity, the absolute highs of the series gave us some of the most memorable series that I have to say I’ve ever seen. It is one I love to watch with people who are viewing it for the first time, just because I enjoy getting their reactions. While season 3 stands as the gold standard of the series for me due to the chaotic masterpiece that was Love Quinn, the entire run is worth rewatching. It is one of those that I wish I could rewatch for the first time all over again.
Which was your number one season and why?
Amy x
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