Warning: This post contains major spoilers for You Season 3.
You’s unexpected season 3 finale ruined the perfect set-up for its season 4, and here is why. Following the horrifying revelation of Love Quinn’s (Victoria Pedretti) actions in season 2, You season 3 aims to give her and her now-husband Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) a fresh start in the seemingly idyllic Madre Linda suburb. However, no matter what Joe does to adjust to the suburban life, he simply cannot bury his shattered illusion of Love. For him, she will always be impulsive, crazy, and irrational — far from the free spirit he fell in love with in Los Angeles.
When Joe realizes he may have found the one in Marienne (Tati Gabrielle), he decides to leave Love, but in doing so, he only triggers his wife’s violent tendencies. This time, driven by her character's drastic change, Love knows better and successfully immobilizes Joe. Yet, upon discerning that she has played the role of a wife and mother perfectly, she reaches the pinnacle of isolation and prepares to commit her worst crime: killing her soulmate. Unfortunately, Joe is one step ahead of her, taking an antidote to ward off the substance’s effects on him and injecting her with a high dosage of aconite.
With Love’s death, however, the perfect You season 4 story cannot happen. Instead of just getting portrayed as the insane housewife who murdered her husband, Love should have killed Joe and moved to a different city, where she can similarly lure in another man. Additionally, it also would have been an interesting take to reveal that Joe is not actually dead and is now in pursuit of revenge. This could have been narratively similar to what happened between Joe and Candace Stone (Ambyr Childers). Yet this time, it would have been a total reversal of fortune, since having Love seemingly kill Joe would send a signal that he is not invincible. After all, it has already been established that Love’s impulses are on par with, if not worse than, Joe’s.
Having Love at the center of You season 4 would have been a refreshing take on the show. This would have avoided the mistake of another season repeating Joe's pattern of settling down in a new place, stumbling upon his new obsession, and murdering civilians along the way. Instead, Love's experiences, from her childhood to her first marriage, could have been fleshed out more in the form of flashbacks, not only to humanize her as Joe's childhood did with him, but also to elaborate on her incessant impulses. This would have been a chance to hear her internal monologue since, despite her occupying a vital role in the show as Joe's match, the audience has rarely heard her thought processes.
Moreover, this storyline could have positioned Love with a new relationship, which Joe's surprise appearance would ultimately ruin. She could have had another man to target, yet as she tries to move on, the guilt of killing her soulmate and the pressure of not repeating the mistakes in her past relationships weigh on her. As her newfound love inevitably crumbles, the unlikable and villainous Joe would return for his vengeance. Because Love acts more on impulse than premeditation, she would have to outrun Joe and his intricately crafted plans, which would be harder this time since Joe is more determined, with Henry's future at stake. Despite Joe's hate for having a son at first, his intention to spare his child from a traumatic childhood would have been all the motivation he needs to take him away from Love, whatever it takes. Surely, Love is not one to go down without a fight, and if You season 3 is any indication, she is just as capable of hurting people around her, including Joe.
The Quinn-Goldbergs settling this dispute, whether in a bloody encounter or outwitting each other, could have shown viewers just what Love is willing to do when she becomes desperate and has nothing more to lose. At the end of the day, Love's nature will surely bring both her and her child in danger, although the extent of that danger remains unknown. Sadly, because of Love dying and Joe fleeing to Paris in You season 3's ending, this storyline can't happen in You season 4.