Warning: If you haven’t seen at least half of You, this post might be a bit spoilery.
Netflix’s hit series You really brings you into the mind of a hot guy who does murders, thanks to villain-protagonist Joe Goldberg’s constant voiceover.
Addressed to “you” – AKA Beck, the unfortunate object of his affection – it gives the show its subversive noir edge and keeps you within Joe’s perspective, even when you don’t want to be.
But it turns out that it’s doing a lot more of the mood-making work than you’d think.
We know this thanks to this video released by Netflix, where they’ve helpfully removed Joe’s narration.
That mortifying premature ejaculation scene? Even worse when it’s just heavy breathing and awkward silence.
Penn Badgley is very pretty – pretty enough to make a disturbing number of people want to look past the part where Joe does a bunch of murders – but even his cheekbone-fuelled intensity can’t make the obsessive brooding work on its own.
It’s the bleakest, weirdest protagonist edit since Garfield Minus Garfield. Which, I’ll admit, has way fewer murders.