Binge-worthy: 3 reasons to watch Season 4 of disturbingly popular serial killer drama You

You 4

Netflix

3 out of 5 stars

The psychological thriller You has been one of the most popular Netflix series since debuting in 2018.

But it is not politically correct to say you like its stalker/serial killer antihero Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), as British actress and Stranger Things (2016 to present) star Millie Bobby Brown learnt after she defended him on social media as “not a creepy stalker” but “just in love”.

Here are three reasons to watch Part 1 of Season 4, which became Netflix’s top English-language TV show when it premiered on Feb 9. Part 2 kicks off on March 9.

1. Tables turned on stalker Joe

You’s witty narrator Joe had charmed much of the audience by the time they realised he was obsessively stalking the object of his affections, Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), in Season 1.

He then locked her in a cage and brutally killed her, along with anyone who got in his way.

As the body count rose, the show was accused of trivialising violence against women and being an apologia for stalkers.

But the shoe is on the other foot now with Joe having fled America and assumed a new identity as a literature professor in London.

He falls in with the posh crowd, one of whom begins a killing spree and tries to pin it on Joe, who finds himself the one being stalked for a change.

Still, some things never change, as Joe takes yet another unhealthy interest in a new woman, the frosty, combative art gallery manager Kate (Charlotte Ritchie).

2. Refreshing the whodunnit

The success of the Knives Out murder mysteries (2019 and 2022) suggests audiences are very amenable to modern takes on this genre.

Half the fun comes from feeling out the suspects, who in this cross section of London high society includes brazen social media influencers and shallow aristocrats.

And Joe analyses them as he does himself, with a mix of brutal honesty and compassion.

3. ”Eat the rich” glee

This is a key theme this season. The murderer’s handiwork is dubbed the “eat the rich” killings by the press, and the viewer is often reminded that Joe and other characters were not born wealthy.

This commentary feels glib, though, rarely rising above “rich people are bad”.

But it still has the viewer mulling the question of whether these poor little rich kids should get a pass because of their own emotional baggage – a question You keeps returning to with Joe.