Netflix's You - Episode 2.05 "Have a Good Wellkend, Joe!"
Love brings Joe to a wellness weekend, where he gets a good look at her family's dynamic. But Forty's surprise guest has him feeling anything but zen.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Netflix's You.
"Have a Good Wellkend, Joe!" was written by Amanda Johnson-Zetterström and directed by Cherie Nowlan
The threat from Candace was present at the start of the season. It then went dormant for a couple of episodes. That allowed Joe to build out his new life in Los Angeles. He could forge strong relationships while feeling the pressure to do whatever it took in order to form his sense of perfection within them. As such, it was immediately precarious the moment that Candace returned to shake up his world. Joe wishes to label her as nothing more than the crazy ex-girlfriend. However, she was hurt by him in a way that he has never fully embraced. It was more than just a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. It truly ended with him trying to kill her and him believing that he had succeeded in doing so for years. He thought she was dead. She allowed him to believe that because it was simply life-saving to be far away from him. This presented as an opportunity for her to escape. And yet, Candace felt the need to return to disrupt Joe's life because he repeated the same pattern with another woman. Beck died. His actions are only growing more brutal. Candace understands that murder follows Joe everywhere he goes. As such, she knows that she just has to be a near-constant presence in his life. She doesn't have any evidence of a crime against him. He can regain some sense of power and control in this dynamic because he knows he remains safe. He doesn't have to fear being arrested or jailed. He can continue to enjoy his relationship with Love. They even profess their love for one another here. He no longer views Candace as a serious threat. He knows how easy it would be to kill her. He refuses to do so because he doesn't view himself as that man. He feels like he could be pushed into making that fatal outcome a reality. For the moment, he resists the temptation. This is still a dangerous scenario for Candace though. When she turned to the police the first time around, she found no support whatsoever. As such, she too is willing to take justice into her own hands knowing that Joe can't control himself. He always has to act out which leads to deadly tendencies. She didn't even have to be a presence in his life in order for him to kill again. He knew that Candace was alive and wanted to take him down. He still felt emboldened to go over to Henderson's house and eventually stage the crime scene. It may not have been good enough. At first, it was believed to be nothing more than a brutal suicide. In the end, the investigation officially turns to a homicide. Candace only has to look at the concerned look on Joe's face to know that this is all it takes to unsettle his current reality. He will constantly have to face the pressure of knowing that he did this and could be exposed for it at any moment. Candace knows exactly what he is capable of. Meanwhile, Love and Forty continue to hold onto the aspirational elements of their connections with Joe. Forty relapses once more. That may serve as proof that Candace is just as destructive a force as Joe is when it comes to living a lie in order to expose more heinous behavior. Delilah and Ellie are the ones operating from a true sense of compassion. They understand the abusive actions Henderson did to numerous young girls against their wills. They also acknowledge the potential consequences of allowing these pictures into the investigation and potentially damaging the reputations of the women in the process. They operate from that sense of empathy. That's admirable. It may spell out certain doom for them because of the chaos and corruption present elsewhere in the storytelling. Joe believes he's a good guy. He's there to stand by and support Love even when everything seems to be falling apart during her parents' wellness retreat. That dynamic showcases why Love and Forty are so close. Love has always felt the pressure to protect Forty because that's the burden placed on her by her parents. She is the only one trying to keep him safe. When he fails, she is the one punished. That's so incredibly toxic and allows Joe to easily swoop in to be the comfort she needs. It's easy to see why these two have grown so close so quickly. Of course, Love is also right to be suspicious of Joe's behavior especially as it pertains to Candace. He may be better at telling lies than his prior victim. However, those lies can create even more destruction because he continues to hide his true motives under the auspices of something noble and genuine.
