With its fourth season complete, it is clear that “You” is trying to find ways to break free from the story they’ve been repeating for three years. While the season has its highs, there is nothing that makes this season a much-watch.

“You” season four starts off with its main character, Joe Goldberg, in the same place he always seems to be: in a new city, with a new identity and a claim to be a better person. Of course, this time, Joe is now taking on Europe to reconnect with the new love of his life. 

In London, Joe finds a new host of issues involved with the richest trust fund babies England has to offer. There, he meets Kate who Joe finds an unrequited interest in. She challenges Joe’s intellect and does not quite fit in with her peers, which fascinates him

“You” has its plot down to a formula and for three seasons it didn’t fail them, but season four is different. Thus far, ‘You’ has essentially been the same with small and big twists, but each season ends with several people dead and Joe getting off scot-free. 

Is it so bad to be a show with a formula? The existence of “You” will continue to beg that question. At the end of the day, so long as there are interested viewers, a show’s formulaic approach does not matter. 

Another one of the season’s biggest issues came from one of the show’s core elements. Joe’s sickening internal monologue had a turn this season, going from haunting to nothing more than irritating. At the beginning of the show, it’s terrifying to see the way in which a sociopath like Joe rationalizes his actions, yet in the fourth season, his voice simply becomes whiny. 

On the other hand, one of the season’s best attributes also comes from a practice they’ve held throughout the show’s run of writing Joe in a sympathetic way. When watching “You,” it somehow becomes so easy to go to Joe’s defense, regardless of the fact that he is a literal murderer. 

Despite its issues, this season of “You” was not all bad and in fact, was extremely fun to watch. Seeing Joe have to adapt to his surroundings in a way the audience had never seen before was incredibly fun. 

Fans of “You” will most certainly have qualms with some of the decisions it makes and some directions it explores. Overall, it has always been an action-packed show and continues to provide high-energy seasons, convincing me to continue watching it.