Truthfully, I wasn’t sure there was going to be a third novel in the You series by Caroline Kepnes, but she surprised me by dropping You Love Me earlier this summer! So let’s delved into the psyche of one very creepy, Joe Goldberg.
Right off the bat we know Joe’s out of prison. With Love’s wealth and connections that doesn’t really come as much of a surprise, but what is shocking is that she paid him and made him sign a contract to get lost! She wants him out of her life and their newborn son, who is tragically named, Forty. Joe obliges, mainly because he has no choice, so he moves to a small town in Washington, where he’s immediately take by Mary Kay. She’s technically his boss at the library where he’s volunteering, but I suppose he’s not really an employee either. What’s even more surprising is that Mary Kay seems taken by Joe, too!
Joe swears this time around that he’s going to be “good,” which means he’s not heavily stalking anyone or trying to get anyone killed. That doesn’t mean he does no stalking (thank you, Instagram), and sure, her best friend Melanda ends up in his “Whisper room.” But he’s not the reason she ends up dead. In fact, spoiler, Joe doesn’t end up killing anyone at all this time around! He really wants to, but certain things end up working out and eliminating problems. Namely, Mary Kay’s intolerable former rock star husband, Phil. He’s a loser riding on the fame of his past, and before Mary Kay gets to divorce him, he goes an overdoses! Since Joe is “good” though, he is patient and sympathetic.
Look, most of this book sort of went along how the others have, but it was very different in the sense that all the deaths and strangeness happening are not Joe’s doing. I think he creates chaos, but apparently he just attracts it, too. I can’t possibly give away all the bananas stuff that happens in the last 50 pages or so, but you’ll just have to take my word that it’s worth it. Of course, Joe is like a cockroach, so his story could still live on. That’s the only spoiler I’m willing to give.
In terms of what this means for the show? I have no clue. Were the creators and writers in talks with Kepnes as they began the third season? Again, no clue. I’m also not entirely sure that she was consulted for the other two seasons. Regardless, even though there were some changes to the second season, they still remained pretty true to the source material. I’d like to think they’d want to continue to marry the two. And for good reason! The bonkers stuff that goes on this time around could probably happen, and I could easily see it play out onscreen! It sounds like we might be getting the third season of You sometime this year, so I can’t wait to see how it turns out.