Dhruv Trivedi
‘You’ on Netflix follows the gruesome adventures of psychopathic softie Joe Goldberg. Truly one of the great romantics, Joe believes in finding the right partner for himself and spends his days getting infatuated with women, only to end up having to kill them when things don’t work out.
Season 3 finds Joe grudgingly moving into a suburb with his wife, Love, and their newborn baby. However, his mind soon begins to wander, and now Love feels like a burden. The fact that she has a jealous penchant for slaying Joe’s romantic interests makes the situation even more volatile, and the season finale sees a truly epic faceoff between the central couple. So does Love survive at the end of ‘You’ season 3? Let’s find out. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Does Love Die?
Season 3 opens with Love and Joe moving into an idyllic California suburb with their newborn baby. However, things are not all rosy as Joe now knows of Love’s murderous inclinations and feels he must get himself and his son Henry away from her as soon as possible. By killing Natalie out of jealousy, Love also makes it clear that any girl Joe gets interested in is in danger of being murdered. For once, our murderous hero is faced with a killer more volatile than himself.
That’s not all, and Joe eventually finds out how Love’s former husband mysteriously died when he tried to leave her. Thinking he can still run away with Merienne before she finds out, Joe sits down for dinner with his wife one last time. Halfway through the meal — realizing Love knows about his plan — he grabs a knife from the table. However, his wily wife has planned the evening well and reveals that the knife is coated with a sedative. Soon, Joe falls onto the ground, paralyzed.
When Love bends over him to slay Joe, he surprises her by injecting a toxin into her leg. It is the very same chemical the Love used on Joe, but a lethal version of it. Soon, Love falls into a deep coma. It is almost poetic that the poison Joe kills her with is the same substance Love used to kill her former husband, James. To make doubly sure of her demise and also clear his tracks, Joe then burns the house down with Love’s body still inside. He severs two of his toes and leaves them in the wreckage, so he is thought to have also perished in the fire.
The last we see of Love, Joe is dragging her body before he sets the house alight. Considering Joe mentions explicitly that he consciously measured out a fatal dose of aconite to kill his wife and then burnt the house down with her inside, we can be almost certain that Love is well and truly dead. However, her legend seemingly lives on in the neighborhood of Linda Madre, where they lived.
The season closes with Joe explaining how Love’s troubled family life and tragic death have become part of the local lore and made her more popular than his previous (season 1) girlfriend, Guinevere Beck. Considering Joe’s relationship with Love is his deepest and most violent one yet, he will likely be haunted by her memory. He previously had visions of his ex-girlfriend Candace, who Love subsequently killed. Now, she might just end up taking Candace’s place in Joe’s nightmares.
Read More: Here’s the Full Recap of You Season 1 and 2
