Netflix’s You season three was a harrowing experience. It saw the two monsters Joe Goldberg and Love Quinn remain trapped in a web of lies, deceit, emotional and psychological turmoil, manipulation, infidelity and violence. If you haven’t yet seen season three then now may be a good time to get to it as this article will include spoilers.
Love and Joe are once again in the midst of an inner and outward battle, as they try to be a perfect pair for the sake of their son Henry. However, the duo finds themselves resenting each other even more, trying to grapple with their growing hatred and distrust towards one another.
In the climactic scene, when Love’s suspicions about Joe’s unfaithful thoughts regarding Marianne, and subsequent involvement with the librarian is confirmed, in a fit of rage, she decides to use her ultimate homemade paralytic weapon against Joe. Incorporating the poison into Joe’s favourite dinner, leaving him incapacitated.
However, Joe, whose calculative and conniving nature helps him stay a step ahead of those around him, is already in possession of the antidote. He administers Wolfsbane on Love and frames her for all their collective crimes by writing a quasi-suicide note. Setting the house on fire, Joe makes it seem as if a scorned Love had murdered Joe and baked him into a pie, cutting off a toe and leaving it behind for good measure.
To even imagine a character as dynamic and demanding as Love Quinn dead is perhaps quite unfathomable. Victoria Pedretti did an amazing job as Love Quinn, adding a different dimension to her character and making her seem as invincible, insane and delusional as possible. With her quintessential “reassuring smile”, Love’s perfectly sweet facade hides the most sinister secrets and morbid thoughts that are terrifying, to say the least.
Although Joe tries to be a better man in the third season for the sake of his son, he soon has to bloody his hands, thanks to Love’s impulsiveness and jealousy. Killing Love seemed like the only way in which Joe would be freed from her scathing clutches and watchful eyes. While the audience got a glimpse of their house being razed to the ground by a huge fire with Love’s body presumably inside, fans are not really convinced that’s the last we’ll see of Pedretti in the role.
Some fans feel that Pedretti might return in season four as Love’s ghost that haunts Joe and keeps tormenting him as a voice inside his head, inciting in him the most personal and deep-seated fears and rage. Maybe the fourth season will include never-seen-before flashbacks between the duo. Anything to get more Pedretti and her awesomeness on the show!
When Collider asked Pedretti if Love was really gone for good, Pedretti said, “A question for the writers, but I’m under the impression she’s dead. She seems pretty dead.”
After garnering praise for her role as Nelly Hill in Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House, Pedretti was seen as Love Quinn and set a bar of how psychologically disruptive characters should be portrayed. With Penn Badgley’s unparalleled portrayal of the creepy, perverse and evasive Joe Goldberg, Pedretti formed a wonderful alliance that shouldered the series forward, making it an instant fan favourite.
While we would sincerely want Pedretti to make a return, we are also intrigued by what Paris has in store for Goldberg.
