In addition to the gore, the props, cinematography and costuming were all on point. So much so, in fact, that there were certain moments when it was necessary to turn away. From injecting needles and shooting people with guns to falling off a building or being pushed down a flight of stairs, everything looked extremely realistic. With so many murders - and yes, the kill count was ridiculous this season - it’s important to have pretty good effects with gore. One big piece of the show is the effects. Joe Goldberg is truly an awful person, and if you thought his stalking was attractive before (first of all, seek help), this season ruins any “goodness” about him.
However, when Love does it, or even when anyone else makes a minor mistake, he is so quick to condemn them. It’s OK if he kills someone because he can justify it in his head. This is the main issue with Joe: he’s a hypocrite. Not to mention the way he so hypocritically abandoned Love. To put Marienne and her precious daughter in the dangerous path was the last straw for me. Once Joe found his new obsession after Natalie, Marienne (Tati Gabrielle), I felt nothing but disgust. However, season three finally changed my perspective. I’ve struggled myself with watching the show and not being attracted to Joe, despite his horrific acts. One controversy with the show is the fact that it glorifies male violence toward women, because even though logically what Joe’s character is doing is sociopathic and malicious, Badgley, an attractive man, is the one portraying him. It’s hard not to pay attention to everything she does at the expense of the rest of the show.Īnd finally, Joe. Pedretti is brilliant, in every sense of the word, and there could be a complete review just on her performance in this character for the past two seasons alone. Pedretti not only accomplishes this task, but knocks it out of the park. Mixed with her overwhelming maternal instincts, generosity and care for others, it's tough to embody that when it isn’t necessarily the experience you’ve lived yourself. She has a dark past, a complicated family dynamic and a dead brother to boot. It’s hard to tackle a character as complicated as Love. Undoubtedly one of the best actresses of our time, Pedretti has a certain subtlety that she brings to her roles, making her kind and happy side seep into your soul and bring a smile to your face, and her psycho killer side all the more terrifying.
The real star of the season, however, is Pedretti as Love. His level of naivety and dedication to a woman he hardly knows, matched with his kindness and goofball nature, make him this season’s “character who deserves all the rights” award winner. The son of dead Natalie’s husband Matthew (Scott Speedman), Theo takes a quick liking to Love and tries to seduce her frequently. The actors do a great job of making you hate them, while also understanding the way their environment has impacted the character’s personalities.Īnother notable new face is Dylan Arnold, who plays 18-year-old Theo. Sherry, played by Shalita Grant, and her husband Cary, played by Travis Van Winkle, are so awful it’s incredible.
Even the characters who we’re supposed to hate are fantastic. Joe and Love go through several stages of their relationship, from Joe hating Love, then Love hating Joe, to the two of them being on the same page with loving each other, and killing everyone else.Īs with the other seasons, the new character additions are what really make the season memorable. This entire season packs a lot in only 10 episodes. Love then must rely on Joe to help her cover up the mess - and that’s just the first episode. After she comes on to him and Love finds out, she murders Natalie in cold blood, right inside of the bakery Natalie had just leased her. His disdain for the town and for Love’s behavior turns into a new obsession with their neighbor, Natalie (Michaela McManus). They were expecting a girl but ended up having a boy named Henry Forty Quinn-Goldberg, and Joe is convinced they will ruin a boy and Henry will become just like him. Right from the start, Joe’s unhappiness bleeds through. This season begins with Joe and Love in Madre Linda: the world’s most ridiculous town of mom-fluencers, fad dieters and not an authentic person in sight.
The two decide to be together, get married and move out to the suburbs of California to raise their child. Right as he’s about to end their relationship, and Love’s life, Love tells him she’s pregnant. Last season ended with Joe (Penn Badgley) ready to kill his new obsession, Love (Victoria Pedretti), after she killed one of his friends and his ex-girlfriend, Candace (Ambyr Childers).