Season 3 of You has returned to Netflix so for the many of us, binge watching the season was a must and every moment was enjoyable as the last. For me and so many black women it was refreshing to see more of us represented this season and how the presence of black women had brought forth much needed conversations. The third episode was titled “Missing White Women Syndrome”, before beginning the episode I noticed the title and thought is this actually going to get into this topic? and exactly how would it be addressed? Marienne, Joe’s latest fixation had brought up this phenomena while so eloquently checking him on his lack of awareness.
Marienne states “Missing White Women Syndrome is America’s favorite pastime next to porn”. As Joe dismisses the event to a general thirst for salacious matters she goes further by explaining how his ignorance is showing. “Were speaking of a specific phenomena, when white women receive a disproportionately high level of public attention, a very clear message is being sent. White ladies deserve to be rescued, the rest of us can fend for ourselves.” For many of us we have seen this situation play out so many times, for matters like lack of media coverage os just one of the numerous ways our identities have been rendered invisible. Marienne said so much of white we want to say but can not in the moment, what exactly we have and will continue to say and what is always on our minds. To see Marienne correct Joe in this situation was for me one of the most memorable moments of this season. In the past two seasons I have seen many instances of class but for the intersectionality of identity to be combated in this scene was beautiful ad much needed. Beyond this specific scene, her story plot line as a whole sheds light on the realities of black women;from her custody battle to her abusive ex. The justice system and the difficulties of regaining custody as well as her struggle to rebuild her image and personal growth after overcoming addiction.
For actor Penn Badgley who plays Joe Goldberg he has said during the Variety Studio Actors on Actors interview “the show is about how far we are willing to go to forgive an evil white man”. In this particular scene it was the blissful ignorant (still evil) white man who has a deep hatred for the upper class predominantly white suburb he currently resides; opposite of his adolescence spent in foster homes. However, he falls short in acknowledging the circumstances of safety surrounding non-white women. As people watching the show and in the show get lost in his personality they often do not hold him accountable. Well, leave it to the unimpressed Marienne to let Joe know that Black women always have time and will let you know!
Another part of what made this season what it was is.. Sherry Conrad. Actress Shalita Grant did what needed to be done this season.
Twitter user @richonneslasher perfectly captures the ways in which Sherry drove Love and Joe insane and in some moments audiences hated her. But why? she emulated the mean popular girl trope perfectly all the while surviving the madness of Love and Joe’s chaos. Moreover, Sherry stole the show in many scenes, as the self proclaimed “momfluencer”. It was refreshing to see this Queen B effortlessly become a constant menace to Love and Joe’s plans while her non stop social media page thrived and her brand grew.
Season 3 of You was definitely one for the books and well see what themes resonate to us in the new season!