(Warning: This post contains spoilers.)
If you like to keep up with trendy shows on Netflix, then by now you have most likely binged through all of You. If not, you might be in the small percentage of people that (like me originally) feel the show is too scary.
But, I'm not here today to discuss the ins and outs of the show; I'm here to defend Guinevere Beck, the (main?) character of You. This topic of conversation almost tore my friend group APART. We could not agree on whether or not Beck is a "good person" and a "likeable character," or whether she's whiny and irritating. So, I'm here today in defense of poor Beck who so many seem to believe deserved to die.
Let's start with the basics.
1) Beck is a mid-20 something, white, privileged, attractive female. She's blonde, she's spunky and it seems that every man and woman in New York City wants to bang her. I can understand how that is an annoying plot point for some, because let's face it: the TV trope of an attractive, elusive blonde is a bit overdone. On that same point however, I think that audiences hating the attractive, elusive blonde is overdone as well. Those of you that dislike Beck might need to come to terms with your inner jealousy issues, and desire to prove how different you are from other girls. (Side note: I feel I should point out that I I am always biased toward attractive people in TV and movies. The pretty ones always get me. Unless you legit suck, I will defend you as a character.)
2) She's a wandering soul and likes to label herself as "a mess." It's been pointed out to me in defense of Beck's "suckiness" that being "a mess" isn't necessarily a personality trait. True, but the important thing to remember here is that it's how SHE labels herself. Obviously, if you watch the show you can see that she has many other personality traits: smart, loyal, a bookworm, kind, etc. Beck generalizing herself under an all encompassing term such as "messy" is just her way of coping with the parts of herself she hasn't figured out yet. She's young, she clearly doesn't have her shit together, and she hasn't figured out how to achieve her goals. I'm sorry but is that not RELATABLE AF to anyone else??? This is literally all of us in our 20s. Also, her anxiety and trust issues stemming from her family drama and a father that abandoned and then replaced her..!!?? Yeah. That seems like a pretty realistic character to me.
3) I cannot tell you how many people have said to me "Beck is dumb." Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had so much experience escaping and one-upping the very intelligent, manipulative stalkers in your life. I mean.... why does everyone who watches TV shows always think they would act any different than the people on the show? If you were Beck, and someone is head-over-heels in love with you who has shown you nothing but kindness, pulled you out of a depression, manipulated every situation you're in and LITERALLY saved your life, can you honestly say you would just intuitively know they are a psychopathic stalker? No. Of course not. I've also heard the argument made that Beck should have just "hit Joe harder" and she would have gotten away. Umm... have you ever been locked in a basement for a week by someone who used to be your boyfriend and who you just found out murdered your best friend and ex-bf?? Yeah, try telling me you would be on your genius A-game at the split second you have an opportunity to escape.
4) "Beck should have just gotten some curtains."
Ok, what. While I admit, this one is quite humorous it's still a big NO. Had Beck actually bought curtains, I guarantee that would not have fooled the criminal mastermind that was Joe, out of stalking her. The man cyberstalked her and found her address in like 5 mins. No way some damn curtains are going to keep him from obsessing over the poor girl. Also, this seems a bit like victim blaming to me which begs a larger question of how we handle situations like this IRL.
5) Everyone likes to point fingers at Beck and act like she deserved to die because she cheated on Joe. I'm sorry WHAT?!? No, she did not know he was a murderer when she cheated on him and yes, that's wrong, but the man was manipulating her every thought and she was starting to catch on. Joe also feeds Beck this narrative that she is weak and lonely without him, which I personally find disgusting. She was sick of being consumed by him, and feeling so dependent, so while I don't condone cheating by any means, I think we can cut her a little slack. ALSO her THERAPIST is a bit to blame here.!!! She went to him vulnerable and desperate and he took advantage of that. And all that aside... does someone who cheated seriously DESERVE TO DIE?!? Wow.
Beck doesn't value herself because she has never been taught to, so instead she lets manipulative men walk all over her. We need to stop blaming women for their imperfect character traits. The reason I so passionately defend Beck is because this show does a unique thing by presenting us with our own moral test. It presents us with two characters: one, a murdering protagonist and the other: a sad, slightly annoying, antagonist, and consistently asks us to choose between them. But who is the real villain? It forces us to reconcile with our own internal demons by determining which character we want to succeed in the end. Having real women represented in fictional characters on television, women with imperfections like Beck, those are the characters I want to see. Is she perfect? No. Is she a good person? Yes. We need to learn to root for these characters, because these represent the real life women we interact with every day. So ask yourself, if you rooted for Joe... what does that say about you?