YOU Review: The Last Nice Guy in New York (Season 1 Episode 2)
Joe continues to spiral on YOU Season 1 Episode 2, “The Last Nice Guy in New York,” as we get hints that this isn’t his first obsessive-love/psycho-stalker rodeo.
“The Last Nice Guy in New York” picks up soon after where YOU Season 1 Episode 1 left off. Joe is enthusiastically preparing for his date with Beck, continuing to stalk her via the phone he stole after her subway near-death incident. Meanwhile, Benji is in the soundproof book vault with a gnarly head wound and some serious drug withdrawals.
YOU Season 1 Episode 2 (Credit: Lifetime)
Once again, Penn Badgley is pretty much perfect in this role. He’s obviously an attractive guy, but he manages to make the absolute creepiest faces (particularly when gazing at Beck). Even when he’s beaming in bed, thinking about his date with Beck, there’s something unnerving about his look.
This episode advances Joe’s character in a few important ways. The first is the introduction of Candace, Joe’s ex.
While we don’t actually meet Candace in person, Joe begins to ruminate on their past relationship and how it was full of “red flags.” At first, when we’re hearing about it from Joe’s perspective, it just sounds like a normal relationship that soured over time.
But later, at Peach’s party, Joe runs into one of Candace’s old friends. His internal monologue is all panic, and as she subtly questions him, we learn that Candace ran off to Rome with some guy. Allegedly.
Candace’s friend seems vaguely suspicious of Joe’s story, which leads us to think that perhaps Joe did something to Candace. And now we know just what he’s capable of, as in the closing moments of this episode his character advances in the second important way: Joe murders Benji, via a peanut oil-spiked Maple Latte.
Joe’s disturbing behavior escalated throughout the series premiere, but I can say I certainly wasn’t expecting it to progress to murder this quickly.
It’s particularly interesting that Joe chooses to murder Benji even after Benji provides Joe with serious blackmail on him, to ensure that he wouldn’t come after Joe if released. And after thinking to himself repeatedly that he isn’t a murderer but wishes he was, to make this situation easier!
Joe, in his own mind, kills Benji for Beck — he’s convinced himself that he’s doing her a favor by removing Benji from her life. Permanently.
Throughout the entire hour, Benji repeatedly tries to convince Joe that Beck isn’t all that great. This, in turn, worries Joe and infuriates him. At one point, he wonders to himself whether the “real” Beck is the one he sees or the one Benji sees.
This is such a fascinating and telling moment, because they’re both wrong, of course.
Beck is not the product of how either man (or any man — here’s lookin’ at you, predatory professor!) sees her. No woman is. Beck is her own person, one who obviously doesn’t fit into the precise mold Benji or Joe has attempted to cast her in. What’s funny (and disturbing) is that Joe can’t see he’s equally as guilty as Benji in forcing Beck to play a “part” that he has come up with for her.
We also get to see more of Peach, and Peach and Beck’s friendship.
Peach is obviously suspicious of Joe — or Joseph, as she humorously insists on calling him. She’s protective of Beck, in what I’m still convinced is a more-than-friendly manner. She’s also smart, so it (correctly) occurs to her that something is fishy about the fact that Joe met Beck in a bookstore and then just happened to be in Greenpoint to save her from the train tracks.
It’ll be interesting to see how these two tangle going forward. The tension between Joe and Peach is palpable right from their first meeting, and I imagine it’ll only grow more tense from there.
Joe has already removed one obstacle seemingly standing in the way of his and Beck’s relationship, in the form of Benji. Will Peach be next?
There’s also a #MeToo subplot on this episode, as Beck nearly loses her TA job after rejecting her lecherous thesis advisor’s advances.
Their entire exchange is perfectly done. The realism of it actually makes me uncomfortable to the point of being nauseous. Virtually every woman has had an experience like that.
While the way Beck resolves the situation is a little morally dubious — holding off on revealing the professor’s various sexual assault allegations in exchange for saving her own job and getting transferred to a new advisor — it is satisfying, in a way, to see her successfully turn the tables on him. The red herring where she seems she’s going to offer him sexual favors in order to keep her job is also nicely done.
Stray Thoughts and Observations:
- Obviously the entire concept of keeping someone prisoner is disturbing, but a lot of Joe and Benji’s interactions while Benji is held captive are very funny. Joe forcing Benji to submit to a taste test of his own crappy artisanal sodas — and Benji’s distressed reaction when he can’t identify them all as his — is hilarious. So are Joe’s tweets when he’s pretending to be Benji.
- I’m wondering how Paco is going to end up playing into all this. The kid pops up a lot, so I’m assuming he’ll have some larger role later on. I hope Joe doesn’t end up “having” to murder him to cover his tracks.
- Joe and Beck’s relationship is toxic AF, but that first kiss they share in the bookstore is pretty darn steamy. Elizabeth Lail and Penn Badgley have great chemistry.
What did you think of this episode of YOU? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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YOU airs Sundays at 10/9c on Lifetime.
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Caralynn Lippo
Caralynn is a freelance writer and editor, but most importantly, she is a diehard TV addict. A few of her current favorites are Mr. Robot, You're the Worst, iZombie, and The Vampire Diaries. She also writes about TV for Romper, The TV Junkies, and TV Fanatic.