YOU Review: Everythingship (Season 1 Episode 7)
After the batshit craziness of YOU Season 1 Episode 6, I have to admit that YOU Season 1 Episode 7, “Everythingship,” is a bit dull in comparison. That said, there are a few key ways that it’s obviously setting the stage for the final three episodes of the season.
“Everythingship” plays around with time to skip forward past the immediate aftermath of Peach’s death. Beck and her friends are still grieving, but it’s not as fresh.
This is a smart choice, as it would have been easy for the show to get bogged down in Beck’s grief, yet unrealistic for her to get over it completely so quickly. After initially bonding while Joe supports Beck, the two grow distant when Beck recognizes that she’s feeling restless and stifled by her boyfriend.
Three cheers for Beck recognizing that she and Joe have fallen into an unhealthy, codependent pattern!
The framing element of “Everythingship” is interesting. It consists of Joe discussing the deterioration of his and Beck’s relationship with a therapist, Dr. Nicky (played by a vest-wearing, bearded John Stamos). It quickly becomes clear that Dr. Nicky is actually Beck’s therapist, and Joe is thinly veiling his real relationship woes by pretending to be a gay man (Paul) scorned by his cheating boyfriend (Ronaldo) in the sessions.
It’s a great fake-out. At first, we’re under the impression that Joe is suddenly lucid enough to be taking charge of his mental health and seeking professional help. But nope — this is just yet another one of Joe’s ploys to keep Beck ensnared.
But in yet another strikingly self-aware moment for Joe, he recognizes his own fault and culpability in the end of his relationship with Beck. He even acknowledges that the best thing for her is if he lets her go — and then he does let her go. It’s bizarre, and yet another example of Joe’s increasingly complex character.
While we saw hints of how Joe’s paranoia and jealousy brought about the end of his and Candace’s relationship on last week’s episode, “Everythingship” underscores that this is a repeating pattern for Joe.
After doing his best to support his girlfriend in the wake of Peach’s death, Joe becomes frustrated and downright unhinged when he feels Beck pulling away — especially when she starts getting mysterious text messages.
Things only get more tense when Joe misreads Beck’s comments about her birthday, taking her friend Lynn’s advice to throw her a big literary character costumed shindig.
When Beck doesn’t show up until an hour into the surprise bash and then hates the whole thing, it devolves into a fight and Joe accusing her of cheating on him. It’s Beck’s first real hint that something is not quite right with Joe.
In one of his most explicitly abusive moments to date, he throws an admission that she made about her first kiss back in her face as “proof” of her tendency to be philanderous and get caught up with the “bad guy.”
Convinced Beck is cheating with her therapist, Joe follows her, only to get caught and dumped on the spot. It’s a great scene that has me cheering for Beck, as she finally puts her foot down and refuses to be manipulated any longer.
Overall, “Everythingship” is a rather boring installment, particularly following the high-stakes, major plot twists of the previous episode. Despite being relatively slow, it forwards the plot in a few important ways: Joe and Beck break up, Joe begins seeing Dr. Nicky, and Joe sleeps with Karen, the friend of his next door neighbor.
Of course, it’s unlikely that Joe will be able to get Beck out of his mind that easily. There’s a spooky moment at the end where the “ghost” of Candace questions whether Beck will end up like her, after Joe checks up on Beck’s Instagram following his hook-up with Karen.
While we still don’t know precisely what became of Candace, that warning can’t bode well for Beck.
Stray Thoughts:
- Line of the episode has to go to Lynn: “If I bury my sorrows in any more booze and boys, I’m going to get syphilis — again.”
- I’m already shipping Ethan and Blythe, so I’m really hoping neither of them gets murdered by Joe before their romance has a chance to blossom.
- I love Karen so far, and her screwing with Joe by saying “I love you” right after they have sex is a hilarious moment. Again, here’s hoping she doesn’t get murdered!
- There’s a comical number of photos of bearded therapist Stamos on the Lifetime press site. Seriously, so many shots. It’s excessive, but I also sort of love it because bearded therapist is quite a good look for him.
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.