YOU Review: You Got Me, Babe (Season 1 Episode 8)
Joe thinks that being with Karen makes him good because she is good. But as YOU Season 1 Episode 8, “You Got Me, Babe,” makes abundantly clear, that’s not how relationships work — and Joe is certainly not good.
“You Got Me, Babe” employs yet another time-jump to pick up three months after Joe and Beck’s break-up and the events of YOU Season 1 Episode 7, “Everythingship.” The series’ flexibility with time is one of the best things about it, as it allows the 10-episode season to cover a relatively large portion of time in these characters’ lives.
It also allows for hilariously outlandish things — like Beck writing a viral essay about Peach’s death and immediately getting a book deal out of it — to seem slightly less hilariously outlandish.
The most striking thing about this episode is how it makes obvious what’s been slowly becoming more and more clear: Beck is not a good person either.
Now, I’m not saying she deserves someone like Joe or deserves what he’s done in her name. But Beck acts kind of like an asshole throughout the entire hour.
When “You Got Me, Babe” picks up, Joe is happily(ish) in a relationship with Karen and trying not to let himself be distracted by thoughts of Beck. Those thoughts are there, of course, but he’s fighting them — until Beck, frustrated with her writer’s block, allows herself to get distracted by Facebook-stalking Karen and orchestrates a run-in with the new couple in Joe’s neighborhood.
Yep, that’s right — Beck effectively “stalks” Joe. It’s ironic, in a hilarious sort of way. And of course Beck’s form of “stalking” is far less insidious than Joe’s. But in the end, she worms her way back into his heart and mind. She’s the mouse in Joe’s house, as Dr. Nicky puts it.
But as per usual, the chemistry between Penn Badgley and Elizabeth Lail is sizzling, so one can almost overlook how deeply morally wrong and icky it all is once they started romping all around town. The affair and its assorted sexcapades start out very much in public, on a ferry boat.
As an aside, that’s a very interesting turn from the beginning of the season, where Beck stopped Joe from going down on her in an Ikea.
Joe and Beck’s reunion isn’t particularly shocking. In fact, it’s telegraphed pretty heavily all throughout the episode, given that Joe’s voiceover is incapable of not harping on Beck.
Joe is also super judgey about Karen’s love of King of Queens, which is just the kind of pretentious hang-up someone like Joe would have. He really does not deserve Karen Minty, and we all know she’s better off far away from him.
In the end, Joe unceremoniously dumps Karen once both he and Beck actively decide to ignore all of Dr. Nicyk’s advice.
Sorry, Stamos. You tried.
So within the scope of the series, the central couple’s separation doesn’t last very long. The two break-up and reunite within the space of two episodes, complete with a stereotypical rom-com declaration of love.
However, things do take an intriguing turn in the final moments.
Karen, who reacted with suspicious composure to Joe dumping her, tracks Beck down to her neighborhood to snark at her about sleeping with Joe while they were together. It’s fairly standard scorned girlfriend fare, until she chooses to impart a warning to Beck: Watch out before Joe does to Beck what he did to Karen… or worse, whatever it is he did to Candace.
This is the first moment that Beck seems truly unnerved. In all likelihood, if Beck opts to look into the whole Candace thing, this will mark the beginning of the end for Joe.
Stray Thoughts:
- I’m left wondering what exactly Joe told Karen about his exes. She seems to have a clear idea that he definitely did something bad to Candace, and she also mentions the whole “everythingship” thing Joe and Beck coined. Strange that he was so loose-lipped with her.
- I was already shipping Ethan and Blythe after last week, and I’m shipping them ever harder after they move in together and have their Swedish-word-for-housewarming party.
- Poor Paco. That kid is on the brink now that Karen is gone and Claudia allowed Ron back in the picture, and he’s definitely about to do something stupid and/or dangerous.
- Line of the episode has to go to Joe’s response to detoxing Claudia raving about a ghost in the rare book cellar. Of Benji’s maybe-roaming spirit, Joe says: “He was too lazy to run his own business. Why would he haunt mine?”
- The bizarre mixed tone of the show continues to be something I love. There’s so much that’s disturbing and horrible, but moments like Joe accidentally breaking Beck’s window when he throws a rock to get her attention make me laugh out loud. Beck’s shocked scream at the sound and Joe’s stammering apology are both hilarious.
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.