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Netflix’s drama/thriller series “You” has had some high highs in the second half of its first season, but the lows, when they do pop up, are very low.

The second half of the first season started off with palpable tension in episode 6—we thought Peach Salinger was dead, but she’s not. She makes a full recovery rather quickly, but it all comes full circle with a contentious confrontation between Peach and Joe Goldberg. Even though so much is happening so soon in the second half of the season, the pacing is always great and believable.

Where the season starts to falter is in episodes 7 and 8. The lackluster therapist character Dr. Nicky, played by John Stamos, has a purpose in the series that isn’t evident or very interesting until near the end of the season. He comes across as a plot device, which is disappointing and uncommon for the show.

In episode 8, after a strange and slightly uninspired breakup between Beck and Joe, not supported by very much exposition at all, we’re introduced to another possible love interest for Joe: Karen Minty. She’s nothing like Beck, and what’s interesting is the fact that she’s certainly not Joe’s type. She doesn’t need to be rescued from her own bad decisions and she isn’t as intellectual with literature; it just isn’t a good match.

That relationship ends, inevitably, giving off a confusing impression to readers: What was the point of her being in the show? Was she just filler? Because that’s what it seemed like. More development in the Paco side story would be preferred.

The final episode is one of the strongest. It’s where we see some of the most eloquent, literature-esque narrative, the most convincing, sincere performances from Elizabeth Lail (Beck) and Penn Badgley (Joe) and the bitter conclusion, which leads audiences well into the second season with its tantalizing plot twist. Listen on to find out how we felt about the second half of the season.

Stream Fiends is a podcast dissecting TV shows on streaming sites, such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime (or anything else that broke college students can afford). Stream Fiends is an extension of Eastern Illinois University’s The Daily Eastern News Podcasts.

In this prequel episode of season 3 of Stream Fiends, Logan Raschke, DEN managing editor/senior journalism major, and Elizabeth Taylor, DEN campus reporter/freshman journalism major, analyze episodes 6 through 10 of “You” from its first season.