WARNING: Spoilers for You Season 2 ahead.
Now that You has officially returned to Netflix, some looming questions from Season 1 are finally getting answered, like these big ones: How did Beck die? And is she actually dead?
Season 1 ended with protagonist and obsessed murderer Joe Goldberg seemingly killing his aspiring writer girlfriend, Guinevere Beck, after she discovers his obsession with her and tries to escape his bookstore basem*nt dungeon. (If you know, you know.) But because the actual murder never took place onscreen (one of the final shots shows Joe burying a body in the distance), some fans speculated that there's a chance Beck might still be alive.
Beck and Joe in You Season 1.
However, actor Penn Badgley, who portrays Goldberg in the series, shut down the idea of Beck's survival months before Season 2's release. "I’m not giving you some kind of spoiler, she’s dead," he told Entertainment Tonight in June. "In his mind, everyone’s still alive because the pain that he feels he suffered at their hand is very much still alive."
In the second season, although Joe flees New York and tries to start anew in Los Angeles, he's still plagued with visions of Beck. Actress Elizabeth Lail, who plays his fallen ex, makes new appearances in Season 2 as a manifestation of Joe's imagination, and perhaps his guilt.
During one of Joe's visions in Season 2, Episode 2, Beck confronts him about the killing. "You hurt me," she tells him repeatedly. She unwraps her scarf to reveal bruises all around her neck, implying that Joe strangled her to death. "Look at me Joe," she says, forcing him to face what he did to her.
Joe’s vision of Beck in You Season 2.
The reveal is a callback to Beck's death in Caroline Kepnes's novel, You, the source material for the Lifetime-turned-Netflix series. In it, Joe chokes Beck to death on the bookstore floor after she fails to escape. She fights back, but he overpowers her and ultimately kills her, according to Bustle. Like he does in the show, Joe frames Beck's therapist and lover Dr. Nicky for her murder.
But with Beck out of the picture in Season 2, not all are safe. Will Joe’s new love interest, Love Quinn; resurfaced ex-girlfriend, Candace Stone; or any of his new acquaintances in L.A. become his next victim?
You Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. Watch
Atria/Emily Bestler Books You: A Novel
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she's listening to Lorde right now.
