Joe insists that Shirley Jackson penned the notion that suburbia serves as the place where individuals unravel. I counter, Joe, hailing from Brooklyn yourself, your state of disarray was just as pronounced there as it is now in Madre Linda. Another flashback unfolds, as if the narrative is eager to remind us, could Joe's troubled upbringing have shaped him into this person? Nurse Fiona "relocated to Ohio," a euphemism akin to saying, "we banished the dog to the countryside," and Joe berates himself for not terminating her despicable boyfriend. The sole redeeming aspect of this flashback is when Joe reveals his mother resented him for shooting her abuser, to which his friend retorts, "Joe, you've no inkling how she truly felt. You're fabricating this." Indeed, this serves as the audience proxy I earlier alluded to! However, let's abandon the flashbacks and immerse ourselves in the present, as I've longed for this series to do.
Joe conceals his bloodstained shirt beneath a diaper bin. As Joe indulges in fantasies of escaping with Marienne, Love pronounces, "I believe it's time we attempted to conceive another child." Joe vows that this is his utmost desire. Can she discern his deceit? I'd wager... not yet.
Isn't it dawning on Joe that bolting town with Marienne now would instantly cast her as Ryan's murder's prime suspect? Eventually, the police's desire to interrogate her prompts Marienne to voice this apprehension, yet I'm astonished Joe hadn't foreseen this, considering his penchant for committing and then covering his misdeeds. When Marienne informs Joe of Ryan's demise, she instantly comprehends the repercussions for her. Joe, ever the optimist, suggests focusing on the bright side. As if designed solely to torture me, Marienne remarks, "I'm relieved he's dead." Recall, whenever Joe undertakes actions for Marienne, even against her wishes (or what she might have conveyed), deep down, she supposedly desires them, for Joe alone perceives and fulfills her true aspirations.
Joe informs Marienne of his impending separation from Love. Marienne invites him and Henry to flee town with her and Juliet until the Ryan saga subsides—hardly arousing suspicion! Thrilled, Joe asserts he must "tie up a couple of loose ends," only to glance down at the tarp concealing Theo's body and witness it... stir. With life! Must Joe slay Theo now, after solemnly pledging never to commit another wrong? He decides to rescue the teenager who adored and bedded his wife. Joe reveals to Theo that Love deceived everyone and rushes him to a hospital.
In the confines of the cage, Sherry and Cary find themselves understandably escalating their dispute over the incident where Cary, although accidentally, discharged a firearm near Sherry's ear. With a declarative fervor, Cary exclaims, "I AM A FEMINIST," "I merely grazed you." In a sudden turn of events, Sherry seizes the gun and, without hesitation, fires a shot at Cary—this time, a direct hit to his leg, not a mere graze. The unfolding of these actions is nothing short of astonishing. One can't help but wonder if she missed a critical vessel by a hair's breadth.
Elsewhere, in the comforting sanctuary of their home, Love indulges in the aesthetic pleasure of scrolling through baby names, her lips adorned with lipstick, her hair meticulously styled. While I hesitate to condone a spree of violence, I cannot deny that this moment brings out the best in Love's appearance. However, her reverie is abruptly shattered when she discovers Joe's blood-stained shirt amidst the diaper trash.
At the bakery, Love eavesdrops on the gossipy neighbors, who speculate about Ryan's murder and its possible link to the ongoing Natalie investigation. Piecing it together, Love realizes that Ryan was Marienne's ex and that Joe murdered him due to his lingering obsession with her. She descends to where her captives are still squabbling over semantics. Sherry's casual "Heyyy" adds an unexpectedly humorous note to the scene. Love joins in, intent on some girl talk: "Joe is cheating." Sherry's immediate, unhesitating response is, "Love, kill him!" Sherry rationalizes Joe's abusive behavior, confident that "everybody will believe you! It’s always the husbands!" Her intense gaze is nothing short of mesmerizing as she believes she's cracked the case. However, Love confronts Sherry at the glass partition, branding her a "fucking monster."
After the moral act of abandoning Theo at a loading dock, Joe heads to Dante's to retrieve Henry, planning to embark on a blissful life with Marienne. Yet, Dante informs him that Love picked Henry up hours ago. Joe returns home to find Love preparing a roast chicken—a choice both cunning and domestic, serving as both a testament to her culinary prowess and a potential murder weapon. She's poised for a confrontation. Joe knows she's onto him. Thus, the question looms with electrifying tension: How does Love intend to terminate Joe's life?
Love finds it unbelievable that Joe could venture into murder for another woman's sake, all while she believes she had eliminated a teenager for his affections. (How could these seasoned killers overlook the necessity of ensuring their victims are truly deceased before abandoning them in desolate ditches or dimly lit basements?) Joe refrains from informing her that Theo is still breathing. Instead, he brings up James, her former lover, and the grim fate she inflicted upon him. With as much gentleness as possible, he utters his desire for a divorce. I scribble in my notes: "Alright, but who takes possession of the human aquarium and gains custody of its inhabitants?" As Henry begins to weep, Love rushes to attend to him, leaving Joe behind. Seizing the opportunity, Joe reaches for the knife and conceals it beneath the table.
Returning, Love narrates to Joe how she once cared for James when he was ailing, yet he subsequently rejected her. She insists it wasn't her intention to end his life; she merely administered a paralytic to keep him still for a conversation, but her hand slipped too far. However, Joe has nothing to fear, for she allows the poison to seep into his skin via the knife's handle. Have you watched "Justified"? If not, you truly should; it's a gem, featuring Margo Martindale and a youthful Kaitlyn Dever among its treasures! For those who have, this reminds me of the phrase, "It was already in the glass." Love vows, "No one will ever cherish you like I do, Joe," as he collapses to the floor. "Something to ponder while lying there helpless." This series gains a thrilling edge when Joe isn't its insanely extreme character.
In my opinion, Love's confidence in her dosing abilities borders on reckless. After sending a desperate text to Marienne from Joe's phone, urging her to come over at once, she abandons Joe with the enormous knife and his unlocked phone. Astoundingly, she doesn't seize his phone! Matthew, still unable to reach Theo, spots Love driving away from the Quinn-Goldberg residence and decides to investigate. They've left a door ajar, perhaps assuming that, in this neighborhood, danger already resides next door. Matthew discovers Joe and, through a painful form of blinking communication, learns that Theo is hospitalized. Understanding he's amidst a nest of vipers, Matthew deserts Joe to his fate, whether it be Love's torture or murder, Joe's retaliation, or some twisted combination thereof.
I am utterly enthralled by the unfolding drama between Cary and Sherry within their confines. Cary persists in probing at the perimeters, convinced that "the Achilles' heel will eventually present itself." Sherry, ever the voice of reason, halts his restless exploration, sparking a profound exchange about their unwavering affection, even in their unpolished, pre-optimized forms. Sherry's keen eye catches the glint of a keyhole nestled in the door handle, dawning on her at last—the hidden key must reside somewhere nearby. Cary's intuition was spot on; there was indeed a vulnerability to exploit. Sherry deduces that the crack in their armor is Joe and Love's relationship, built on shaky foundations of mistrust.
Love returns to her abode, only to find Joe sprawled helplessly on the floor. If I were in her shoes, I'd be anything but nonchalant about his precarious position and his inability to regain composure. Soon after, Marienne arrives, to which Love reveals the shattering truth: the text purportedly from Joe was, in fact, authored by her, blindsided by Joe's declaration of an impending divorce. Unbeknownst to Marianne, Love harbors a concealed kitchen utensil-like weapon in the waistband of her jeans. Love outs Joe as Ryan's murderer, and dread begins to seep into Marienne's consciousness. The situation takes a comedic turn when Juliet knocks, desperate to relieve herself, prompting Love's casual invitation to use the bathroom. Marienne, oh Marienne, why bring your daughter into this den of turmoil? A quick pit stop outdoors or a makeshift solution would suffice in such perilous circumstances!
Upon witnessing Juliet, Love's resolve crumbles. She urges Marienne to vacate the premises, warning, "Ryan's fate is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Joe's capabilities." Marianne, to her credit, responds with wisdom beyond her often underwhelming demeanor, urging Love to heed her inner voice yearning for betterment. "He is your life partner," she asserts, and for once, Marienne's advice rings true and poignant.
Marianne and Juliet depart, leaving Love with a harrowing vision—single motherhood. As Love prepares to terminate Joe in her signature throat-slitting manner, Joe miraculously revives, administering a dose of heart-slowing toxin cultivated in their suburban garden! The very essence of suburbia now stands accused of claiming at least one life this season. (For an insightful dive into wolfsbane and other potentially lethal flora, consult "10 Plants That Could Kill You!"). Love's dying breaths are laced with sorrow as she utters, "We were meant to be." Her parting shot: Henry will learn the truth about Joe's monstrous nature.
While I comprehend the necessity of Love's narrative conclusion, I cannot help but feel disappointed that her journey will not continue into the next season. Joe's antics have reached saturation point, and the prospect of delving into Love's subsequent madness would undeniably prove more captivating. Imagine the rich backstory we'd uncover—flashbacks to Love and Forty's childhood, their troubled upbringing with the au pair and psychotic parents! Alas, such storytelling potential remains untapped.
Joe now finds himself grappling with a conundrum: having undertaken every endeavor for his son, Henry, whom he has inadvertently orphaned, he resolves to entrust Henry's welfare to Dante. Blessings, Henry. Craftily, Joe pens a spurious suicide missive purportedly authored by Love and disseminates it via the Madre Linda HOA listserv. Within this letter, Joe, donning the guise of Love, decimates the neighborhood's reputation, attributing the culpability for myriad crimes—Natalie and Gil's murders, Cary and Sherry's entrapment, and even Joe's hypothetical demise—solely to Love. To authenticate his deceit, Joe goes to extraordinary lengths: amputating two of his toes, he bakes one into a chicken pot pie and encases the other in a miniature keepsake box alongside incriminating evidence from past homicides. Joe consigns their wedding album to the oven, ignites the gas burners, and reduces it to ashes.
Narrating through a voiceover, Joe reveals, "It proved effective. There remained just sufficient partially scorched evidence, inclusive of those two toes." Should clarification be needed regarding the toe-excision. Love transforms into somewhat of a "folk hero," eclipsing even Beck in fame. (Was Beck truly that renowned? It seems Madre Linda's inhabitants scarcely acknowledged her existence.) The pivotal aspect is that Love garners an article in The Cut, a publication almost on par with Vulture's esteemed pages. I shall accept this accolade.
Theo, confined to a wheelchair, is ferried from his physical therapy sessions by Matthew, openly displaying his emotions and fulfilling his fatherly duties. Meanwhile, Jackson and Andrew seize control of "A Fresh Tart," renaming it "Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History," a moniker that leaves much to be desired. Our newly beloved duo, Cary and Sherry, pen a tome titled Caged and embark on a campaign to preach about their "radical couples therapy technique," which, unsurprisingly, entails their unique adaptation of the human aquarium.
Marienne retains her status as the "you" in You, yet Joe is disheartened to discover she has taken Love's counsel and vanished without trace, leaving no forwarding address. Joe is convinced that fate decrees he will find her, and given Marienne's past reactions to Joe's relentless boundary-crossing, perhaps he is justified in his belief. He has embarked on the path tread by another deluded American before him, journeying to Paris in search of his beloved. Ladies of the globe: keep a watchful eye for a limping, eight-toed man wandering through Le Marais, who insists he seeks nothing but love.
