Love Quinn Deserved Better: The Justice Netflix Failed to Deliver in You’s Final Season

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In a turn of events filled with conflict, turmoil, and retribution, Season 5 concluded with Joe Goldberg being incarcerated for his misdeeds. After years of murder, Joe faced consequences and found himself isolated. The season also revisited several of Joe’s victims, featuring appearances, references, and homages to characters like Dottie Quinn, Sherry and Cary Conrad, and Paco. However, one significant figure from Joe’s life was conspicuously absent: Love Quinn.

Previously appearing as a hallucination during Season 4, Love was noticeably absent from the flashbacks and the buzz on social media during Season 5. Instead, Guinevere Beck took center stage as Joe returned to New York, while characters such as Peach, Benji, Nadia, and Marienne concluded their storylines satisfactorily. Given that this final season was supposed to be Joe’s last hurrah, fans expected Love to make an appearance, but she remained absent throughout. This left her narrative feeling incomplete, creating a sense that Love wasn’t given the closure she deserved, despite the show having ample opportunity to address it.

Love Was Joe’s Most Important Love Interest

Over time, his relationships with women followed a similar pattern: from those he held dear, such as lovers, friends, and family members he perceived as potential rivals, whom he manipulated and grew violent towards if they deviated from the role he had scripted for them in his mind or committed even a minor moral transgression. His preferred method was to become infatuated with one woman, coerce her into falling for him, and then resort to violence when he felt slighted. After murdering Beck in New York and being pursued by Candace, Joe fled to Los Angeles where he found employment at a store called Anavrin. It was there that he encountered Love Quinn, who appeared to be his ideal partner. Their turbulent romance eventually led to an unwilling marriage and the birth of their child, Henry. Joe attempted to establish a peaceful suburban life in Madre Linda with Love, trying unsuccessfully to control his obsessions and maintain a stable family life.

Despite their marriage ending tragically, with Love meeting a violent end at Joe’s hands, it was his longest-lasting relationship. They were together for most of Season 2 and all of Season 3, making her his first and only wife. Love gave birth to Joe’s child, but his infatuation with Natalie and Marienne made him treat her poorly, often making her feel insignificant compared to other women in his life. He chose to pursue happiness and excitement outside their relationship, leading to a highly toxic dynamic. However, despite his treatment of Love, she had a significant impact on Joe’s life. While he may not have valued the women he loved, Joe held a deep affection for his son, Henry. This is why Love was essential in the final season of ‘You’.

Love Was Not Innocent, But She Was Better Than Joe

As fans pondered what would transpire in Season 2, an unexpected plot twist revealed that Love was more deeply connected to Joe’s mindset than he realized. While Joe struggled to comprehend how Delilah had met her demise, it eventually became clear that the seemingly innocent and saintly Love was the one who had ended Delilah’s life in order to protect Joe. Love confessed her past actions to Joe, detailing the au pair she had killed for interfering with Forty, but all Joe could focus on was his shattered ideal of Love. She didn’t live up to the image he held in his mind, and in a stunning display of hypocrisy, he chose to condemn her for taking lives.

Despite appearing to be a perfect match for Joe, Love turned out to be much less murderous than him.

In a more simplified and conversational tone: Joe, unlike Love, has no justification for his actions of taking lives, which he openly confessed in Season 5 as being something he derived pleasure from. His fascination lies in witnessing life depart from someone’s eyes, and women were his preferred victims due to past hurts. On the other hand, Love’s motivations differ significantly from Joe’s.

Love acted out of a perceived need to protect Forty when she took Sophia’s life, and she rationalized her subsequent killings of Natalie and Gil because they posed a threat to her family. Love exhibited impulsive and violent tendencies, primarily in moments of heightened emotion. She was troubled by the act of killing, particularly when it came to disposing of bodies, finding it difficult to handle even after seeing what Joe did with Natalie’s remains. To Joe, murder seemed like a game, whereas for Love, it was a means of safeguarding her loved ones, especially Henry and Joe. However, their roles were not reciprocal, as he prioritized himself more than her. Fans found it distressing to see her portrayed in such a light.

Dottie Should Have Turned Up Earlier, When Joe Turned Out To Be Alive

In Season 5, Victoria Pedretti’s character Love did not return, but her mother Dottie (Saffron Burrows) made an unexpected appearance in a viral social media movement against Joe. This was following Phoenix and Dominique’s live broadcast of evidence. Although there were many guest appearances, Dottie’s arrival seemed to come too late in the game.

The ideal scenario for Love to achieve justice would have been for Dottie to appear earlier than Season 5, especially when Joe appeared to have risen from the dead after the fire incident at Madre Linda that was assumed to have killed his wife. This plot hole in You raised questions about how Joe managed to survive a fire that was said to have claimed his life. Given Dottie’s affluent background, she could have used her influence to question both Joe and the Lockwoods, potentially causing a stir if she so wished.

Although Joe was found guilty for murdering Love, it’s unfair because she had taken the lives of others before. Sherry and Cary continue to serve their time in prison, while Dottie struggles to find ways to protect her daughter. In reality, Dottie wasn’t the right person to support Love, as they had a tumultuous relationship during her lifetime. Even if Love couldn’t appear, something like a new article, discussion, or explanation of that fateful night could bring closure for her character.

Although Love Quinn’s history of violence was appalling, her character deserved a fitting conclusion. It would have been beneficial for the public to learn more about her past, given the harsh criticism she faced as a Black Widow and murderer throughout the years. At minimum, Henry should have been informed about his mother’s actions so that he could find closure and start anew. Regrettably, during your run, the show failed to address these crucial details.

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2025-05-26 01:21