'You': How do the new characters in Season 2 compare with those in Season 1?
Spoiler Alert for Season 2 of 'You'!!!
Considering the proclivities of the leading man of 'You', Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), it's no surprise that the show (now on Netflix) needed a whole bunch of new characters to fill the voids left behind by people like Guinevere Beck, Peach Salinger, and Ron (his neighbor, Paco's abusive stepdad).
With Beck dead, Joe's new love interest is named Love Quinn (played by Victoria Pedretti). And with a new city, we get a new circle of supporting characters. Peach Salinger (who is again, dead) and company are no longer in Joe's life. Even New York -- which can be almost considered a character in Season 1 -- is gone. Instead, Los Angeles takes its place.
But how do the characters of the second season compare with those of the first?
The most obvious comparison will be done between Beck and Love. While Beck was a pretentious writer (who could mostly never write), Love is a seemingly genuine chef -- who is always cooking and leaving Joe treats. While Beck was slow to take to Joe, Love immediately falls for him and is disappointed when he doesn't take their relationship forward.
Of course, the most glaring difference is that Beck was a victim -- through and through -- but, Love is not. In fact, Joe sees himself as the victim in his relationship with Love and even sets his eyes on a new woman in the final moments of the season.
The next two characters than can be compared is Peach Salinger and Forty Quinn. While Peach had a codependent friendship with her friend, Beck, Forty is codependent with his twin sister, Love. However, unlike Peach, Joe actually ends up liking Forty and is okay with Love's relationship with her brother.
Then there is Ellie, his neighbor in LA who is quite clearly the substitution for Paco. While Paco loved to read and was quiet, Ellie is loud, outspoken and is an aspiring film director. She, like Paco, finds herself in a bad situation and Joe takes it upon himself to save her.
And so, viewers can find parallels between many characters in seasons 1 and 2 characters. What does seem to change is the writers' treatment of them -- in that they seem more rounded. Moreover, since it looks like Joe will continue to stay in LA, we will get to know the remaining characters even better.
All episodes of Season 2 of 'You' are now streaming on Netflix.