You season 4 part 1 review: Everyone is the worst, the bad guys are the heroes

During these three seasons, by Netflix Friend made a flirting hobby with bad taste. The film follows Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), an erudite bookseller with the unfortunate habit of stalking women and killing those who stand in the way of his dark fantasies. In every season of FriendJoe tries to be a better person, but simply can’t, because he keeps meeting interesting women he likes. Right know more about. For the show to go on, he has to keep getting away with terrible things, or he has to meet someone worse. Like in the new fourth season, where he moves to a country full of worse people: England.

Here’s the flip side of making a show about a horrible guy: The best way to keep him from getting caught is to move him from place to place. For viewers, that leads to a show that can But also jump from one genre to another. FriendThe first season was a dark twist in the cute romantic encounter in New York City, the second turned things over to Los Angeles to add a bit of West Coast satire to the mix, and season three witnessed ​Joe settled into his murderous impulses and the show became a domestic farce, using murder to emphasize the stakes of marriage and parenthood.

FriendHowever, Joe’s fourth season begins with Joe feeling the heat in the states and continues his long journey in Europe. After growing a beard and changing his name, Joe gets a job as a professor in London and falls in love with a group of well-paid newcomers. This new mob is insolent, authoritative, and murdered one by one by a mysterious “Eat the Rich Killer”. Even better: this killer looks like they want to trap Joe – and they know his secret.

Photo: Netflix

In turning into a murder mystery, Friendthe writers of, headed by host Sera Gamble’s magician famously, inverting the usual formula of the series. This time, Joe is the one being followed by someone who knows too much about his life – including the murders he’s trying to run away from. Of course, that doesn’t mean Joe doesn’t But also fixed on a new person. This time, it’s Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), a gallery manager who lives next to Joe and gets swept up in his life after her boyfriend, Joe’s arrogant college colleague Malcolm (Stephen). Hagan) was the first victim of Eat the Rich Killer.

Unlike previous seasons, Netflix will break up this season Friend split into two parts, with the first five episodes coming out today and the final five coming out exactly a month from now, on March 9. There’s a natural twist at the end of season 1 that has the potential to change the whole world. the season’s set of developments in a way makes the wait for season 2 unbearable, but it’s also a spoiler that brings FriendHis ability to dance genre like chameleon is questioned, leaving viewers wondering how far is too far.

Photo: Netflix

Season 1 is a bit messy, but enjoyable — the wealthy new cast are utterly obnoxious targets for Joe’s ironic narration, and it’s built around an engaging cat-and-mouse game between Joe and Kate. They each suspect the other in some way in Eat the Rich’s murder, but both are drawn to their belief that they are good people pushed into bad things by circumstances: Joe with the murder. her occasional, Kate with her exorbitant wealth. Season 1 ends before making any specific statements about these ideas – in fact, its class wars are purely aesthetic, a means of placing Joe in a context where he , at least at the time, wasn’t the worst person in the room.

so many FriendPenn Badgley’s knack for creating a protagonist that viewers both want to see and not lie about lies in the performance of Penn Badgley. Badgley plays in light and shadow; A wry smile for a moment can quickly give way to an annoyed look that hints at what really lurks beneath his skin. That’s why FriendThe best episodes of 2018 can leave viewers on the edge of their seats as they hope Joe — not always the brightest criminal — evades arrest but also knows that in the end, it will be gratifying. watching him rot. The first half of season 4 begins with a reason to support him, as he is a bad guy and possibly the only one capable of catching a worse person. Then the season breaks to a nasty sign, raising a question that could threaten to undermine what the show has handled so well so far: Is Joe a useful monster or a hero? monstrous?

Friend season 4, season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix. Season 2 arrives on March 9.