Lifetime's You - Episode 1.06 "Amour Fou"
Joe's fight for Beck's heart takes him out of the city. An accident injures him along the way, but Joe's not going to let a little thing like a head injury stand between him and true love. His devotion to Beck takes him to a lavish but eerily remote summer home, and a face-to-face with a worthy, equally-obsessed adversary who is just as intent on possessing her heart.
In 2018, it has become very difficult to keep up with every television show out there. It's even more difficult to provide adequate coverage on this site about the episodes that air every week. Not every show can get full coverage because of my busy and hectic viewing schedule. As such, some reviews will now be condensed to give only some summary thoughts. But it also affords a space for me to jot down my thoughts on the various episodes. And so, here are my thoughts on this week's episode of Lifetime's You.
"Amour Fou" was written by Adria Lang and directed by Marcos Siega
Joe's attack on Peach in the park happened only in the previous episode. It was a bitting indictment against the character and his lack of awareness regarding his own strength and desires. He is such a lethal individual who has the power and capacity to kill. He didn't think through his actions at that point. And yet, the show kept Peach alive. In fact, "Amour Fou" makes it seem as if she doesn't have to deal with any lingering issues because of that significant blow to the head. It actually just emboldens her further as another stalker of Beck's. It makes her even more desperate for that love and attention from her best friend. She is in love with Beck just as much as Joe is. And yes, she is just as dangerous too. She has the means and opportunity to completely sweep Beck off her feet and whisk her away to another life. Here, that means taking her away to yet another massive family estate with the promise to also just move their lives completely to Paris very soon. It's an enticing offer. One that Peach makes in order to remain in control of Beck and her life. It's an obsession that is so crippling to Beck's creative spirit. And yet, she's still woefully ignorant to just how disruptive these bonds actually are for her life. No one genuinely believes in her and her talents. They are just fascinated with her with the desire to change her into their picture-perfect girlfriend. That's all that Peach and Joe really want from her. They aim to fix Beck so that she can be theirs forever. That's what makes it so surprising when Joe and Peach have their final confrontation here. They expose themselves as stalkers obsessed with Beck. Joe was already operating with that information. It's brand new to Peach. In fact, she believes that she is the victim of a stalker. She is actually just getting in the way of Joe's plans. However, it's striking that all of this is building up to Peach's death. The details as they play out here make Peach a much more active part of the story. She is fully aware of the threat that she is facing and tries to kill Joe before he can kill her. That's a luxury that none of his previous victims had. They were always in the dark about his sinister and lethal intentions. Peach knows that Joe is trouble the moment she finds him in her luxurious mansion. It's actually quite surprising how long Joe is able to go unnoticed in that building even when he passes out because of his new head injury. Joe is willing to risk losing everything in order to be with Beck. He emerges victorious in the end as well. He kills Peach and makes it look like another suicide. This time she just succeeded with her attempt because she had a gun. She didn't have to rely on pills like she has always done previously. But this twist only really works if the world starts closing in on Joe. He has gotten incredibly lucky throughout this story. That proves that he has the privilege to be a monster because of how normal he is perceived to the world. The police officer who pulls him over here lets him go without putting too much thought into it. Joe is a very capable liar. And yet, he has destroyed so many people's lives. And now, Beck is more dependent on him than ever before. She traded one dysfunctional and abusive relationship for another. She only saw her connection with Peach as toxic because Joe told her so. That means she may never be able to see Joe as the monster he truly is. It may be up to some other kind of investigation to actually prove that he is a deranged individual who needs to be locked up for his various crimes throughout the world.
