Missing White Woman Syndrome
Episode 3 of You Season 3 begins with Madre Linda rocked by Natalie Engler’s disappearance. Reporters are itching for news while Joe is confident things will die down in a week or so. It turns out the pair did give a statement about the lease to the police but beyond that, they’re in the clear. Or are they? The third episode of You begins with Madre Linda struggling to deal with Natalie Engler’s disappearance. The reporters are eager for information, while Joe is confident that the situation will calm down within a week or so. However, it turns out that the pair had given a statement about their lease to the police - something that they had not mentioned to Joe. ..
Joe: What’s going on? Detective: We’ve been trying to find Natalie for weeks and we think she might have gone off the grid. We need to talk to you about her.
Joe and Natalie’s exchange in the parking lot was just down to Joe needing to unwind and find some entertainment. The one who’s not finding any entertainment in the matter though is Love, who shows up at the hospital given Henry has the measles.
Joe and Love are under suspicion because of a bloody scarf they wore on the show. They have not had their vaccinations and it is now being suggested that they may have contracted the measles. This could lead to them being called out by the media, but there is a problem. Joe hasn’t had his vaccinations and he too comes down with the measles.
Joe reveals that his abusive parents never actually gave him his jabs, but thankfully Henry’s fever breaks and he’s in the clear. Joe though is still bedbound and interestingly, he ends up chatting with Matthew about Theo and how he should speak to the media and give his statement. In the process though, Joe manages to get the bloody scarf back, burning the evidence in the sink.
Detectives find Natalie’s ring after Mathew gives his statement. It turns out Gil was the one who had the measles outbreak initially and that’s because his whole family are antivaxxers. None of them have actually had their injections, and that’s why Henry was getting ill. So naturally, Love smacks him upside the head with a rolling pin. ..
The Episode Review
The showrunners decided to add a anti-vax/covid storyline to the story in an unwise way, and it doesn’t fit well with the tone of the series.
The reveal at the end of the novel feels like another groan-inducing ploy rather than a genuine shocker.
It will be interesting to see if the show continues this or abandons it in favour of the actual interesting character dynamic between Love and Joe, which is sidelined this time to get the message out about vaccines. As someone who’s fully vaccinated, the message about antivaxxers is important but not in a show like this and will undoubtedly alienate audiences expecting some escapism. Hopefully the next episode will be an improvement.
