What darkness awaits us in season 3 of You? We have no idea, but according to creator Sera Gamble’s new Instagram post, it may have a lot to do with butterflies.
In season 2 of You, Penn Badgley’s Joe Goldberg moved to sunny Los Angeles in an attempt to conceal his twisted nature. It didn’t work and, instead, the serial killer and notorious stalker met his match in Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti), a pastry chef and health food store heiress who had the very same murder-y tendencies as Joe. It might have been true love if only Joe didn’t have a wandering eye. In the very final moment of the show’s sophomore season, Joe looks over the fence in his new suburban home to find a mystery woman, reading a book. She is Joe’s next “you,” and quite possibly the object of his affection going into the show’s promised third season.
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While the first two seasons of You were based on the first two novels in author Caroline Kepnes’ series, the third book is still in the works. It’s unclear whether we’ll remain in Los Angeles for the show’s next season — the third book is set to take place in the Pacific Northwest — or if Joe and his new family (or maybe just Joe, solo) will start a new life elsewhere. Regardless of what happens, we’ll have to wait to find out: You won’t return to Netflix until 2021.
What do we know? Butterflies are involved here, apparently.
“New office vibes,” Gamble, who also created The Magicians, shared on Instagram, with a sign featuring an apparent new logo for You’s third season.
Not since Kylie Jenner had her baby have people overanalyzed the presence of butterfly decor.
Now, is it possible that Gamble just loves butterflies, and that some nice office PA gave a basic sign a little extra color? Sure, but what fun is that? (We’ve reached out to Gamble for comment, just in case.) If this is the new logo for the third season, it’s time to start speculating wildly about what it could mean.
Maybe it’s a metaphor. Joe was a caterpillar in season 1, realizing his true nature through his ill-fated romance with Beck (Elizabeth Lail). In season 2, Joe attempted to hide his dark side and become a better person, like a butterfly going into a chrysalis to reform itself. The third season, therefore, could be Joe emerging from hiding as a full-fledged butterfly. Whether he embraces all the good things in his life, like the baby he has on the way, or leans into his dark nature via stalking his new neighbor, remains to be seen.
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Maybe the butterfly thing is literal. If the show is staying in Los Angeles for its third season, it may be playing with a real-life natural phenomenon that occurred in the city. In 2019, a billion butterflies descended upon L.A., which was really amazing until everyone realized they kept killing butterflies while driving down the 405. Butterflies are fragile. Human beings are fragile, too, especially when they’re around Joe and Love.
There is the possibility that the butterflies have to do with the new woman in Joe’s life — his mysterious neighbor. Look, if You can name characters Love, Forty (James Scully), Peach (Shay Mitchell), and “Guinevere Beck,” mystery lady can certainly tell Joe to “call her Butterfly.” Or maybe she’s just a fan of a butterfly lower back tattoo. (Love would never.)
The analysis of this butterfly decor means one thing: We have literally no idea what You has planned for season 3. We'll be over here in our cocoons awaiting more spoilers.