You Episode 2 Recap: The last nice guy in New York City

You episode 2 recap: the last nice guy in New York City. Joe Goldberg is continuing his quiet reign over Beck’s life, learning her every move and plan..

When we arrive at You episode 2, Joe Goldberg is continuing his quiet reign over obsession, Beck’s life. Beck has a new phone, but thanks to the cloud, Joe can find everything he needs. Including the most important tool in his arsenal, her texts. They tell him everything from her closest friends, like Peach Salinger, to the sleazy professor she’s meeting for drinks at a downtown bar. All things he’ll use to access as much of Beck as he can. But by You episode 2, it looks like much of Joe’s quietly devious plan is starting to work.

You Episode 2 Recap: Last Nice Guy in New York

In You episode 2, Joe and Beck have gone on one quick, day date but Beck has to leave quickly. She’s worried about her missing friend with benefits, Benji. The one Joe still has locked up in the soundproof basement book room. When her teacher makes a pass at her, firing her from her TA position, she calls on Joe for comfort. Luckily, he’s just a few minutes away, he tells her. Actually, he’s been sitting at a stool nearby listening the entire time. As they flirt at the bar, in a way reminiscent of so many first or second New York City dates, (minus the extreme stalking tactics used to get there), Beck tells Joe, “I always seem to be a magnet for the wrong guys.” She doesn’t know how very right she is. But we do.

That reoccurring question will come up again. Is Joe a wolf in sheep’s clothing, or a nice guy who has to do bad things? When he gives his young neighbor friend Frankenstein to read, he tells him, “the monster is really cool and scary, but also not really the monster.”

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Joe’s enamored with Beck. Even though Benji keeps telling him she’s not what he’s built her up to be. She’s a fake, an Instagram phony who only takes what she can get from people. And though Joe doesn’t want to hear that, he’s nobody’s fool. His knack for reading people is used through shrewd observation and astute dissecting of social media photos. A talent he uses again when Beck takes him to Peach Salinger’s fancy New York City party. One where he meets all her ‘building a brand’, phony friends.

We get a few more clues about Joe in this episode. Short flashbacks into his dark, book loving past. References to an ex, Candace. We don’t know anything about her, but their breakup reeks of mystery too.

On that same date, Joe tells Beck that when you’re not handed everything in life (like them), sometimes to survive, you have to show some teeth. She takes his advice by coming back strong against her teacher and winning her job back. She shows her gratitude by showing up to Joe’s bookstore with a thank you doughnut. A classic one, which she guessed is his favorite. ‘Old school, no bullshit.” Followed by a passionate thank you kiss. Joe has showed Beck a side of herself she couldn’t find before, and this has made Joe instantly likable. From Joe’s point of view, it’s also convinced him that Benji was wrong about Beck. She’s surrounded by awful, phony friends, but Beck is neither.

So far, he’s successfully wooed the girl of his dreams. But Joe has a lot more teeth showing to do too. And by the end of this show, he has shown much more of them. Joe thinks he is the last nice guy in New York City, but he just might be a monster. Even if he doesn’t seem himself as one.

Did you watch Episode 2? What did you think? Tell us in the comments!