Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for You season 4, part 2.You season 4 features Love Quinn returning for a brief cameo, albeit not necessarily a satisfying one. You season 4, part 2 flips everything the audience thought was true from part 1. While You season 4, part 1 ended with the revelation that Rhys was the Eat The Rich killer, episode 7 reveals that Joe was the culprit all along. Rhys Montrose stalking him was a part of his imagination, and Rhys is not the only face Joe's consciousness is imagining.
Love Quinn was Joe’s main conquest in You season 2. In the You season 3 ending, Joe killed Love and made it look like she killed him. While some speculated that Love may return, others argued it was unlikely that she could have survived the fire. However, when the You season 4, part 2 trailer directly teased Love's comeback, the prospect of Victoria Pedretti's character returning became more than just hopeful speculation.
Love Was Only A Hallucination In You Season 4
Unfortunately, Love Quinn only returns for a few lines to further psychologically torture Joe - and only as a hallucination. Both Beck and Love appear as hallucinations, adding to Joe’s guilt over the recent killings. Love reminds Joe of who he is - a killer whose run-ins with “love” lead to death. Desperate for the key to save Marienne from Joe Goldberg's cage, Penn Badgley's character pleads with Love to hand over the key. Instead, she hands him a gun and tells him, "Somebody does need to die for this to end for good." These words are, of course, Joe's to himself, not Love's.
Love returning as a hallucination makes sense for Joe’s troubled psyche and repeats plot devices that Netflix’s You has used in past seasons. However, it is disappointing that Love, whose physical return could have been a compelling twist and given Joe a taste of his own medicine, is only a manifestation of Joe's mind. While it is interesting to see Love, Beck, and Marienne all torture Joe, the fact they are mere hallucinations lessens the impact of Love’s return.
Why You Season 4 Should Have Brought Back The Real Love Quinn
Love surviving would have been a shocking twist for You season 4, especially if she had been planning revenge with Marienne. While unlikely, it was not impossible for Love to survive the fire from You season 3. Love has shown herself to be resourceful and manipulative in ways that rival Joe himself, so for her to return and deliver Joe’s reckoning would have been a satisfying twist.
Unfortunately, Victoria Pedretti's Love Quinn only has a few lines in You season 4, and while they are significant for the plot, it does not change the fact that You season 4 wasted Love’s cameo. As You season 4, part 2 demonstrates, Joe again escapes his reckoning and will likely never have a redemption arc. Since You’s next season will likely be the last, Joe’s luck may eventually run out. Nevertheless, You season 5 will likely feature more twists to complicate Joe’s story, and Love's in-the-flesh return could be one of those.