Here's Everything 'You' Fans Need To Know About Joe's Mysterious Ex, Candace
You left fans with a major cliffhanger when Season 1 ended, so now that it's finally time for Season 2, all eyes are on Joe's mysterious ex, Candace. Netflix has revealed Candace will be in You Season 2, but that only brings up more questions. I mean, who even is she, really? Is she actually alive? And what role will she play in the upcoming episodes. Clearly, there's much to discuss.
Throughout You Season 1, Joe's (Penn Badgely) ex, Candace (Ambyr Childers), haunts him in dreams and hazy flashbacks as he grows closer with his current love interest (or rather, target), Beck (Elizabeth Lail). Though Joe insisted Beck was nothing like his previous girlfriend, viewers soon learned the two women had a lot in common; Candace was a fledging musician and Beck was a struggling writer, so Joe clearly had a preference for creative women who often leaned on him for support. As the season progressed, audiences saw how Joe's relationship with Beck became eerily similar to his previous experience with Candace: Joe started out seemingly innocent to both women, but unraveled as time went on. Both women also ended up cheating on Joe, which pushed him over the edge in both cases.
Beck and Candace's parallel stories suggest the women might've had similar fates on the show. Joe told Beck Candace went to Italy after their breakup, but as Joe revealed the deadly acts he was capable of, viewers became increasingly skeptical of this story. Joe obviously felt some guilt about whatever went down with Candace, especially in Episode 9, when he kept dreaming about her, then jolting awake shouting "I'm sorry." With all this in mind, when the season ended with Joe killing Beck, it was easy to assume Joe did the same to Candace. So, needless to say, when Candace returned to the bookstore in the final episode telling Joe, "We need to talk," viewers were really thrown for a loop.
Despite her reappearance, some fans still believe Candace isn't really alive. She haunted Joe in flashbacks before, so her arrival in the bookstore very well could be another of Joe's imaginings. Also, if he thought she was alive, why would he have been so freaked out to see her when she showed up? In the book series You is based on, Candace does die, so if the show sticks closely to its source material, then she's definitely just a ghost haunting Joe.
However, the series could deviate from the books; I mean, she did seem awfully alive when confronting Joe. Plus, teaser photos from Season 2 show her and Joe holding hands at a restaurant, which kinda seems like something two not-dead people would do.
Regardless of her alive-or dead status, one thing is certain: viewers are definitely see more of Candace in Season 2, so one way or the other, she'll be involved in the juicy plot. But Candace won't be the only woman in Joe's life; the upcoming season will follow Joe to Los Angeles as he pursues an aspiring chef named Love. The new character, who is played by Haunting of Hill House actor Victoria Pedretti, will apparently get together with a heartbroken Joe, but Candace might have other plans for her former boyfriend. How will Joe manage the two women in his life? Viewers will have to tune in to Netflix for Season 2 on Dec. 26 to find out.
