WARNING: Lots of spoilers for You Season 2 ahead.
In the second season of You, everyone's problematic fave (read: serial killer) Joe Goldberg finds his perfect match in Love Quinn, a charming Californian chef with a past that's just as dark as his. When we first meet Love, played by The Haunting of Hill House's breakout star Victoria Pedretti, there's an immediate fear that she's his next victim. And in a way, she is: He changes his identity, follows her in public, researches her online, watches her through the telescope in his bedroom window, charms her at work (he's employed at—no surprise here—a bookstore at the grocery her parents own), and she ultimately falls in love with him.
But it turns out that Love can fend for herself and those she loves—though perhaps too much. Like Joe, she's so fiercely and obsessively protective of the people she cares about that she'll kill for them to keep them safe, she believes. As a child, she murdered a babysitter who sexually abused her twin brother, Forty. By the end of You's second season, she takes out Joe's ex, Candace, and his neighbor, Delilah, for trying to bring Joe to justice and make his crimes public.
Love is passionate, troubled, complex, and also pregnant with Joe's child by the finale. Season 2 leaves off with the couple starting their lives together in a new home as they prepare to welcome their child; but Joe seems to become fixated with their mysterious neighbor, which should lead to an interesting Season 3, which hasn't been confirmed yet.
Here, Pedretti speaks to BAZAAR.com about becoming Love in Netflix's hit show, the "unsettling" scene she filmed, and whether You will get another installment.
The twists for Love at the end of the season were very exciting, but were obviously kept a secret for almost the whole season. Did that affect your performance? Did you have to leave hints throughout the season or were you more guarded about Love's past?
I don't think that there were necessarily hints. I don't think I would leave hints that she was going to eventually murder somebody. I don't think there's generally hints to that stuff. It's just a person and the quality of their character, and the decisions that they choose to make that make somebody a murderer. It's really just a decision. Some people murder people truly in self defense. Obviously that’s not the case for this person, but the fact that we have a capacity to defend ourselves is important. But I don't think that there's necessarily clues. We would be a lot better at identifying and stopping murderers if it was that easy to tell. And she is definitely not somebody who brandishes the facts.
What did you think of Love when you first read the script?
I mean, I think she came off really human. She came off as a character that I was prepared and ready to do—I would not say necessarily ready more than usual. I read a lot of really amazing scripts with incredible roles for young women; there seems to be a lot of opportunity out there and great storytelling. My first impression of her was that she was independent, that she was empowered in many ways. I only had the first script, so I didn’t necessarily know a lot about her background. It had been explained to me, but it was not fully fleshed out. So I found it pretty easy to imagine it. She seemed like a real person is what I mean. And that makes the job easier.
How did you respond to Joe being turned off by her revelation?
It's gut wrenching. It's painful, especially from the character's perspective, you see how much it pains her while angering her. I don't think she doesn't understand why he's rejecting her. I think she understands, but I think she's just incredibly disappointed. So I felt disappointed for her.
How do you think she'll be as a mother?
Probably not very good. I mean she seems like she would be really supportive, but she has a lot of personal issues that she should probably work through. But I don't know. When's a good time to be a good mother? What's a good mother? These are the things I think are very unique to every individual. Like a parent-child relationship, you can't define that until the child is present.
Speaking of familial relationships, I thought the relationship between Love and Forty was also really interesting because it’s such a close bond. Do you have any siblings? Could you relate to that at all?
I have siblings. My sister is technically my half sister, but she is my sister. She's 25 years older than me. And since I was a kid, I felt such a strong bond and a want to be near her and a protectiveness. She is my favorite person in the world, pretty much. I think the bond between siblings is really powerful. I feel really lucky. We didn't have to have a relationship; when you're 25 years old, it's probably not that interesting to talk to a baby. You can't tell them about your love life and stuff like that. I understand that there's sometimes just a connection that is just there. It's a bond.
Do you have any crazy theories about who the neighbor could be in that last scene?
I don't have any crazy theories. I don't find the show easy to predict and find it constantly surprising. I have no idea who it is. I have heard some really ridiculous things though that I think aren't true, but they might be. Somebody said that they thought that it is his mom. That was a really bizarre theory.
Have you heard anything about whether you guys are going to do another season yet?
No. I mean, I'm sure I will find out when everyone else finds out.
Did you have a special or a favorite moment that you acted out for Love? Was there a scene that stuck to you specifically?
I think it was really emotional to shoot their breakup because Love is crazy dedicated to him. That is the last thing she wants to do. So it's sad. When you shoot things that are sad, you can walk away from it and be okay, but sometimes I feel sorry for the character because you want the best for them. Penn talks about that. He's like, "I wanted Joe to find some love, have some space to breathe in his life, but I also think he deserves to die." [Laughs] No, I do not know if he says that, but he thinks the only way it can end is if he gets murdered. But that is from a very outside-the-character perspective. And he talks about really wanting him to find love, to find some relief.
And what do you want for Love?
I want her to truly be independent. I want her to live for herself instead of others. She is devoted to this really warped sense of duty that doesn't really serve her at all and causes other people enormous, enormous pain. She is extremely misguided and she needs psychological help. I believe in that. Maybe some spiritual guidance too. But her brain has been warped in certain ways and she does not understand the consequences for her actions and that would take work and time to deal with, I think.
Were there any scenes that particularly disturbed you? I know it is sometimes physically gory but, is it just knowing that this person was being watched?
I think the most unsettling thing is probably when we shot the sex scene where we were both meant to start having sex and come simultaneously in five seconds. I found that really disturbing. I was like, "How are we … ? That's not real."
Was that the stage direction?
Yeah, pretty much. That’s how it’s written. And I was like, "That doesn’t happen in real life." And I felt a little critical of it. I was like, I don't know if we should be putting that out into the world and disrupting people, especially young people who watch the show, which we can't deny the fact we have a young audience. If we're choosing to portray sex, I think we should do it responsibly, or at least somewhat realistically. And so I found that a little disturbing.
But then I guess Joe and Love are not really a realistic couple, right?
I mean, they’re not real people. I think they are meant to be relatable. But yeah, I mean, good on her! [Laughs]
I have seen a lot of people talk about your bangs in the flashbacks.
I think we wanted to make a distinction and I think it came across in not only my hair but yeah, it was just a little bang wig. [Laughs]
I really like how realistic you are as Love in the kitchen and cooking. You cook in real life, right? Did you bring that in for those scenes?
Yeah. I think my love of food certainly played into my ability to get enthusiastic about it. It doesn’t feel like a stretch at all. I don't bake, though. Love gets really psyched about baking. I don't do that. So that is acting.
You shows a very deep and obviously twisted side of relationships, but is there something that you took away from it? Whether it was between Love and her mom, Love and her brother, or Love and Joe, is there something that you learned about how relationships work?
I mean, relationships don't work. They require work, but they're never done. They're never like, "That's a relationship." I find that no one relationship can prepare you for another. Your relationships are definitely what shape your idea of what your relationships should be like. They definitely give you expectations of what friendship or partnership with familial relationships are meant to be like, and they play into each other. But I do not think being in a television show and pretending to be related to people or pretending to relate to people really teaches me about relationships.
I will say what Love has taught me. One of the things I really like about Love is that, yes, she has dealt with a lot of tragedy and I don't know, I really am 100 percent for not shying away from what feels true to you, what feels like it's enriching your life, and taking risks for the sake of that. And that can be scary and it can be legitimately dangerous.
I understand that that is the only way to look back and be happy with myself, becuthere's so much out there. And if you don't try to experience things you want to experience and spend time with the people that might live across the country or work through an argument with a loved one because even though it's hard, that those things are important above all else, Love is really good at pursuing what she wants at all costs. I don't think that people should murder people though. Or hurt others for the sake of that because then you can't look back and feel good about it. But I do think it is important to pursue your own life for yourself, which I think she is trying to do.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
