We're just a few short hours away from the season one finale, and I couldn't be more on edge. These three episodes told a fantastic three-part story I will dub "The Therapist Saga" and illustrated just how much Joe and Beck care for each other. Until, of course, everything went back to being terrifying and creepy, making us truly question whether Beck's life is in jeopardy. But, enough of this rambling up here, go listen to me ramble about the three episodes leading up to tonight's finale!
Everythingship
This episode begins Joe's spiral into the least stable version of himself that we've seen so far (until the finale, I presume). It also gives us Joe and Beck as the cutest couple they've ever been right before it all goes horribly wrong. Most of the voice-over this episode is a dialogue Joe is having with his new therapist about the failure of his relationship with Beck, or "Reynaldo" as Joe calls her, because we later find out that this is also Beck's therapist. After we see a ton of Joe and Beck doing cute couple things like playing scrabble without real words and coming up with the word "everythingship", we see Beck pulling away from the relationship. Joe suspects something is wrong, and when Beck talks about the things she's spoken to her therapist about, Joe becomes convinced that she's sleeping with the therapist. Which, of course she is, because her therapist is John Stamos, she isn't passing that up. Naturally, Joe decides the best approach is to also see this therapist under a false name and You Got Me Babe
In this episode, we see Joe trying to pretend that he isn't still in love with Beck because he's with Karen now and he's happy with her. He's doing a decent job at first, even though (and maybe because?) he's continuing to see Dr. John Stamos, but Beck throws a few wrenches in that plan. Blythe, in an effort to help Beck with her writing, convinces Beck that she needs to delete her social media accounts to avoid distractions from the outside world. Joe finds this out when he tries to check in on her happiness and becomes worried. Apparently, the only way he can continue to be over her is if he can still stalk her social media and know that she's happy. Creepy, sweet, and unhealthy all rolled into one act! The next wrench comes when he and Karen bump into Beck on the street near his place, claiming that she was just taking a walk even though she lives nowhere near there. Karen and Joe both see right through this ploy, but they try to ignore it. Beck then starts texting Joe again, and he goes back down the rabbit hole. Joe and Beck continue to text and are forced to talk in person when Blythe and Ethan need help moving into their new place together. Ever since they met at that terrible surprise party for Beck a while ago, they've been all in on their relationship and it's as adorable as it is sickening. During their talk, they both realize they still think about each other, which is exactly why she shouldn't invite him to meet her on a ferry and read her work a few days later, but she does that anyway. While Karen stays in Joe's book basement nursing Paco's mom through a particularly nasty withdrawal, Joe heads to the ferry. He and Beck inevitably have sex, agree it should never happen again, and we then watch it constantly happen while Karen continues to be a great person. After Beck truly has an opportunity to speak with Karen at a party, she tells Joe that they need to end things because he deserves to be with someone who is perfect for him, ending their relationship yet again. The next day, Joe decides Beck is right and breaks things off with Karen, who handles it surprisingly well. At first. More on that in a moment. He runs to Beck's apartment to attempts a '80s/'90s profession of love outside her window and she takes him back. They're both happy again for the moment, but that changes a bit for both of them. Joe is soon confronted by Paco who reveals that his mom is back with her old, terrible boyfriend and Karen is switching jobs, despite the fact that Joe told Paco everything would be fine and Paco would always have him and Karen. Paco runs away, upset, while Beck has an encounter with Karen. Karen clearly knows why Joe left her and thanks Beck for helping him see how terrible Joe really is. She then wishes Beck the best and says she hopes that whatever happened to Candace doesn't also happen to Beck.Candace
Oh boy, what an episode! Joe and Beck are both haunted by Candace this week; Joe in his dreams, and Beck in her thoughts. Joe, in an out of character moment, decides he should see Dr. John Stamos to help him figure things out. Meanwhile, Beck, in an out of character moment, decides to internet stalk Joe/Candace to get to the bottom of things, sending her on a long quest digging into the past. As the episode goes on, we (us and Beck) learn that Joe and Candace were in a nice, happy relationship until Candace began sleeping with a man to further her music career and she suddenly moved to Italy and was never heard from again, while Joe disappeared for a week after she left. We also learn that Joe pushed that man off a building to his death, since he thought that might fix everything, and that Mr. Mooney was an enabler because he told Joe he was a good person and helped him cover up any trace that he was involved with the man's death. Oh, and he says some people deserve to die. Beck doesn't learn about those parts, though, just that the man Candace was sleeping with mysteriously died. After asking Ethan for information, meeting with an old friend of Candace's, and impersonating Candace to hear his suspicions about Joe, only to find out Candace's brother died in a mental institution, Beck decides it's finally time to confront Joe. As usual, Joe has perfect explanations for everything. Candace moved and changed her name, Candace's brother had a million theories about him the entire time they were dating and had violent tendencies, and the week he disappeared he was helping Mr. Mooney recover from a stroke. He even takes her to meet Mr. Mooney and everything is fine again for about 5 minutes. On the way home, he notices that someone is blowing up her phone, but she continues to ignore it and says it's just a friend. Convinced his therapist theory was true all along, Joe excuses himself and tracks down Dr. John Stamos, steals his phone, and finds all the texts/calls between him and Beck. Joe was right all along. There are, however, recent messages from Beck telling him that it's over now, but I'm pretty sure Joe misses those. He returns to yell at Beck for telling him he was crazy and for preaching about truth and honesty when she was lying the whole time. I was actually a little scared for Beck's safety for the first time during this, but Beck admits what she did, apologizes, explains, and professes her love for him, which completely melts Joe to a puddle and he forgives her. Everything is hunky-dory. They're in love and Beck knows he's a great guy. Then Paco happens. While Joe is out getting breakfast for Beck, Paco comes to return a book of his and says he forgot he had it hidden in the bathroom ceiling, which Joe told him was a great hiding spot. Beck is, of course, unable to help herself after using the restroom and decides to check the ceiling. She almost gives up when she doesn't initially find anything, but when she moves her hand, she finds it. The box. Inside is a pair of her underwear, her old phone, Benji's phone, Peach's phone, some picture of Candace, and a glass jar of teeth, which shatters when she drops it from shock. She's made a mistake. She needs to get out. Joe comes home before she can put everything back. She's almost able to talk her way out of the apartment, but Joe notices glass on the floor just before she gets to the door and he blocks her way out. He glares at Beck the same way we see him glare at Candace in a flashback when he tries to block her path and she asks, "What are you gonna do about it, Joe?" We then see Beck wake up in the book basement, locked in just like Benji was. Things don't look good for Beck at all.Book of the Week
*Flips table* Ok, fine, I give up! You win! Or, perhaps, You wins. However you wanna slice it.
These three episodes did a lot to illustrate that Joe has some serious mental issues he needs help with. Yeah, we always knew he was messed up and a creep, but he's given off a lot of signs that have clearly been ignored throughout his life and some sort of therapy should have been introduced to him at a much younger age. The times he's speaking with Dr. John Stamos in these episodes really make it seem like he's making progress towards becoming a normal human. For a while, he begins to acknowledge he should move on from Beck and that she's better without him, and he's even able to dabble in what appeared be a very healthy relationship. He also realizes his past is haunting him and seeks professional help on his own accord, not because he's trying to play some game to learn about Beck's life. He's not well, but he can be fixed. Should he be allowed in the general public? No, not for a long while. But, he needs to be admitted to some sort of psych facility, so he can get help while still interacting with people on a regular basis. Sure, he murdered three people (maybe four or five), but I wouldn't say he was ever in a sound state at these times. Everyone has ignored the signs of something weird going on beneath the surface because while he's certainly unstable, he's still a very smart man who can hide things that are going wrong easily. Long story short, these episodes were great, Beck needs to be saved, Joe needs to go to a psych facility, and they better not throw him to the mercy of the American prison system where he won't get the treatment he very clearly needs. Bring on the finale!
Did you ever think Joe would physically harm Beck? How shocked were you at the Blythe/Ethan pairing? What are the odds that there's a perfectly reasonable explanation behind the teeth, Candace really is alive, and Joe won't kill Beck? Sound off in the comments below!
