Ranked: Which is the best season of YOU on Netflix, according to Rotten Tomatoes

For a lot of people, waiting for the fourth season of YOU was an endurance task. It was the hardest thing we’ve had to do in a long, long time. Many will have opinions on which season of YOU on Netflix is definitively the best to them, but it’s time to see which has actually been scored the highest.

Season one was filled with novelty, the concept of the show was new and the shock factor of learning what Joe Goldberg was like was intense. Season two had a deeper storyline, and went into depth with the characters and introduced us to Love, and her twisted background and family life. Then there’s season three – where do we even begin? It was emotional. And of course, full of more murder than ever before. Season four was full of twists, turns and revelations. There are arguments for why each season could be the best one yet.

Here’s how each season of Netflix series YOU performs on Rotten Tomatoes, and therefore which one has been ranked as the best.

4. Season two – 87 per cent

Season two was the first time we met Love and the Quinn family. Joe had moved to LA to get away from Candace and the drama of Beck’s death, but somehow had brought his glass murder box with him and set it up in a storage unit. His new identity of Will Bettelheim was causing him a lot of trouble, and Joe’s way of getting out of it? Killing people. Oh, and we learn *a lot* about Love Quinn, too.

Critics rated season two the lowest of all four seasons, with an 87 per cent score. This is the lowest, but is still “certified fresh” by Rotten Tomatoes’ standards, and is a very impressive rating to get. The audience score for season two is 83 per cent – which is actually the highest audience score for all three seasons, so at least the viewers loved it!

The critic consensus reads: “Penn Badgley’s perversely endearing serial stalker keeps looking for love in all the wrong places during a second season that maintains the subversive tension while adding some welcome variations on the series’ formula.”

3. Season one – 93 per cent

Ah season one, where it all began. Where were you when you first met Joe Goldberg? In season one everything was shocking and novel and, despite her obvious annoyances, Beck was a very good character to introduce Joe’s obsessions with. The local bookstore worker and the student writer turned into our favourite New York toxic couple and the rest is history.

The critic score on Rotten Tomatoes for season one is an impressive 93 per cent, which is very high. The audience score is 80 per cent – and audience scores are usually lower so this is very good too. The critic consensus for season one reads: “YOU pairs thrilling drama with trashy fun to create an addictive social media horror story that works its way under the skin — and stays there.”

2. Season four – 95 per cent

Right now, the latest season is “certified fresh”, at an impressive 95 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. This season was definitely very different to all the others, and saw Joe hitting London and meeting the elite. We learned *a lot* about Joe’s character and the ending was nothing short of gut-wrenching.

The audience rating for season four is much lower than the critics’, at 62 per cent. The critic consensus reads: “The hunter becomes prey in YOU’s London-set fourth season, which shows some wear as this premise begins to outlive its believability — but Penn Badgley’s sardonic performance continues to paper over most lapses in logic.”

1. Season three – 96 per cent

Out of all four seasons of YOU on Netflix, season three has been ranked as the best. This instalment saw Love and Joe head off to suburban paradise Madre Linda in an attempt to have a fresh start with their son, Henry. However it wasn’t long before Joe was back to his obsessive ways and Love was chaotically plotting the murder of half the neighbours.

Season three might have the highest rating with the critics and overall on Rotten Tomatoes, but it scores quite low with the audience rating – it gets 64 per cent with the audience. The critic consensus of season three reads: “YOU takes its thrilling saga to the suburbs with superb results, made all the more delicious by Penn Badgley and Victoria Pedretti’s committed performances.”

All four seasons of YOU are available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, quizzes, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• So, the twist ending of YOU season four was actually hinted at four times previously

• Ranked: The 19 most shocking and gruesome moments there have ever been on YOU

• Can you remember exactly how these characters in YOU died? Take this quiz to find out