Major spoilers for the third season of Netflix‘s You below:
Tati Gabrielle’s Marienne finds herself as the “you” in season 3 of You. Fortunately, she doesn’t suffer a similar fate as Beck in season 1 and isn’t secretly unhinged like Joe as Love in season 2.
Ahead of the season premiere, Shadow and Act spoke with series stars Victoria Pedretti, Penn Badgley, Tati Gabrielle, Shalita Grant and Travis Van Winkle, with Gabrielle talking with us about some of the season’s major moments, including her making it out alive.
Gabrielle revealed to us that she knew she was going to be the subject of Joe’s affection this season…but had no idea how it would all play out.
“I was a huge fan of the show before I got on it,” she told us. “So, it was really mind-blowing for me to get the call and to be able to be a part of it. I was also just really excited for the way in which they were portraying my character in terms of this show…that they weren’t shying away from my race and that were being actually very forward with it. The different sort of narrative that this season brings was very exciting to me. It takes on a different formula, I think than the first two seasons and it was exciting to be part of the twist.”
The show references Missing White Woman Syndrome, which refers to the disproportionate media coverage given to white women in comparison to women of color, most notably Black women. The reference, made by Marienne, was ever so timely given the recent news, coverage and discourse surrounding the Gabby Petito case.
“Even before it became so timely [and] relevant, just the relevancy of it in general and the fact [of the matter], I really was like, ‘Thanks, Sera [Gamble You showrunner], for this,” she continued. “I was like ‘Yeah, let’s fricking talk about it. Let’s make it known. This is not something that is new. This is not something that is little.’ There are so many women that have just gone unnoticed [and] undiscovered. It was extremely rewarding to be a part of that and to vocalize [that].”
The actress also talked about being one of the season’s Final Girls along with Grant’s Shelly, with the icing on the cake being that they are both Black women and there are so few Black Final Girls in the thriller genre.
“You always have those conversations with your friends and things and you watch horror films and the Black person goes first and you know that wouldn’t have been what happened in real life,” she said with excitement. “We’re smarter than that. And so yeah, it was so great, especially with Shalita[‘s character] finding the key and everything. I was like, ‘Yes, yes!'”
Ultimately, Gabrielle has some hopes for season 4, given the cliffhanger we were left, and has a plan for Marienne.
“I would love to see her actually be able to go back to France, go back to her home country and where she wanted to go with her daughter and start her life there,” she explained. “And I would love to see what it looks like for her to re-find her own strength, especially with that last scene that she has with Love, and vocalizing [that] she knows her issue. She’s drawn to toxic men, and where that comes from as far as her hard childhood, the fact that she was in an abusive relationship [and] her drug addiction. I want to see what a whole, powerful, strong Marienne looks like, which she still very much is throughout the season… but what it looks like for a strong Marienne to have peace. And I also just really secretly want her to expose Joe somehow [laughs].”
Watch the full interview below:
READ MORE: ‘You’ Stars Penn Badgley And Victoria Pedretti On Season 3 And Why Joe And Love Can’t Be ‘Collaborative Partners’, ‘You’ Stars Shalia Grant And Travis Van Winkle Break Down Sherry And Cary’s Fate At Season 3’s End
