'You' stars Penn Badgley and Tati Gabrielle on fantasy, red flags

Penn Badgley returns as the charming and deadly Joe Goldberg in the Netflix series 'You.'

The actor said the global hit show about a serial killer and his obsessions also provides social commentary often served with a sense of humor. In season four, the character has moved to London and works as a professor in his new life.

Badgley shared his thoughts about how the show portrays love, privilege, and relationships.

"It often doesn't have something very constructive or hopeful to say, but that's okay. Because in order to even build some hopeful vision of something better or someone better, you also need to know what's wrong. In a lot of ways this show is a deconstructive act of looking at the tropes of love, the ideas about love and relationships that we've had and very popular in Hollywood, like the knight in shining armor. And it's like, well, that's actually not a relationship. That's a fantasy, and that's objectification," he noted.

The former 'Gossip Girl' star added that apart from entertainment, audiences can also view the cautionary tales depicted on the show.

"One of my biggest hopes is that it will encourage young people to think like that and realize these fantasies of love they have in my mind, they're not based in real-life love. They're based in things they’ve seen on-screen."

For Tati Gabrielle, who plays Marienne, one of Joe’s obsessions, playing the character who stands up to someone like him is important to portray.

Gabrielle said, "I think that the show is is a huge warning to all those out there to remember the red flags when they come to learn, to not ignore them and to remember to prize one's own value and mental health and well-being over the fantasy or vision of love. Because sometimes love is not enough. I hope it makes them go, 'Okay, now I know what to look out for and I know how to protect myself,'"

The first part of 'You' season 4 is now streaming on Netflix, while the second half will be out on March 9.