[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 3 finale of You.]Victoria Pedretti’s Love hurts or kills a whole lot of people who get in her way in You Season 3. She axes Natalie (Michaela McManus) to death over her suspicions that she’s Joe’s (Penn Badgley) new obsession. After that, she learns that Henry contracted the measles from Gil's (Mackenzie Astin) family so she knocks him out and locks him in the vault, which ultimately leads to Gil’s death. Things also get mighty violent with Sherry (Shalita Grant) and Cary (Travis Van Winkle), Love seriously wounds Theo (Dylan Arnold) by hitting him in the head with a fire extinguisher and then she comes mighty close to killing Marianne (Tati Gabrielle) as well.
They’re all acts of violence sparked by Love’s desperation to give her son a good, safe life with a loving family. But there’s one person in You who directly puts baby Henry in harm's way that Love doesn’t go after — her mother (Saffron Burrows). In Episode 7, Dottie Quinn drives drunk with Henry in her lap and takes him with her to burn down the vineyard her ex-husband took from her. It’s deeply upsetting to watch and, as one might expect, the incident enrages Love. But rather than stop her mother from hurting her family like she did with the others, Love shows Dottie mercy. She allows her to spend the night and then has Joe drive her to rehab the next day, after which she is to have no contact with her or Henry ever again.
Why does Love go that route with her mother and not the others? Is there a part of Love that still needs and loves her mother enough to control her more violent tendencies? Here’s what Pedretti said on Collider Ladies Night:
“That is so interesting. Why doesn’t Love kill her mother? Really more of a question for the writers, but if I had to theorize, her mother is somebody that she loves to hate. Her hate for her mother is part of her identity almost. But as a product of hating her, she also becomes a lot like her. And I think she still kind of hopes some day to seek validation from her, you know? She can do all of these things to destroy and be destructive within their relationship, but I think ultimately, who doesn’t want their mother’s love?”
Looking for more from Pedretti? You’re going to want to check out our full Collider Ladies Night conversation below. Pedretti also revisited why she’s so grateful that The Haunting of Hill House was her first big project, discussed her collaboration with Badgley on You, and also shared her thoughts on where Love winds up at the end of the new season.