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Warning: SPOILERS ahead for You season 5.You season 5 makes a reference to “fairy smut,” and that may leave viewers wondering if the show is talking about A Court of Thorns and Roses. With Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) managing and owning a bookstore, the Netflix series is no stranger to literary references. There are many of them scattered throughout You‘s five-season run, and the show’s final outing continues to lean into its bookish themes. But while Joe’s new love interest, Bronte, clearly knows her classics, she also has a good grip on more modern trends and releases.
That’s why she criticizes Joe for not seeing the value of a romance section in Mooney’s, and it’s why there are a number of dark romance references throughout season 5. And when Bronte and Joe first start bonding at Mooney’s in You season 5, episode 2, he quips that she’s “a playwright who reads the Financial Times, as well as Ibsen.” Bronte jokes that “she also reads fairy smut,” which in itself is a nod to modern readers. It may not be a direct reference to ACOTAR, but it certainly acknowledges a trend Sarah J. Maas’ fantasy series helped popularize.
Did You Season 5 Reference ACOTAR? The Netflix Show Indirectly Nods To Fae Romances
It Acknowledges A Subgenre That A Court Of Thorns & Roses Helped Popularize
Romantasy books are some of the most popular books, both on BookTok and offline, nowadays, and A Court of Thorns and Roses has a lot to do with that. Maas’ story, which centers on a fated mates romance between two High Fae, is among the earliest and best-known series to go viral under the “romantasy” banner. And Bronte’s “fairy smut” comment in You season 5 may not go so far as to mention Maas or any of her books, but it does call out the subgenre that surfaced on the heels of ACOTAR‘s success.
While You season 5’s fae romance nod is more general, it could be traced back to ACOTAR.
With romantasy gaining so much traction — especially when it leans into certain tried-and-true tropes — many books like A Court of Thorns & Roses now fill bookstores like Mooney’s. Fae romances continue to be a huge category beneath the romantasy umbrella, and Bronte could easily be talking about any of the books that fall into it. But while You season 5‘s fae romance nod is more general, it could be traced back to ACOTAR. And it’s a fun addition to the show, which helps ground it in the present day.
You Season 5’s Romantasy References Help Cement Its Present-Day Setting
Mentioning Men’s Rights Activists & True Crime Podcasts Has A Similar Effect
You season 5’s “fairy smut” quote is an entertaining reference for those familiar with the romantasy genre, but it also serves another purpose. It helps ground the final season in the present day, utilizing modern book trends to do so. While the subgenre was less well-known when You season 1 debuted in 2018, it has since blown up. It would feel strange for the characters to work in a bookstore and not reference that. You season 5 uses other references to things like men’s rights activists and true-crime podcasts to similar effect. Overall, the show is successful at it.
7/10
- Release Date
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2018 – 2025-00-00
- Showrunner
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Sera Gamble, Greg Berlanti
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Penn Badgley
Joe Goldberg
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Elizabeth Lail
Guinevere Beck
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