Music

‘You’ Season 3 Finale: Why Taylor Swift’s ‘Exile’ Was the ‘Perfect Sad Song’

Season 3 of 'You' premiered on Netflix on Oct. 15. Taylor Swift's song 'exile' was used in a scene in the season 3 finale of 'You.' In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, 'You' showrunner Sera Gamble revealed why she chose Swift's song for the scene.

by Eryn Murphy

Published on October 24, 2021

2 min read

How was Taylor Swift’s song used in ‘You’ Season 3?

Season 3 of You explores how much Joe and Love don’t trust one another while trying to keep their marriage intact. When it comes to murders, Love appears to be impulsive while Joe seems to be more methodical.

The two are frequently at odds, and their relationship comes to a turning point when Love realizes that Joe has fallen for someone else, his co-worker Marienne (Tati Gabrielle).

At first, Love paralyzes Joe in an effort to save their marriage. She then changes her mind and decides he deserves to die. Before she can kill him, Joe murders her. As he stages the scene to fake his death and burn down the house, “exile” plays.

Sera Gamble thinks Taylor Swift’s ‘exile’ is the ‘perfect sad song’

Swift released her album folklore on July 24, 2020. On it, “exile” features Justin Vernon of the band Bon Iver. In the song, Swift and Vernon sing of a couple going through a dysfunctional breakup.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Gamble revealed that folklore inspired her.

“During the pandemic, when everything was just completely mad and we were all very much staying away from each other, my husband and I rented an RV because we needed to go up north, and the Folklore album had recently come out and the RV was incredibly loud, but we cranked it all the way up and listened to it,” Gamble told Entertainment Weekly.

She continued, “As we were driving through the smoke of all these forest fires in the middle of a pandemic, it was a real apocalypse bonding experience.”

Later on, Gamble took her love of folklore to her job. While working on the show, she decided to include “exile” in the You Season 3 finale.

“When we were cutting the last episode of You, I talked to Season Kent, our music supervisor, and I was like, ‘Do you think there’s any chance we can get this on, because I feel like it’s the perfect sad song for this part?'” Gamble said.

The ‘You’ showrunner admires the ‘folklore’ artist

In the interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gamble shared that artists like Swift inspire her.

“I’ve always thought that being an artist of any kind, part of what you’re doing is you’re in conversation with every other artist who’s interested in the same stuff about being human that you are,” Gamble said.

She continued: “And I’m sure Taylor Swift has no idea who I am, but in my small way, through the TV shows that I’ve been making for the last few years, I’ve been a little bit in conversation with her storytelling by bringing it into our storytelling, which is a beautiful thing that I get to do as part of my job.”