Warning: This blog post contains spoilers for the final season of “You”

 When Penn Badgley accepted the role of Joe Goldberg in the iconic show “You”, he could not have anticipated the love and adoration fans would have for the character he played. While under normal circumstances this would fill any actor with a sense of elation, it was the opposite for Badgley.

Debuting in 2018, “You” was an automatic hit with fans and would soon end up on Netflix, racking in scores of viewers and generating demand for more seasons. In season 1, the protagonist Joe Goldberg is a bookseller who has a crush on a woman named Guinevere Beck, referred to as “Beck”. Fans would gush over Joe’s commitment to getting to know Beck and his goal to eliminate obstacles in her path to becoming a writer… except, this “commitment” was actually self-serving stalking behavior and Joe was none other than a serial killer.

Unbeknownst to Beck, Joe had meticulously scoured the internet for information about her after meeting her briefly in his book store. From there, he learned about her life and social connections, positioning himself to interact with her while shaping himself to be her ideal match. To name only a few of Joe’s actions, he: broke into her apartment while she wasn’t home, watched her changing through her window, and collected her personal belongings such as her undergarments. Their eventual relationship was not only built on this lie and this disturbing stalking behavior, but Joe also isolated her by killing those closest to her. Over the course of the season, Joe trapped Beck’s on-again-off-again boyfriend Benji in a secret glass room in the basement of the bookshop to eventually murder him, and also murdered Beck’s best friend Peach, his competitor for Beck’s affection.

 These actions should shock anyone from the start…. Right? Although the intention was to depict his abusive behavior, “You” is narrated from Joe’s perspective. The viewer listens to Joe’s inner monologue which is filled with quips and justifications for his actions. Joe, who had an abusive childhood of his own, is bent on “protecting” the person he becomes obsessed with. He views the women he pursues as wounded birds in need of a knight in shining armor. The people he murders are those he views as “bad people”, and he excuses his own actions as necessary and for the sake of love. By the end of season 1, Beck eventually discovers the secret glass room in the basement and Joe’s murders. In order to hide his crimes, Joe murders her after she attempts to escape, conceals his actions by framing her therapist for the murder, and then publishes a book she was writing, posthumously. While the intention behind the show is to recognize that Joe is NOT a safe person or a healthy partner, Penn Badgley was disappointed to find that fans adored him unwaveringly. Some fans believed Joe’s actions were romantic, with some even posting on social media that they “wished Joe would stalk them”.

Over the course of seasons 2-4, Joe would repeat a similar pattern across various settings, all while escaping consequences for his crimes and receiving love from IRL fans. Joe is never content with any one partner he meets; he is always on the hunt for his next victim, often stalking a new partner while with the partner he convinced to be with him (and killing people along the way). Season 2 introduced viewers to Love Quinn, a woman who was his match as she was also a serial killer. Except, Joe would eventually grow tired of suburban life with her in season 3, since she was a mirror to him. He wanted he could care for and manipulate, not someone who could fend for herself and be on “his level”. Season 3 ends with Joe murdering Love Quinn and the season also introduces Marienne, a librarian Joe becomes infatuated with. In season 4, he stalks Marienne across the globe to England, where Marienne has to fake her death to escape him all while Joe is simultaneously pursuing a woman named Kate.

Now, “You” has reached its fifth and final season, leading to the end of the show and the end of the illusion of Joe Goldberg, if it wasn’t already apparent to fans what he is. In this final season, Joe is back in New York and married to Kate, daughter of a now deceased (due to guess who?) billionaire CEO. Once again, he is not satisfied with his life, and starts an affair with a woman named Bronte. This final object of his obsession would prove to be his downfall, as it is revealed Bronte is part of a group seeking justice for Joe Goldberg’s now well over 20 murder victims, and specifically, Guinevere Beck. By the end of the season, Joe’s crimes are on full display over social media. Much like real life, the show depicts various reactions from the internet, including lovers and haters of Joe Goldberg. Even if Joe had childhood trauma, this does not excuse his actions. In his final confrontation with Bronte, the viewer sees Joe for who he really is.

“It was really important to me that Joe finally be seen as a sexual predator. I don’t say that lightly… We all know that’s what he is. But we tend to artfully dance around it or forget it because he can be so charming. So the show finally had to really deconstruct that part of his personality.” – Penn Badgley

The lesson of the show is that Joe is not a knight in shining armor. He is violent and abusive to the individuals he becomes infatuated with and anyone he even perceives to be standing in his way. The women he pursued did not have informed consent that they were engaging with someone who had stalked them and killed people to get to them. Joe’s actions were not acting out of love or protection. His actions are born from a desire to engage in power and control, and performing aggressive masculinity. It is not romantic to engage in stalking behaviors nor is it justifiable to act with extreme jealousy or aggression to “protect” someone else. Healthy relationships are founded on honesty, equality, and trust, not violence and performance.

The show’s conclusion depicts Joe in prison, no longer framed as the charming hero of this story. Rather, the heroes of the story were the women he previously victimized that banded together, believed each other, and brought him to justice.

Source: https://www.netflix.com/title/80211991?source=35

Written by: Shayna Smith