Joe Goldberg, Why Are You So Creepy?
*warning, spoilers for all three seasons of You ahead*
If you have seen the Netflix series You, which just premiered its third season, you are no stranger to the ultimate creep, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley). As a character, Joe Goldberg manages to approach women in the most unsettling ways through his constant voyeuristic pleasure of spying turned intense stalking. Throughout the first two seasons, Joe bounced around from one love interest to the next, so much so that when season three was released this October, I had to look up a recap of the first two seasons to remind me of his many victims (shoutout to Netflix for having the actors film a recap video), which reminded me how much of a nightmare he is for women everywhere. Across all seasons of the show, Joe’s mindset seems to have remained the same for the most part. He holds onto the idea that he will meet a soulmate who will change who he is at his core, which is basically just a complete sociopath.
The show last left off with a cliffhanger as Joe nearly kills his girlfriend, Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti) after witnessing her kill someone for his sake. Before he is able to do so, Love shares that she is pregnant; Joe, of course, becomes startled by the news and is insistent on protecting his unborn child. At the start of season three, it seems that things are looking up for Joe as he has finally settled down with someone almost as dangerous as him, Love, who is now his wife and the mother of his child. However, considering Love is also a murderer with even more of a temper, it quickly becomes clear that a cookie-cutter life in the suburbs is not for them. It doesn’t take very long before the couple strikes again. Once Love realizes that Joe has taken a liking to the next-door neighbor, Natalie, she quickly befriends her and violently kills her, sending the whole town spiraling. Considering Joe has violently murdered many people in the previous seasons through various gruesome methods, he is quick to help his wife cover her tracks, turning all suspicions to Natalie’s husband.
You is definitely one of those shows that you go into not wanting to like, but the shock value pulls you in and makes the show so bingeable. And right when you feel like the main characters are about to reach a point of normalcy, another insane plot twist happens, usually involving some bloodshed. Considering how well Penn Badgley plays the role of a complete sociopath, it is easy to become consumed by the drama of the show and wonder if people like that truly exist. What I found interesting about the third season is how the storyline kind of flips to make the audience identify with and root for Joe as we learn more of his backstory and he tries to act as a voice of reason for Love (at least towards the beginning of the season). Despite Joe’s ability to obsess over random women, the same can’t be said for his feelings towards his wife. The way Joe reacts to Love’s dark, killer side hidden beneath her friendly, bakery-owning, housewife façade shows just how much Joe deeply resents himself and his instinct to punish people in such drastic ways. Love was once the object of his affection and admiration, but that all changed after the shocking ending of season two. By the end of season three, the show has come full circle as Joe returns to New York with a new identity after leaving the California suburbs, where everyone believes he is dead. The shocking ending also has fans wondering if Love Quinn is really dead. Fortunately, season four has already been announced, so we won’t have to wait long for some answers.
Written by & Art by: Isabella Harrison
