Netflix’s You, which premiered in 2018, has steadily followed the burning, murderous passion of Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley). He justifies every killing behind protecting the lover in question, and ultimately himself. It’s hard to say whether he loves himself or the women in his life more.
Joe’s path with murder started at a young age when he killed his mother’s abusive boyfriend. He elected to be a hero and came to her rescue. His mother rewards him with shame and putting him into child protection.
Joe attempts to fix the absence of love in his life with vulnerable women he feels he needs to protect. He justifies stalking, public indecency, snooping, and murderous rage with being the safe, ultimately innocent guy. Joe has himself, and quite possibly the show’s audience because he narrates every episode.
While Joe has many lovers throughout the show’s four seasons, his deeper feelings are made apparent by how many people he kills for a particular women and if he lets her live. The same can be said for the women he becomes involved with.
Below, ahead of Season 4 Part 2 dropping on March 9, we rank Joe’s love interests by who matches his energy the most, from fulfilling his nerdy side to playing along with his killer instincts. How many more people need meet their untimely death before his true love accepts him, whoever she is?
You, Season 4 Part 2, Premiere, Thursday, March 9, Netflix
