Penn Badgley made Joe Goldberg one of television’s most fascinating characters, but the star of Netflix’s hit thriller series You loathes his protagonist. Based on the books by Caroline Kepnes, You ran for five seasons, first premiering in 2018 on Lifetime before moving to Netflix, who became its home streaming platform.
In You, Joe fancies himself a romantic hero always ready to defend the helpless — especially if they’re a beautiful woman he develops an obsession with. However, beneath his charming facade, Joe Goldberg is a misogynist, stalker, and serial killer whose paramours are more likely to end up in a body bag than living their happily ever afters.
You ended with season 5, which saw Joe return to his native New York City. Though it seemed like Joe had more lives than a cat, and we wondered if we’d ever see him get his comeuppance, the series finale delivered in a wholly satisfying way. And nobody is happier about that than Badgley.
You’s Penn Badgley Has Always Made It Clear That Joe Goldberg Is A Terrible Person
Though it’s easy to see how so many characters in You fall for Joe Goldberg’s charms, we the audience are privy to every lurid detail about the serial killer, and at no point does the show intend for us to be in Joe’s corner. Badgley frequently shut down romanticizations of his You character, which an alarming number of viewers expressed throughout the show’s run.
This all came to a head in You‘s fifth and final season, when it became impossible to ignore Goldberg’s monstrosity. In speaking to Tudum, Badgley said this was very intentional: “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,” Badgley continued. “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.“
Indeed, Joe spends much of the show exhibiting the behavior of a softboy misogynist — meaning a person who disguises their hatred of women with performative admiration or a desire to protect them. However, as his lies unravel in season 5, and more and more women in his life see him for what he really is, the charismatic mask of Joe Goldberg is completely destroyed — just as Badgley wanted.
You Season 5 Brilliantly Shows Joe Goldberg Through His Victims’ Eyes
Just as there were viewers who romanticized Joe, there were also those who were incredulous as to how this string of smart, dynamic women could have fallen under his spell. You‘s final season not only obliterates the notion of Joe as a romantic but also shows exactly how he ensnares his romantic conquests.
Previously, the series had given us the story through Joe’s eyes, but You season 5 also gives us Brontë’s perspective. Unlike the women who came before her, Brontë went into her relationship with Joe knowing what he was, but she was still snowed by him. Joe is an expert storyteller and spun an elaborate fairytale version of events, making Brontë the heroine along the way.
But it’s not just Brontë who got to have her say, as we also saw how Kate and Marienne became disillusioned with their former romantic partner. Despite his best interests, these women did not make it onto the list of Joe Goldberg’s many victims in You, and it’s Marienne’s heart-to-heart with Brontë that forever strips the power of Joe’s illusion.
Marienne explains that Joe is a classic love bomber, showering his targets with affection and making them feel special. This feeling becomes an addictive drug that is so powerful, it’s easy to ignore Joe’s many red flags until you’re in too deep.
That’s all Brontë needs, and You‘s final episodes are full of heart-pounding tension as she tries to entrap Joe without getting killed in the process. Thankfully, she’s successful with Joe getting his just deserts — castrated and convicted for his crimes, unable to ever again fool anyone into thinking he’s their white knight.
Joe Goldberg Is Eerily Similar To Penn Badgley’s Gossip Girl Character
Given his powerhouse performance, it’s impossible to imagine anyone but Penn Badgley playing Joe Goldberg. As it turns out, Badgley was more than prepared to play the You protagonist, with his other most famous television character — Gossip Girl‘s Dan Humphrey — sharing more than a few traits with the Prince Charming serial killer.
Granted, Dan isn’t a cold-blooded killer, but like Joe, he portrays himself as a humble Nice Guy™ who would rather curl up with a good book than indulge in the lavish and privileged lifestyle of the elite. (They both want us to ignore the fact that they worm themselves into it and make no effort to leave.)
Dan also considers himself a romantic, with luminous “it” girl Serena van der Woodsen the most constant object of his affections. However, given that Dan is Gossip Girl, the anonymous blogger dishing on the scandals of Serena and her friends, it’s obvious that he doesn’t really care about her, as he consistently makes her life hell in order to further his own social agenda.
It’ll be interesting to see what Penn Badgley does next, as he’s seemingly cornered the market on swoon-worthy TV characters with a dark side. If he does play someone similar to You‘s Joe Goldberg or Gossip Girl‘s Dan Humphrey, keep your suspicions high — the actor wouldn’t want it any other way.
Source: Tudum
