*WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!!*
The show ‘You’ is a very popular, four season psychological thriller that is aired on Netflix. This show is based around the main character Joe Goldberg, who would do anything to get involved in the lives of those that he obsesses over. Joe and ‘You’ quickly gain a lot of fans who obsess over him like he does with his victims, yet he is ever so clearly a criminal. It is clear from the beginning of the show that Joe is a psychopath who will remove any obstacle that is in his way of finding that love he desires, including human beings (Agard). Throughout the four seasons of the show, Joe murders a lot of people and commits plenty of other crimes along the way; but in his eyes it is all in the name of love.
Joe fits the book definition of a criminal – but the big question is how do the writers want us to truly feel about and see Joe? Most viewers of the show express their love for him in reviews regardless of the awful crimes he commits in each episode; so why is it that empathy is felt for this criminal?
How does someone get rid of a body? The things someone does for love
My no-guilt life
The entire show is narrated from Joe’s point of view, showing the viewers from episode one who . The writers tell the viewers his wants through the explanation of the seeking of love, and the entire storyline is based on Joe’s wants. These wants of Joe’s are that he is looking for the perfect girl to love and form a happy life with. Because the viewers understand what Joe wants, it is easier to empathize with his feelings and some of the choices he makes. These want’s of Joes are important for the viewers to recognize and help understand why he believes that committing endless amounts of crimes does not make him a criminal.
Joe has his wants, but his personal needs are just as important. These needs are to put his past and trauma behind him so no one else gets hurt in his future, and is mentioned countless times throughout the series. Joe’s trauma about his childhood is talked about often during season one and two, which makes the viewers sympathize with how he was treated then and how he acts now. Joe grew up with an abusive father and a mother who only cared for him when it was convenient for her. This leads to Joe shooting and killing his father, trying to protect the women in his life that he loved the most: his mother. Getting background information like this on Joe makes it easier for the viewers to feel bad for him and his upbringing, blaming his faults on this trauma.
But why do we, the viewers, feel bad for Joe?
If you have seen the show, you know that Joe has quite a few love interests throughout the seasons and it is very easy for him to become attached to someone. Most of these victims fall into the same category of becoming trapped, with Joe either outsmarting them or murdering them. Joe’s love interest in season two and three ironically has the name of Love. Love and Joe eventually marry and have a baby in season three, which is Joe’s dream come true. However, Love turns out to be the not so perfect girl for Joe when he realizes she is a psychopath just like him.
Love was added into the show to help make viewers take their criminal thoughts away from Joe and focus on Love and her criminal behaviors. The viewers are tricked into believing Love is an awful person that Joe had to escape from, and that she is the true criminal. Because it is now three seasons deep and it has all been narrated by Joe, the viewers know he wants to change and do better so we continue to forgive (Regan). It is a normal thing for people to want to cheer on those who are trying to change themselves, right? With a mentality of wanting change and the viewers being on the edge of their seats awaiting that change, it’s difficult to view the character as a real criminal.
Gaslighting is a common occurrence in psychopaths like Joe, to help get what he wants and feel as if he is in total control. A psychologist “diagnosed” the character of Joe, listing that he had antisocial personality traits and borderline personality disorder traits (Buzzfeed). More about Joe’s diagnosis can be found here. It is often seen that serial killers are charming, they had a lot of friends and did a lot of activities, no one would have ever guessed they were capable of doing such a crime. The creators want the viewers to catch on to how Joe is represented as a psychopathic criminal, but try to mask all the criminal offenses with narcissistic characteristics that come with feelings of wanting to provide empathy towards him.
Humans are attracted to psychopaths and their behaviors, but why? Empathy is a strong feeling and if you feel empathy for someone, it often will hook you in. Love bombing and narcissistic behaviors towards a vulnerable person will make a psychopath seem like the perfect person to date (Regan). Sarah Regan discusses these reasons and more in her post here.
It all comes back to the main question: why do we feel bad and have love for Joe Goldberg? The casting of the character Joe plays a huge role in his representation of a criminal. Joe is played by Penn Badgley, a white male who is seen as attractive. The creators of the show knew what they were doing when picking an attractive actor rather than someone who is seen as average. A halo effect is used when thinking about attractive heterosexual males (Buzzfeed). Throughout the semester, analyzing criminals through visuals was strongly used. We looked at criminals who were in jail but because they looked cleaned up and had a fun background in their photo, we would never have guessed that they are in jail serving time for a crime they committed. Because the character Joe is attractive, viewers try to look past his criminal aspects as much as possible to try to find something good about him.
Discussion Questions:
- Do you believe that is easy to view criminals less like criminals simply because of their past trauma and upbringings? Is it easy to feel that empathy for them?
- Do shows and movies glorify criminals? If you have seen ‘You’, do you think the creators do a good job in trying to make you not like Joe Goldberg?
- Are there any “famous” criminals that come to mind who Joe reminds you of? Why does Joe remind you of said criminals?
References:
Agard, Chancellor. “Joe Goldberg Is Back for a Bloody Good Time in ‘You’ This February.” Netflix Tudum, Netflix Tudum, 28 Nov. 2022, https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/you-season-4-release-date-joe-goldberg-london.
Daily, BuzzFeed. “We Had a Psychologist ‘Diagnose’ Joe from ‘You’ and It Seems Pretty Accurate.” BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, 25 Oct. 2021, https://www.buzzfeed.com/daily/netflix-you-joe-murderer-sociopath-psychopath-psychologist
Deathly Dark Joe quotes from ‘You’ on Netflix (season 4). Deathly Dark Joe Quotes From YOU On Netflix (Season 4). 10 Feb. 2023, https://noguiltlife.com/dark-joe-quotes-from-you-on-netflix/
Regan, Sarah. “Why We Fall for Psychopaths like Joe Goldberg on Netflix’s ‘You.’” Mindbodygreen, Mindbodygreen, 29 June 2021, https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/why-do-we-fall-for-psychopaths
You, developed by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, Warner Brothers. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/search?q=you&jbv=80211991
