You want to know who’s the absolute worst? Joe from You.
Granted, I do enjoy the show. I have for four seasons, and have gotten some pretty interesting questions, ideas, and twists that have made the show even more fun to watch. That, partnered with the great acting from Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, You is enjoyable to watch no matter how you feel about Joe. But let’s be honest, Joe is a pretty creepy dude.
And I’m not just talking about the fact that Joe kills people. Nah. Joe has a whole laundry list of evil things that he has done besides murder, and today, we’re going to talk about them, from Season 1, all the way to the end of Season 4 – and who knows? Maybe Season 5 will be adding some more despicable things to this. Let’s get into it.
When He Attacked Peach In The Park
We could talk about how Joe poisoned Beck’s boyfriend in the very first episode of You, but that involves murder, so we’re going to talk about the next major thing that Joe did that was pretty evil in You Season 1 – and that was attacking Peach, Beck’s closest friend.
Even though Peach herself was a little obsessive with Beck, as we saw, she, at least, didn’t stalk her like Joe did. However, Joe saw her as a threat, and in a heat of the moment decision, he slammed a rock into Peach’s head from behind, without her seeing, thinking that he killed her, when in reality she actually was just knocked unconscious. Pretty bad thing to start out on. Just shows how shocking he can be.
When He Kept Beck’s Phone To Monitor Her Texts
In the grand scheme of literally everything that Joe has done in You, this in and of itself doesn’t seem super evil, but it’s still pretty despicable. Joe ended up stealing Beck’s phone during Season 1 to keep an eye on her and monitor her texts, just because he could.
It’s not incredibly nefarious, but it’s certainly something that would rub me the wrong way, and it does obviously when Beck finds the phone later on in the season. Nobody wants to be spied on like that.
And When He Used Beck’s Writing To Frame Dr. Nicky
Can I just say that the fact that Dr. Nicky was only used for this season was a crime? I would have loved to see John Stamos return in a way to get revenge on Joe. But either way, we need to talk about the first time Joe seriously framed someone for his crimes, and that was with Dr. Nicky.
The therapist that was helping Beck ended up having an affair with her, and Joe being Joe, framed Dr. Nicky for his own crimes after he killed Beck, using her writing to do the job. It was almost a perfect way for him to not get caught – and truly showed just the beginning of the lengths he was willing to go.
When He Sent Ellie Off With Barely Any Help
Jenna Ortega as Ellie was one of the best parts of Season 2 of You, and I’m sad that we haven’t had the chance to see her again. But, like, did we forget that Joe literally sent her off without any family?
Joe locked Delilah in his stupid glass box and then Love ended up killing her to save Joe because she was obsessively in love with him and wanted to make sure he wouldn’t get caught. Therefore, that left Ellie without her older sister and then Joe just decided to send her off on her way so that way, she would be “safe,” but this girl was a legit teenager. Sending her off on her own is the dumbest decision I ever could have seen.
And When He Covered For Love (More Than Once)
Okay, look, I loved Victoria Pedretti as Love, and I was flabbergasted at the fact that she somehow matched Joe’s energy throughout her time on the show. And yes, I was one of the many people who was disappointed when Joe killed her at the end of Season 3 – something that needed to be remembered before Season 4.
But let’s be honest – Love could get a little unpredictable, if not even more dangerous than Joe. She pretty much killed as many people as he could, but Joe always found a way to cover for her, never turning her into the authorities. Maybe it was because of the power of her family, but at the same time, I can’t deny that at least something should have been done before he killed her.
When He Left His Son Because He Thought It Was Safer
I know that Joe thought leaving Henry with a safe caretaker probably doesn’t sound like a super evil thing to do, but I personally think it’s pretty crappy of him. Joe left Henry for his own selfish reasons. If anything, he could have taken him somewhere, started a new life, and forgotten all about Marienne.
But nope, he felt the need to leave his son behind all because he A) wanted to chase after Marienne and B) thought that doing so would make Henry a better person. I fully believe that if Joe had kept his son, I don’t think the events of Season 4 would have happened, because he truly did love Henry deep down. I don’t get it.
Every Single Time He Has Stalked People
I mean, obviously. Who wants to be stalked? The way Joe does it almost blows my mind – how is it that most of the time, he is never caught? Literally just hiding underneath a baseball cap. And yet somehow, he always gets away without being noticed.
Stalking someone is never a fun time, but doing so repeatedly is a pretty bad problem, my guy.
Every Time He Put Someone In A Box
That damn box has seen more bodies in it than anyone, both dead and alive. Every single time Joe has ever put someone in this box, it has always been for a bad reason, whether to trap the “love of his life” in order to keep her there from turning him in or, you know, running from him, or to keep someone under control. Only a fair few have survived their time in the box.
Marienne from Season 4 (opens in new tab) was one of the few that thankfully made it out, due to the brilliant mind of Nadia, and hopefully we’ll see Tati Gabrielle next season. But most end up either dead, because Joe wants to keep them hidden away and save his butt. It’s pretty bad.
When He Framed Nadia
Hands down, this is the most evil thing Joe has done that doesn’t necessarily involve him murdering someone directly – more like indirectly. In the You Season 4 ending, when Nadia and her boyfriend find some pretty incriminating evidence on Joe, he is able to stop the boyfriend and kill him. Joe doesn’t kill Nadia, but he ends up calling the cops on her and placing the knife in her hand, framing her for his crimes.
She doesn’t stand up for herself or deny anything, from what we learn later. And Joe now has the connections that Kate has, and is a lot more okay doing dirty work when he has too. He’s turned into a full villain framing an innocent girl, and I can’t stand behind that.
With You Season 5 confirmed, I don’t know what the heck Joe is going to do next to make me not like him at all despite some people out there loving him. But hey, he’s back in New York City now – and God only knows what he’s going to get up to with that new bookstore he bought.