‘You’ Creators Have Wanted Joe Goldberg in a University for Years
Joe Goldberg has a new profession in You Season 4. Throughout the series, Joe’s love of books and academia has been apparent, but he’s never been able to fully flex his knowledge. In season 4, Joe lives in London, working as a college professor. This occupation is something the creative minds behind You have dreamed of putting Joe in for years.
‘You’ explores Joe Goldberg’s love of books
Joe Goldberg has fostered a love of books from a young age. Books were Joe’s way of escaping his difficult childhood with a neglectful mother and abusive father. They were also a source of comfort during his time in foster care.
Later, Joe was adopted by a former Soviet prison guard named Mr. Mooney, who taught him to have the utmost respect for books. Joe learned to restore books to pristine condition, but of course, Mr. Mooney also had some archaic and horrifying ideas about discipline. He locked Joe in a cage with nothing but books to pass the time.
The creative minds behind ‘You’ have wanted to put Joe Goldberg in a university for years
In You Season 4, Joe Goldberg is living in London under the name Professor Jonathan Moore. “I’m not the loveable book store manager in New York, or the shop clerk in L.A., or the doting husband in the suburbs. Not anymore,” Joe says in a teaser.
Instead he is working as a professor at a university and finally flexing his extensive knowledge of books. Seeing Joe in this setting is a satisfying step for author Caroline Kepnes, who wrote the novels on which the series is based.
“Very early on in the life of the series, [author] Caroline Kepnes told me that she envisioned him in this academic setting eventually, and I just loved that image,” showrunner Sera Gamble told Entertainment Weekly.
“So we’ve known for years that we wanted to eventually put him in a university. It’s also fun because for the first time, really, he’s talking about the books he loves so much and getting the correct level of respect that he never really got when he was a bookstore manager.”
How did Joe Goldberg become a college professor?
Of course, You fans who have been paying especially close attention might find themselves wondering how exactly Joe landed a job teaching at a university. In season 1, Joe admits he never went to college. Of course, that doesn’t mean he isn’t intelligent, but it’s hard to imagine a university hiring him without a degree of his own.
In season 2, Joe stole the identity of Will Bettelheim and kept him imprisoned in his cage. However, Joe eventually lets Will go free, and the pair formed an odd friendship. Will is skilled at making fake IDs, so perhaps Joe calls on his services to become Professor Jonathan Moore.
You Season 4 Part I premieres Feb 9, 2023, and Part II March 9, 2023, only on Netflix.
