Actor Penn Badgley, who plays Joe Goldberg in "You," poses at an event.

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Why ‘You’ Fans Say They’re Done ‘Romanticizing’ Penn Badgley’s Joe Goldberg After Season 4 Finale

"You" fans say they will never romanticize the main character, Penn Badgley's Joe Goldberg, again after watching the season 4 finale.

by Grace Turney

Published on March 13, 2023

3 min read

‘You’ season 4 shows a dramatic shift in Penn Badgley’s Joe Goldberg

Season 4 of You is full of twists and turns, especially in the second batch of episodes Netflix released on March 9.

In previous seasons, protagonist Joe Goldberg has (ostensibly) killed in order to protect himself or the person he loves (with several mishaps along the way).

The first half of season 4 introduces a new twist: Penn Badgley’s Joe is the one being stalked by a murderer who becomes known as the “Eat the Rich” killer.

However, by the end of the season, it is revealed that Joe was the killer all along. He doesn’t murder solely to protect himself or others and must reconcile with this new self-awareness. Although he at first tries to “end the cycle” by taking his own life, he ultimately chooses to embrace his dark side, potentially setting the Netflix series up for a very different Joe in season 5.

‘You’ fans said they are done ‘romanticizing’ Joe Goldberg after season 4

After watching You season 4, fans of the Netflix show say they have changed their minds about Penn Badgley’s Joe Goldberg. They discussed the character in a Reddit thread titled, “I hate to admit that only after finishing S4 have I stopped romanticizing Joe.”

“This season really showed Joe for Joe, and how evil he actually is, before we were shoved into his pov so hard we were kind of rationalizing his actions along with him making him likeable [sic] and seemingly misunderstood,” wrote one fan.

Others said that seeing Joe with money and power at the end of season 4 changed their perspective. “I do wonder how much of the ‘underdog’ trope played out and how many people needed to see him in position of power to somehow only then realise [sic] he’s an abusive violent monster,” said another fan.

Some said that Joe killing abusers kept him somewhat sympathetic. “… What helped keep him likeable [sic] to some people was that he was killing people like Ron and Henderson,” another fan wrote. “The whole protecting children like him from abusive people but this season really took all of that away so there was no hiding behind that any more.”

And others said they saw Joe as “redeemable” until the season 4 finale. “I think because on some level, the writers have written him pretty well where you can understand why he’s doing what he’s doing, and it helps that he himself seems to have some level of self awareness and shame,” one fan wrote. “Maybe we were all holding out hope that he was redeemable. That kinda all went to s*** after that last episode though.”

Penn Badgley said his Netflix character makes fans ‘reflect more on themselves’

The You star has condemned romanticizing his character, although he understands why fans may have forgiven Joe in previous seasons – he is written and portrayed as a likable character. But Penn Badgley also thinks Joe Goldberg causes fans to dig deeper within their own psyches.

“This is a person who’s unconsciously and sometimes consciously repeating patterns of abuse and trauma. Joe causes the viewer to reflect more on themselves and wonder, ‘Why do I like this guy so much no matter what he does?’” Badgley said in a 2019 interview with ET. “I feel like what I hear from a lot of people is, ‘What is wrong with me?’ They’re not asking what’s wrong with him and I like that. If a piece of art you’re a part of can inspire that kind of reflection, that’s interesting.”

The Gossip Girl star also noted, “In a way, Joe is a great cultural touchpoint to say, ‘We still have a lot of work to do.’”