Have you ever had a crush you just can’t shake? A wave of infatuation you can’t swim out of? On the reverse side, have you ever had a secret admirer or someone you felt like always showed up at the right time?
Unrequited love is the topic of many songs and movies alike. In the show, You, Joe Goldberg takes an interest in a new love interest. Because of his complicated love history he admires his crush from afar at first to make sure they are a good match. When Joe learns enough about who he likes, he pursues them, in his opinion, to the most chivalrous extent. To the viewer, this infatuation grows obsessive and Joe uses social media to keep close to his love interest.
I think that in each new season, Joe is challenged in a different way. Even though Joe is clearly a villain in his own story, many have said that viewers strangely end up rooting for Joe in the end on his quest the be a better person. I think this can be closely related to the show Dexter because of the similar plot of the main character believing they are good but justifying destructive behavior for what they believe is a good cause. I think that the character of Joe and the plot surrounding him is cleverly written to explore the many shades of love and obsession through the lense of Joe’s thoughts narrating the show. The flashbacks between Joe’s past and present give context to his behavior and how he thinks and the books that appear, mostly in the first season, give great foreshadowing to key points in the show.
I think that Penn Badgley portrays this character in a very charismatic way. As previously stated, many viewers end up rooting for Joe as the show progresses. I think this is because Penn Badgley’s acting lends a level of likability that extends across the character he plays. On the show he is on a quest to better himself for his love interest which involves being a part of their life as much as possible. It provides a sense of false nobility to the character.
The 4th season is now streaming on Netflix. In this season, Joe is finding himself in London. Will you be watching?