Joe Goldberg 2.0

Netflix has become a new weekend medium for most people. At first Netflix had a few movies and a few shows which we were familiar with, but Netflix built their own empire. They created “You”. A television show where the protagonist is the bad guy. Penn Badgley became a really great actor since gossip girl. It brings his career on a whole different level. We, as the audience hear the main character's inner thoughts and his logic. In season one we were introduced to this character, Joe Goldberg. We learned about his past, which is the possible reason for his sociopathic and psychopathic ways. At first, we see him trying to protect Beck, the beautiful aspiring writer. She places herself with friends that are obsessed with social media and concerned about money. Beck is a bad judge of character other than her best friend Peach. Beck casually sees a man named Benji, who only is interested in what he wants. Peach, on the other hand, knows who everyone is and when things seem “off” about someone she is the first to notice it, but does that stop Joe Goldberg from his pursuits? No, instead he finds Peach as a challenge and an obstacle between him and Beck. Peach has dark secrets of her own of course, but Joe has a way of overcoming obstacles such as Peach. The obstacles that stand between him and Beck are easily rid of. Joe does not plan any of these attacks instead he watches the target and then acts on impulse. Joe moves to Los Angeles claiming to want a fresh start to his dark, murderous past. He tells himself to not fall in love, but then of course he does. He falls in love with a girl named Love.

Joe Goldberg's stalking impulses intensify as he sets up a telescope by his apartment window to spy on her. He sees everything she does. I believe it is irony that her name is Love? Yeah, probably. Love is an interesting character because she has lost someone she loves and Joe ALMOST has the same experience. We already know that Love is smarter than Beck she knows right away when Joe is lying to her, she knows what he is thinking about by reading his expressions, whereas, Beck had a hard time reading him. Joe forms opinions much faster than he did with Beck's friends. Just by watching one or to conversations with them and how they interact with Love he decides that he likes them.

I find Joe an interesting and complex character because none of his attacks are premeditated, he acts on impulse, and I think that’s what causes him to be a dangerous person. Yet, he is getting away with murder after murder and still manages to move to a new city. Even though he claims to be someone else he keeps repeating "I am no longer that person", but yet he already has someone, Will Bettelheim captivity, whose identity Joe stole. Joe meets Will's drug dealer, gets his finger cut off, but then Joe kills the drug dealer, chops up his limbs and feeds the body to a meat grinder and tosses the remains into a dumpster. We see that even Joe's murders are becoming more violent.

In the first season we meet a child named Paco, whose mom and boyfriend fight all the time. So Paco goes into the hallway and reads. Joe befriends him and teaches him about books. Joe taught Paco that it’s okay to do terrible things for the person you love. Paco is gone because Joe moved, but now he has a new neighbor he becomes friends with a young girl named Ellie and her older sister, Delilah. He has a pattern like most serial killers do...

However, Joe is getting much more violent with his deaths. It started off with a push off the balcony. Next, an allergic reaction Joe got rid of the body by burning it in the woods. He killed Peach with a gun and made it seem like a suicide, he murdered Ron by stabbing him in the neck and then got rid of the body. Beck was kept in a cage and almost got away, but from the flash backs that Joe sees in season 2 Beck has marks around her neck, so I suspect he strangled her. Then, Rufus (the drug dealer) was killed, bodily mutated and then tossed through a meat grinder and to the dumpster. Joe’s kills as you can see are getting more and more violent by the kill. What strikes me most is that he is not a criminal mastermind but an average guy covering his serial killer tracks.

Now, in season 2 Joe has more obstacles to jump over, his ex-girlfriend that he almost killed appears from nowhere. It makes things far more complicated for him. Candace is following him and looking at his every move until he makes a mistake, so she can take him down. Joe is now forced to make his moves more calculated, which Joe is not accustomed to doing. What shocked me was that Joe had let Will go, I was waiting for Joe to kill him in some manner, but instead he takes the high road. I think that Will will come back and somehow manage to get him back.

Maybe Joe has changed? but, I do not think that is possible. He is still paranoid and constantly following Love. Henderson's murder was harder to cover up with Ellie passed out in the next room. Joe attends a funeral of Henderson nothing can be better defined as returning to the scene of the crime. There is a re occurring theme with siblings, Joe seems to not understand what it means to have someone in your life that loves you as family. His family was broken, he was abandoned multiple times and when that was not enough he was abused. Joe always falls for the girl that is always the sweetest and someone who puts others above themselves. The irony is that Joe is selfish yet he thinks that "he is protecting". Joe is getting sloppier and more mistakes are being made. I hate that Joe is a good actor and he makes up stories on the spot without guilt. I want Candace to win, even though she is coming off as the crazy one to all the other people. History is repeating itself. Joe and Love broke up and the flashbacks starts...sounds familiar? Remember Beck and Joe? Then, look at him being once again protective of his neighbors? It is all the same and Joe is telling himself that it is all different...but old habits die hard right?