The central character of Netflix’s ‘You,’ Joe Goldberg is a perfect, protective boyfriend/husband. But the big problem – he is a serial killer and a stalker. And he got away with it every single time and had a chance to restart his life every time he killed his girlfriend. Joe Goldberg, Will Bettelheim, and Jonathan Moore- the man who killed his girlfriends each time he took up a new name.
The psycho-thriller series is based on the novel written by Caroline Kepnes, starring Penn Badgley as the protagonist. Joe tends to protect his partner but gets so blinded by love that he becomes obsessed with them and goes to great lengths just to cover his track. But with each season, his pattern gets repetitive. But the question still remains what got him into this mess in the first place?
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‘You’: What Happened During Joe Goldberg’s Childhood?
Joe Goldberg is a delusional and obsessive man who does not respect anyone’s boundaries. He goes to intense lengths just to prove that the women in his life need him to protect them. He lies, steals, kidnaps, and even kills just to become an ideal boyfriend. His insanity begins when his first girlfriend Candace gets caught cheating on him, which paves way for his second murder. Joe is a grey character and a peek into his past might explain his obsession with protecting a damsel in distress.
The first thing to be cleared is that it’s only Joe Goldberg who thinks that the girls are damsels in distress and that somehow it is his responsibility to protect them. Joe comes from an abusive and dysfunctional background. His father was a violent man who attacks his mother frequently cheating on him. One fine day when he discovers a gun in his mother’s closet, she promises him to kill her husband and finally be free of the abusive relationship.
But instead of waiting for his mother, Joe takes the situation into his own hands and kills his father. And somehow the pattern begins. The second instance happens when Joe is at the group home and his teacher is being abused by her boyfriend. Hence Joe cannot withstand the abuse and again believes it’s his responsibility to protect her. A similar pattern is seen in his relationship with Beck, Love Quinn, and Marianne.
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Does Joe Goldberg Suffer From Psychological Disorders?
With so many murders and obsessive behavior one cannot skip over the thought of Joe suffers from psychological disorders. The fans call him a psychopath but mental health experts reveal that he suffers from far more complicated disorders. From a clinical perspective psychopath does not hold much meaning cause it’s just a general term, hence the experts break down the disorders season-wise.
In season one of ‘You‘, Joe Goldberg shows the textbook signs of codependency, narcissism, and anti-social disorder. According to the National Institutes of Health, people with antisocial personality disorder lack empathy, which results in their actions in ways that society considers morally unsound, like manipulating others to get what they want or violating another’s privacy. And in season one Joe Goldberg clearly embodies both these conditions. When he kills Benji, Beck’s ex-boyfriend, and also kills her best friend Peach Salinger with the intention to get closer to Beck.
As season 2 gets deeper into Joe Goldberg’s past, we see symptoms of attachment disorders. Attachment disorders develop in early childhood when the child suffers from an unhealthy relationship with the family. From antisocial disorder, the focus shifts to attachment disorder- a clear representation of misdiagnosis, which the series You showcased a quite realistic portrayal. The flashbacks into Joe’s childhood explain the root cause of his behavior and actions. Season two of ‘You‘ actually proves that Joe does have empathy and hence it is his turbulent childhood which made him a twisted and psychotic man.
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