Joe Goldberg’s Darkest Quote Is the Scariest Line in You’s History

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Though it ended in 2025 after five intense seasons, Netflix’s ‘You’ had a lasting impact on audiences. The series, adapted from Caroline Kepnes’ novels, centers on Joe Goldberg, a man who appears normal but develops dangerous obsessions with women. What begins as seemingly sweet devotion quickly turns violent for those he targets. Joe repeatedly falls into this pattern—becoming fixated on women, then discarding them once he’s lost interest.

Watching You was strangely captivating, but also disturbing. The show followed Joe, a man who swung between being an ideal partner, a dangerous stalker, and a violent killer – all stemming from a difficult past and a lack of consequences for his behavior. Each season, he’d find a new woman he idealized, only for her to become trapped – or worse. You is full of genuinely terrifying scenes between Joe and his girlfriends, but one quote especially revealed just how dark his thoughts were.

You’s Most Chilling Part Was Joe’s Inner Monologue

Joe Goldberg started his career as a bookstore clerk at Mooney’s, and his life changed when Guinevere Beck walked in. Beck, a writer and graduate student at Brown University, immediately caught Joe’s obsessive attention. The story You gains much of its complexity from Joe’s internal thoughts, which are crucial for understanding his motivations and actions.

As a huge fan of both shows, I’ve noticed something really interesting about Dexter and You. While their reasons for doing what they do are totally different, the way the shows present those characters is surprisingly similar. Both Dexter and Joe seem like regular guys on the surface, but we get inside their heads through voiceovers – those monologues are key to understanding them. And it makes total sense that You uses that technique so heavily! I recently found out that’s exactly how the books were written – Caroline Kepnes used Joe’s internal thoughts all the time, and the show just brings that to life on screen.

Joe presented himself as the ideal gentleman – polite, romantic, and charming. However, his true feelings were revealed through what he actually thought. He once said, “You are a woman and I am a man and we belong in the dark together.” While seemingly innocent, this statement hinted at a disturbing underlying meaning.

You’s Darkest Quote Reflected Joe’s Horrifying Inner Thoughts

Even to himself, this idea was unsettling. It suggested Joe didn’t see his relationship with Beck as something he actively chose, but rather as something destined to happen. Unlike most people who believe relationships develop through their own choices, Joe genuinely felt he and Beck were meant to meet.

Driven by the belief that they were meant to be together, he went to extreme and disturbing lengths to involve himself in her life. He justified his actions – which included stalking, following her while intoxicated, collecting her belongings, and manipulating her feelings – with a single, self-serving idea.

His way of thinking was dangerous because he ignored the importance of consent and the specific situation when it came to love. He didn’t see Beck as a fully independent person, but simply as a woman, and himself as a man. He felt entitled to her, believing they were meant to be together, and justified any questionable actions he took to pursue her. He believed she had no right to reject his advances, and if she did, he would resort to manipulation or even violence to get her to submit.

Joe was fully aware his actions were wrong, as shown by his comment about being “in the dark together.” Even when he pretended to be innocent or apologized for hurting the women he claimed to care for, he knew he was fundamentally flawed. He excused his behavior by claiming it stemmed from passion, but he understood that any partner would be pulled into his controlling, self-centered, painful, and watchful world. While acknowledging these traits might have earned him some understanding, he consistently failed to be honest about who he was.

Joe expertly pretended to be a charming and considerate person, knowing exactly how to win women over. However, this was just a carefully constructed act concealing a web of lies, manipulation, and hidden secrets. He obsessively stalked Beck and, believing Benji was a rival, imprisoned him in a glass enclosure at Mooney’s. When Beck’s friend, Peach, began to suspect his behavior, he violently attacked her, attempting to kill her with a rock. Failing that, he broke into her family home and ultimately shot Beck with her own firearm.

Joe Goldberg couldn’t form healthy relationships. He needed to control every aspect of a woman’s life, unable to accept her independence or choices. His idea of romance was dark and twisted, and he readily drew new partners into his dangerous world. For Joe, love meant having complete control, and he believed this was the only way to connect with someone.

When Beck refused to follow his expectations and he felt hurt by her decisions, Joe kidnapped her, imprisoning her in a glass box as he had done to Benji, and ultimately killed her. Though the Netflix series avoided showing the actual murder due to its graphic nature, Caroline Kepnes’ book provided a disturbingly detailed account of his actions, highlighting just how violent and ruthless Joe was beneath the surface.

Joe Goldberg Was Ultimately Revealed to Be a Typical Misogynist Who Met the Perfect End

At first, people were willing to give Joe the benefit of the doubt. He successfully portrayed himself as a well-intentioned but misunderstood man, convincing both his romantic partners and the audience. However, his actions in the Season 3 finale – murdering his wife and child’s mother, faking his own death, and then abandoning his child to chase love abroad – definitively revealed him as the villain.

Before Beck, Joe had abused and attempted to kill Candace, burying her alive, though she survived. After Beck’s death, Candace reappeared, determined to expose Joe and get revenge, and she initially frightened him. However, both Joe and Candace underestimated their opponent when Joe met Love Quinn in Los Angeles.

She appeared to be a kind, grieving widow who enjoyed nurturing others with her cooking. However, beneath that gentle exterior lay a manipulative and frightening nature, mirroring Joe’s own. She eventually confessed she hadn’t simply met Joe by chance – she had meticulously planned their initial encounter.

Joe should have been thrilled to find someone who challenged him and eliminated Candace, but he had a pattern of wanting to control his partners. Love’s own dark side mirrored his, and when she didn’t fit the perfect image he had in mind, he began to seek attention elsewhere, becoming fixated on two other women.

Natalie, a neighbor of theirs, experienced something similar to what Beck went through with Love. Marienne also narrowly escaped danger. Meanwhile, Joe transformed into a true serial killer with a hidden personality after relocating to London, where he found love with Kate, who ultimately helped him stop his destructive behavior.

It quickly became apparent that Joe wasn’t the sensitive, brooding hero he believed himself to be, especially after he told Bronte she was worthless without him. He clearly believed a woman’s worth depended on her relationship with a man, and this deeply prejudiced view ultimately caused fans to turn on him by the end of the show.

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2026-01-24 01:11