Fans think Joe Goldberg is a psychopath, but mental health experts believe otherwise.
One of Netflix's most beloved series, You, follows the life of Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), a bookshop manager who carries a history of being obsessed with women. He stalks them and conjures up scenarios to win them over.
When in a relationship, he strives to become their "protector," seeking vengeance on anybody who he suspects mistreated the lady, even if that revenge involves murder.
Fans believe Joe Goldberg from Netflix's You is a psychopath.
Source: Pop Sugar
In the debut season, Joe gets convinced Guinevere Beck is his one true love, a soulmate, so to speak. It's implied, though, he felt the same way in the past about another girl, Candace, which ended in tragedy.
Joe knows what he can about Beck by tracking her social media pages. He imagines their future together as he comes up with strategic plans to win her heart.
While Beck is entirely unaware, her new boyfriend tries to influence her life by manipulating her friends.
You Might Like: ‘The Big Bang Theory’ – Did Penny Really Sleep with Raj?
Peach, Beck's best mate, sees beyond Joe's sweet disguise and seeks to warn Beck, but ends up biting the dust. Another target of Joe's obsessive attitude is Benji, Beck's ex, who too ends up dead.
In the second season of the Netflix drama You, Joe switches attention to another girl after a horrific ending with Beck. This time, he falls for Love Quinn, someone with just as many mental disorders as Joe himself.
Naturally, many fans assume Joe is a psychopath, despite the fact that there is no explanation of it in the script.
Joe isn't mentally stable, but as stated by experts, he isn't actually a psychopath. In fact, Joe is clearly displaying the traits of numerous disorders.
Pamela Rutledge, a social scientist, told Insider:
Joe seems to be an amalgam of personality traits at abnormal levels that are constructed to make a good story and create a character that elicits a certain amount of empathy.
We need to remember 'You' is merely a TV show, and the characters are fictional. In the opinion of Rutledge, Joe seems to display signs of an antisocial personality disorder as well as a narcissistic personality disorder. However, such people in real life are few and far between.
A second expert told the same paper that the backstory we've seen in season 2 shows Joe's got several issues with attachment because of his traumatic childhood. He was locked in a box, after all, by the guy who was meant to be his father figure.
Also See: ‘House of the Dragon’ – Paddy Considine To Play King Viserys Targaryen
Irrespective of the technical terms or diagnosis that the viewers claim of Joe, thankfully, most of the fans concur his personality is not nice or appealing in any shape or form.
Although watching these kinds of stories on screens is fun, it's never okay to act like this in real life. No one should be fine with such behavior, no matter how good-looking the person is.
Visit Celebs In-depth for more interesting news of your favorite shows.
