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Alexandria Stanley

Professor Flynn

English 102

13 February 2023

Genre Analysis Essay based on the Netflix Series “You”

Love brings happiness to most, but what happens when love becomes dangerous and

obsessive? The Netflix series, “You” depicts how love can turn into a dangerous obsession.

“You” is a psychological thriller series based on books by author, Caroline Kepnes, developed

by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble. Joe Goldberg, the main character the show follows, is

portrayed as a good friend, neighbor, boyfriend, and a good person in general. However, it is

surprising what he is capable of. Joe has no limits when he desires a romantic partner. He

becomes dangerously obsessed with his love interests as soon as he lays his eyes on them and

will do anything to have them to himself. As an example of the psychological thriller genre, the

Netflix series, “You” is exceptional because it portrays how dangerous love can be when you are

involved with an obsessive, psychotic individual who seems harmless and includes mysterious

settings, and crime.

“You” portrays how dangerous love can be when you are involved with an obsessive,

psychotic individual like Joe. As soon as he lays his eyes on a woman that he finds attractive, he

becomes lovestruck. Guinevere Beck, who preferred to be called Beck is his love interest in

season 1, whom he fell in love with at first sight. Joe instantly became obsessed with her and

wanted to know everything about her. He even stole her phone, which she thought was lost, and

accessed all her messages and other information which showed his obsessive personality. He

found out where Beck lived as well after searching the web. “The first thing my beloved Internet
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gave me was your address, as stated by Joe (“Pilot” 08:27-08:31). When he found her address, I

panicked like he found out where I lived. It is so dangerous and scary for someone you do not

know well to find your place of residence. Joe’s delusional thoughts and feelings make him

psychotic. He does not want any woman he desires to be involved with anyone else, but him

even if he is not officially dating them yet. In his case, he does not want a beautiful stranger to be

with anyone but him. Joe believes he is the perfect person to be with Beck right away, which is

delusional to me. “I'm not a maybe. I'm the one,” as he stated in the show (“Maybe” 09:49-

09:52). He wants his lover to want him as much as he wants them, but this type of obsession is

dangerous. It is not normal to desire a person that you briefly met as strongly as Joe does. Joe

and Beck did eventually start dating, but Joe already knew a lot about her because he started

stalking Beck after only meeting her one time. His obsessive, psychotic personality makes him a

dangerous person to be involved with. A psychological thriller is not one if a character does not

have a sick, twisted personality.

Furthermore, the mysterious setting in “You” sets the tone for it to be considered a

psychological thriller. Mysterious settings are a key element in psychological thrillers. Joe’s

glass cage is the creepiest main setting in the show. It was an extremely unexpected and crazy

thing to see. Who thinks of putting a person in a glass cage? I would describe the glass cage as

Joe’s “evil lair.” It is impossible to break the glass and there is a key hidden inside that only Joe

knows about. He traps his victims in the cage and interrogates them before he kills them. His

girlfriend, Beck, was one of the people that he locked in the cage. Beck was terrified when she

found herself locked inside the glass cage after Joe had knocked her out. I was terrified as well

because I was nervous about what he would do next. He seemed a little too calm for my liking

while she freaked out. What surprised me was how he told her some of the disturbing things that
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he had done for “her” and expected her to accept it. Beck yells out. “Please don’t hurt me! You

killed them! You’re a murderer! You freak! Get away from me!” because she is so afraid he

might do the same to her (“Bluebeard’s Castle” 09:03- 09:12). Joe trying to justify what he did to

“protect” her is manipulative. Joe says he will do anything for the people he loves, but it is really

for his own good. Locking people in the glass cage seems to be Joe’s coping mechanism when he

feels betrayed, angry, or does not want his evil ways to catch up with him.

Additionally, Joe has blood on his hands quite a few times throughout the series. He

commits one of the most serious crimes in the world. A psychological thriller usually involves a

character committing some type of heinous crime. Joe is a serial killer, who has murdered his

lovers and people that they are close to. Joe comes across as a genuine guy with nothing to hide,

but he is a serial killer with many dark secrets. Specifically, in season 1, Joe murders Benji and

Peach, two of the closest people to Beck because he believed that they were in the way of his and

Beck’s relationship. He covered up Benji’s and Peach’s murders so well that it is scary.

However, only one person finds out the truth about the undercover villain. The grand finale of

season 1 is Joe murdering his lover Beck because she found out the truth about him. Beck found

his trophy box full of items that incriminated him. This scene was so nerve-racking and had me

on the edge of my seat because I kept thinking “Joe is coming, Joe is coming!” Beck finding

those disturbing items was one of my favorite scenes because it was so intense. As I watched the

scene, I thought about how psycho Joe truly is to keep that box of “murder souvenirs” as I would

call them. In the scene, Beck says, “No, no, no, no, no, ah!” as she looks through the box

(“Candace” 40:33- 40:51). The emotion on Beck’s face made me want to jump through the

screen to comfort and save her at that moment. Joe got a hold of her. To keep his secrets safe,

they had to be buried with her. Beck’s death was the most unexpected to me because Joe was so
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obsessed and dangerously in love with her. I did not think he would kill her, but I was sadly

mistaken. This shows that despite the love he had for her, protecting himself and his dark secrets

was more important to him.

In summary, “You” is an exceptional tv series in the psychological thriller genre because

it highlights the dangers of love when you are involved with an obsessive, psychotic person like

Joe Goldberg. The mysterious settings and crime included in the show are also key elements

included in psychological thrillers so that puts the series at the top of the psychological thriller

list. “You” is a show that will have you on the edge of your seat because the events that take

place are so unexpected. The show will even frighten you because the protagonist, Joe, does

things that are out of this world. He is a stone-cold killer, who will even kill the one he loves.
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Works Cited

“Bluebeard’s Castle.” You, developed Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, season 1, episode 10,

A&E Studios/Alloy Entertainment/Berlanti Productions/Warner Horizon TV, 2018,

Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/80212210.

“Candace." You, developed by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, season 1, episode 9, A&E

Studios/Alloy Entertainment/Berlanti Productions/Warner Horizon TV, 2018, Netflix,

www.netflix.com/watch/80212209.

“Maybe.” You, developed by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, season 1, episode 3, A&E

Studios/Alloy Entertainment/Berlanti Productions/Warner Horizon TV, 2018, Netflix,

www.netflix.com/watch/80212203.

“Pilot.” You, developed by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, season 1, episode 1, A&E

Studios/Alloy Entertainment/Berlanti Productions/Warner Horizon TV, 2018, Netflix,

www.netflix.com/watch/80212201.