[This article contains spoilers for the finale of You season 5.]
Since soft-boy-slash-serial-killer Joe Goldberg, the antihero of Netflix’s You, first appeared on our screens in 2018, he’s proven himself to be one of television’s most prolific serial killers (a dubious accolade, we know) all while still finding time to pontificate about literature in the most pretentious way possible.
So, as the final season of You drops on our screens, we’re here to give you an FYI on every character Joe Goldberg has killed across the show’s five seasons. Be warned, it’s time to buckle in for a long af list.
Joe Goldberg’s pattern? He finds an attractive young woman with a passion for the arts, a troubled past and, often, a shitty boyfriend.
From that point he falls into a cycle of idolizing, stalking, and love-bombing said young woman and killing everyone who stands between his happily-ever-after with her. The major obstacle to said happily-ever-after, however? When he realizes the object of his affections isn’t perfect, he’ll often kill her.
Over the course of the show, he kills a total of 22 people, see our breakdown (season by season below).
Season 1
In You‘s first season, Joe Goldberg is working in a bookshop in NYC when he meets Guinevere Beck, a beautiful creative writing graduate student and part-time yoga teacher. Joe becomes obsessed and sets out to start a relationship with her, in typical serial killer fashion: here’s who he kills throughout the season.
Benji Ashby: Joe’s first on-screen victim his Beck’s rich, selfish, shallow boyfriend Benji who he lures to the bookshop, kidnaps, and locks in the box in the basement. He eventually kills him by giving him a coffee laced with peanuts, which Benji is allergic to.
Peach Salinger: Joe also kills Peach, Beck’s stunning and wealthy friend who is also obsessively in love with Beck. After attempting to kill her by assaulting her with a rock when jogging, Joe then shoots her and stages a suicide.
Elijah Thornton: Elijah Thornton is the man with whom Joe’s ex, Candace, cheated on him. In a flashback, it’s revealed that Joe pushed him off a roof.
Ron: Ron is the abusive boyfriend of Joe’s neighbor. Joe kills Ron by stabbing him in the neck during an altercation.
Guinevere Beck: When Guinevere discovers Joe’s creepy box of mementos from his stalking era, he locks her up in the bookshop basement’s box. She struggles to get free, briefly manages to lock Joe up, and then when Joe escapes he kills her (though the method is not revealed).
Season 2
In You‘s second season, Joe has assumed the identity of Will Bettelheim and has moved to Los Angeles where he starts to work at Anavrin (which seems suspiciously like Erewhon) and meets Love Quinn, a chef who turns out to also have murderous inclinations and who murders characters Delilah as well as Joe’s ex girlfriend Candace.
Jasper: Jasper is attempting to collect debt owed by the real Will Bettelheim, whose identity Joe has assumed. Jasper attempts to kill Joe, thinking he is Will, and Joe ends up stabbing him to death.
Henderson: Joe also kills Henderson, a famous comedian who secretly targets and sexually abuses teenage girls.
Joe’s mother’s boyfriend: In a flashback it’s revealed that Joe’s first murder victim was his mother’s abusive boyfriend.
Season 3
In season 3, Joe and Love move to the suburbs and have a baby. Joe becomes fascinated with neighbor Natalie Engler, who Love murders, and then librarian Marienne.
Ryan: Joe murders Marienne’s ex-husband Ryan by stabbing him in the chest.
Love Quinn: Joe and Love come to blows at the end of You season 3. Love attempts to drug Joe and kill him with a meat cleaver, but Joe fatally poisons her, burns their house down and sends out a suicide note and confession from Love’s email.
Season 4
In season 4, Joe is teaching at an English university under the alias Jonathan Moore. He develops a fascination with art dealer Kate, the girlfriend to his co-worker Malcolm Harding, and her rich friends. The season follows Joe as he is taunted by the so-called ‘Eat the Rich’ killer who is killing off Kate’s friend and who, surprise, turns out to be Joe! But, it’s not just Joe, it’s actually Joe hallucinating that he is politician Rhys Montrose.
Malcolm Harding: Malcolm is found stabbed dead on a table, after Joe killed him in a blackout.
Simon Soo: Also stabbed to death by Joe.
Vic: The bodyguard to Lady Phoebe, Vic attempts to kill Joe after suspecting he is the murderer and Joe ends up strangling him to death.
Gemma: Gemma is the first friend to die at Lady Phoebe’s Hampsie estate. Her body is found by Kate and it’s later revealed that Joe slit her throat.
Rhys Montrose: Joe thinks Rhys Montrose is the Eat the Rich killer so he imprisons, tortures and ultimately murders him, but it turns out Joe has been hallucinating! While Joe thinks he and Rhys know one another, they do not, and Rhys is not the killer, it’s Joe.
Hugo: Joe murders Hugo, the bodyguard to Tom Lockwood, Kate’s father, when Hugo walks in on him trying to kill Tom.
Tom Lockwood: Kate’s rich and powerful father, who Joe murders by suffocating with a plastic bag after knocking him out and tying him to a chair.
Eddie: Eddie is a student who attempts to investigate and unmask Joe, Joe then kills him and frames fellow student Nadia for the murder.
Season 5
The final season of You sees Joe married to Kate, who is filthy rich following Joe’s murder of her tycoon father, and returned to NYC under his real name. Thanks to Kate’s connections, he has been able to cover up his crimes. He then becomes obsessed with playwright Bronte, who’s actually attempting to get revenge for the murder of Guinevere Beck.
Bob: Kate’s mentor Bob reveals he knows about her involvement in covering up Rhys Montrose’s death. Joe then kills him and stages a suicide.
Clayton: Clayton is Bronte’s ex-boyfriend, and the son of Dr. Nicky, who was framed by Joe. Joe murders him in episode 6.
Dane: Dan is an internet misogynist who attempts to abduct Bronte. Joe catches him, traps him in his killer cage, and then asks Bronte to decide his fate. Bronte opts to let him go, but Joe decides to murder him anyway.
Police officer: In the show’s finale, Joe’s love interest Bronte calls the police on him. Joe tries to kill her, unsuccessfully, but murders one of the police offers who respond to Bronte’s 9-1-1 call.
So there you have it!