‘You’: What Kind of Serial Killer is Joe Goldberg?
Netflix‘s original thriller series You follows serial killer Joe Goldberg as he stalks, obsesses over, and wins the love of different women. While Joe is only a fictional character, it’s hard to ignore the reality that he shares many characteristics with the most terrifying, real serial killers in history. Serial killers can be broken down into a number of subtypes, so what kind is Joe?
What are the different types of serial killers?
Even though no two serial killers are the same, we can make some generalizations about their shared traits and motivations. According to Crime Museum, serial killers can be classified into three distinct subgroups based on their traits: the organized, the disorderly, and the mixed. Organized serial killers are usually well-educated, charismatic, and seem to live normal lives.
These killers meticulously plot their crimes in advance, and once they’ve been carried out, they typically destroy any evidence that could lead police to their doorsteps. Examples of well-known organized serial killers include Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and the BTK Killer.
In contrast to the meticulous planning of an organized serial murderer, the disorganized serial killer leaves many clues at crime scenes. The killings typically occur in a random act of violence, with no prior planning, and the victim’s body is often left at the scene. Some examples of famous disorganized offenders are Edmund Kemper, Jack the Ripper, and Jeffrey Dahmer.
Mixed offenders exhibit characteristics that are shared by both organized and disorganized killers. For instance, the killer might have a plan and bring murder weapons and gloves, but the crime scene will be a mess if the plan doesn’t work.
Is Joe Goldberg an organized or disorganized serial killer?
Joe is a mixed serial killer. He has many of the characteristics of an organized killer in that he blends into society reasonably well and covers up his murders as diligently as possible. We see him in You Season 1 cleaning up his murders of Beck’s friends.
Joe does these killings intentionally and sometimes with a loose plan beforehand, which he conceives by stalking his victims. He’s also charismatic, kidnaps victims, and seems like a totally normal guy on the surface.
Joe can also be pretty disorganized in that he doesn’t fully plan every murder in advance and sometimes doesn’t think through all steps of covering up his crimes. He also keeps “trophies” or other pieces of evidence from his victims that could incriminate him. Remember when he left a jar of his own urine at Peach’s house?
What type of serial killer is Joe Goldberg in terms of motive?
According to This Interests Me, there are four main types of serial killers when it comes to motives—visionary, mission-oriented, hedonistic, and power/control. Visionary killers claim that voices or visions told them to kill. Mission-oriented serial killers kill with the goal of getting rid of a specific group of people from society.
Hedonistic serial killers are motivated by things like sexual gratification, financial gain, or an intense need for excitement. Power/control serial killers are motivated by a desire to prove their superiority over their victims. This type of murderer typically kills as a way to overcome feelings of helplessness and inadequacy.
Joe fits the profile of a visionary serial killer in that he deludes himself into thinking he is “ridding” his love interests of people he thinks negatively impact their lives. On the other hand, Joe is also a power and control killer in that he kills to feel more in control of his relationships and thus kills people close to his love interests that might threaten his ability to control the situation.
