In the Netflix psychological thriller You, Joe Goldberg kills multiple people across seasons, though the first and most consequential killing is his childhood neighbor and initial obsession, Guinevere Beck. Joe murders Beck in the woods near their hometown after her obsessive behavior and betrayal escalate threats to his carefully constructed identity. This foundational act establishes his pattern of eliminating anyone who disrupts his relationship goals or challenges his delusions of compatibility. Subsequent seasons introduce additional kills as Joe relocates to New York and Los Angeles, but the core answer to "who Joe kills" always returns to Beck as the first and most narratively pivotal victim.
Primary Victim: Guinevere Beck
Context and Motive
Joe kills Beck in the woods near their Pennsylvania hometown. After Beck discovers Joe’s digital dossier and publicizes his intrusive past, Joe frames her for a crime he stages to look like self-defense. The murder crystallizes Joe’s willingness to eliminate anyone who sees through his curated persona. This act is not spontaneous but the culmination of his pathological need to control narrative and identity.
Narrative Consequences
- Establishes Joe’s moral baseline and capacity for premeditated violence.
- Drives law-enforcement suspicion, particularly in the investigation led by local sheriff Mitch Turner.
- Creates the central mystery that propounds the first season’s tension between Joe’s charm and his culpability.
Later Season Victims
Season 2: Love and Obsession in New York
In New York, Joe enters a relationship with Love Quinn, whose family’s criminality introduces new moral stakes. He kills several figures who threaten his connection to Love or expose his duplicity, including local rivals and, critically, Love’s abusive ex-husband, Rhys. These kills reinforce Joe’s pattern of positioning himself as Love’s protector while erasing obstacles to their shared delusion of a perfect partnership.
| Victim | Season | Location | Immediate Narrative Consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guinevere Beck | 1 | Hollowfield, PA woods | Joe becomes a murder suspect; investigation begins |
| Rhys | 2 | New York | Removes direct threat to Joe–Love bond; deepens family entanglement |
| Candace Stone (attempted) | 3 | New York/LA | Demonstrates Joe’s expanding paranoia and reach |
| Matthew Turner | 4 | Theory, Texas | Extends Joe’s pattern into new setting; raises stakes for family safety |
Season 3: Purity and Pursuit in the Northwest
Joe follows Love to the Pacific Northwest, where he targets cult leader Forty and other figures who interfere with his vision of family. His willingness to kill escalates as he seeks to eliminate ideological threats and replace anyone incapable of matching his idealized self-image. Here, Joe’s victims reflect his evolving rationale: anyone who complicates his fantasy of purification becomes disposable.
Season 4: Texas and the Final Arc
In Texas, Joe’s relationship with Kate and his fixation on their son Jude lead to more violence. He eliminates opponents tied to his past and present, including figures who threaten Jude or challenge his role as family protector. This season reframes earlier kills within a longer genealogy of trauma, showing how Joe continually recreates the same pattern across geographies and relationships.
Behavioral Pattern and Motivation
Obsession as Strategy
Joe’s kills follow a consistent logic: he targets individuals who expose his insecurity or disrupt his narrative of love and redemption. Early murders like Beck’s arise from fear of rejection and exposure; later kills respond to perceived betrayal by partners or allies. Each victim becomes a symbol of the threat Joe feels, justifying in his mind the necessity of removal.
Delusion of Exceptionalism
- Joe frames his violence as protective or corrective, casting himself as the only one who truly understands those around him.
- He maintains a curated persona that depends on erasing anyone who challenges his story, making murder a tool of identity preservation.
- The series consistently links Joe’s kills to his inability to process vulnerability or accept mutual, healthy love.
Investigation and Accountability
Law Enforcement Perspectives
Across seasons, investigators such as Mitch Turner and later law-enforcement figures in New York and Texas gradually connect Joe to multiple disappearances and murders. The show contrasts Joe’s confident manipulation with the procedural realities of tracing his movements, digital footprints, and relationships. This tension drives much of the suspense while underscoring the real-world consequences of his actions.
Cultural Commentary
You uses Joe’s kills to critique romantic idealization, toxic fandom, and the normalization of surveillance in relationships. Beck’s murder, in particular, highlights how society often overlooks early warning signs when presented with charm and narrative control. The series suggests that recognizing these patterns is essential to interrupting cycles of violence.
Evergreen Takeaways
Patterns Across Seasons
- Joe’s first kill, Beck’s, remains the narrative anchor that explains his ongoing motivation.
- Later victims emerge from new relationships and environments but serve the same function: removing perceived threats to Joe’s constructed identity.
- The show links each murder to Joe’s childhood trauma, making violence a continuation of his foundational wound rather than an isolated event.
Why the Question Matters
As viewers revisit You across seasons, understanding who Joe kills and why offers insight into the show’s enduring critique of obsession, media culture, and the stories we tell ourselves to justify harm. The durability of this question reflects the series’ focus on consequences and the inescapability of past actions.