10 best Joe Goldberg quotes that made the Netflix show so addictive

Joe Goldberg in You | Image via Netflix
Joe Goldberg in You | Image via Netflix

Joe Goldberg is expertly portrayed by Penn Badgley in Netflix's psychological thriller You. Behind his amiable appearance, the bookstore manager Joe secretly maintains dangerous, obsessive traits. His rambling thoughts reveal an unstable mental state that combines amorous impulses with possessive dominance, as well as loving behavior with dominating behaviors. The unsettling intimacy of Joe's voice, which reveals odd reasoning and love illusions that both frightened its listeners as they listened intently, is what gives You its addictive qualities.

This article examines Joe Goldberg's top ten memorable dialogues from You while providing context about their appearance in specific episodes. The article also analyzes how the web series characterizes his obsessive tendencies, misconstrued romantic sentiments, and dangerous charisma, which sustained audience interest through the show's entire run.

Please note: This article is based on the writer's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.


The 10 best Joe Goldberg quotes are provided below:

10. “I love you, Beck, and loving someone means you'll do anything for them.”

Joe and Beck (Season 1) | Image via Netflix
Joe and Beck (Season 1) | Image via Netflix

Joe's distorted perception of love unfolds in Bluebeard's Castle episode of You when he connects love with dominance. According to Joe, true love can condone any behavior, including stalking, manipulation, and murder. In his inner monologue, Joe views his obsessive behaviors as acts of love, blurring the distinction between possessive control and loving behavior.

A Reddit user points out that Joe's feelings for Beck do not amount to genuine love. His love is entirely focused on a fabricated version of her from his imagination. His conduct demonstrates more a desire to satisfy his control urges than actual concern for Beck's happiness.

This portrayal critically examines romantic beliefs that confuse obsessive love with pure passion, highlighting the potentially dangerous consequences of such erroneous assumptions.


9. “The first step to fixing something is to know no matter how destroyed it seems, it can always be saved.”

Penn Badgley plays Joe Goldberg in the pilot episode of You | Image via Netflix
Penn Badgley plays Joe Goldberg in the pilot episode of You | Image via Netflix

This quote is from Season 1, Episode 1 of You. Joe believes that salvation exists for things that need to be fixed. Since he believes that books act as a reference to people, the statement instantly connects to all aspects of human connection. When no one else can mend them, Joe sees himself as a fixer who coerces people against their will. His belief in savior duty influences his behavior, so he intrudes into people's lives whom he perceives to need salvation.

He uses destructive control techniques that infringe on others' personal space because of his compulsive drive to mold others into his image. According to the show, it is an exploration of how aid may lead to disastrous effects. Reddit users decide that Joe maintains a habit of dominating conduct, which he presents as helpful, to the disadvantage of others.


8. “You are a woman and I am a man and we belong in the dark together”

Joe Goldberg and Guinevere Beck in You Season 1 | Image via Netflix
Joe Goldberg and Guinevere Beck in You Season 1 | Image via Netflix

Joe's inner thoughts are revealed in You's Season 1 when he falls in love with Guinevere Beck after their first meeting at the bookstore. In his thoughts, Joe instantly develops an obsessive connection that seems fated to happen between them. His statement indicates both his need for intimate bonding and his wish for concealed parts, which will evolve into their dangerous relationship. The words

"We belong in the dark together"

Reveal Joe's habit of forming intense bonds, existing beneath public perception, so they avoid detection. The episode opens with Joe displaying his early traits of possessiveness and manipulation, and it guides his actions in every scene that follows.


7. “Your lips were made for mine, Beck. You are the reason I have a mouth, a heart.”

After the kiss between Joe and Beck | Image via Netflix
After the kiss between Joe and Beck | Image via Netflix

Joe constructs an internal mental image of Beck while observing her from a distance, creating a version of her that is superior to all others. Joe conveys his domineering nature with his sincere look as he claims that Beck is the only reason he exists.

Joe elevates Beck to the rank of a god by declaring that she made both his mouth and heart, while also making his constant intrusions sound affectionate. In this moment, Joe reveals his tendency to blend affection with compulsive activity, which keeps the series' emphasis constant.


6. “I am a wounded soldier of love home from WWIII”

Love Quinn-Goldberg in You | Image via Netflix
Love Quinn-Goldberg in You | Image via Netflix

During Season 3 Episode 3, Joe examines how volatile his relationship with Love Quinn has become. In this quotation, he expresses his emotional exhaustion as his romantic struggles take on the intensity of wartime horrors. Joe displays his regular habit of positioning himself as an offended party within relationships while avoiding acceptance of his role.

He shows both a flair for drama and a tendency toward self-pity because he believes his obsessive violence justifies his pursuit of relationships. During this scene, the show portrays how close passion can be to obsession in television's exploration of human behavior.


5. “At the end of the day, people really are just disappointing, aren't they?”

Scene from Season 2 Episode 5 | Image via Netflix
Scene from Season 2 Episode 5 | Image via Netflix

In Season 2 Episode 5, Joe delivers this statement as he descends into cynicism due to his pessimistic mind. Throughout the entire series, Joe has such high expectations of his fans that reality shatters his beliefs when they fall short of his fantasy-based ideals.

This statement shows how he assigns his desires to others alongside his inability to recognize their human imperfections. His belief that betrayal and disappointment await him functions as an excuse for his manipulative behaviors and violent reactions.

The series presents this attitude recurrently to show Joe's fundamental problems, creating trust-based emotional connections with others.


4. “Love is kind, love is patient, but also, mainly, above all—yes—Love is perverted”

Scene from Season 2, Episode 6 | Image via Netflix
Scene from Season 2, Episode 6 | Image via Netflix

During Season 2, Episode 6, Joe examines how his relationships consistently spiral downward. His view of love combines an understanding of conventional love values with a fixation on controlling behaviors. The lessons learned by Joe demonstrate how love generally controls and manipulates its recipients in ways that confuse the boundaries between love and control.

This idea recurs frequently throughout the program to illustrate how people confuse compulsive actions with true attachment.


3. “Donuts are objectively sexy, but you make them the hottest thing on earth.”

Joe Goldberg in Season 3 of You | Image via Netflix
Joe Goldberg in Season 3 of You | Image via Netflix

In Season 3 Episode 1, Joe observes a woman eating a donut, which causes him to have a fleeting, strange thought. This quotation demonstrates how Joe blends his distinctive ways of thinking, which combine his domineering tendencies with commonplace observations.

Throughout this brief appearance, he demonstrates his proclivity to notice unconnected things and then assign major meaning to them, which drives him to develop dangerous obsessions.


2. “You just have to be willing to burn it to the ground.”

Scene from Season 3 Episode 3 (Joe and Quinn) | Image via Netflix
Scene from Season 3 Episode 3 (Joe and Quinn) | Image via Netflix

In Season 3 Episode 3, Joe Goldberg spends the episode considering how Love Quinn's relationship is worsening in light of his need to take dangerous measures to survive their turbulent union. Joe exposes his goal to ruin everything, including his marriage and surroundings, and his moral sense, to achieve emotional and behavioral autonomy, through a scary metaphor.

Love transitions into a destructive power at this significant turning point when relationships should create growth instead of destruction. This conceptual statement appears repeatedly throughout You's narrative. Joe thinks that love should win over all, no matter how damaging or chaotic the circumstances become.

Music City Drive-In explains that Joe has a fundamental pattern to confront love as a military conflict between dominance and destruction. This comment reveals Joe's beginnings of nihilistic thought and his ability to entice people with his hazardous allure.


1. “Talking to you is like traveling through time.”

Elizabeth Lail as Guinevere Beck in You | Image via Netflix
Elizabeth Lail as Guinevere Beck in You | Image via Netflix

Joe shares his views in this internal monologue after their bookstore encounter, including his initial thoughts about Guinevere Beck. Even though the two barely exchanged words, Joe exclusively views their encounter as an unattainable special moment that can't be duplicated. This demonstrates his tendency to conjure up fantastical ideas from sparse evidence. Even the shortest encounter serves as a symbol of an enduring bond for Joe.

According to Audible's blog analysis, this example illustrates the magical thinking and romantic mindset that drives Joe's obsessive actions. Viewers experience a romantic tale in his voice until they realize it transforms into an internal psychological deterioration.

This early line establishes a pattern across the series whereby Joe uses romantic pretenses to explain his advancing intrusions. A terrible realization of Joe's paper-thin divide between romantic affections and mental fixation comes to us when we look back.


We may conclude that during the entire duration of the You TV series, Joe Goldberg's perverse perspective on human values, relationships, and love is revealed in the most memorable language. His contemplative narration revealed a character who described selfish, immoral behavior as loving gestures. These quotes demonstrate how he defended destructive attitudes and domineering relationships while disguising violent behavior with impassioned language.

Audiences became immersed in Joe's mental state because his psychological world showcased a mixture of fictional dreams and true reality. His terrifying speeches served a plot purpose across the seasons and offered unsettling insights into psychopathic thought. Audiences saw through his ten most memorable comments that language serves as Joe's method of seduction and the final revelation of his deepest truths.

Edited by Zainab Shaikh