Warning: The following article contains spoilers for You‘s fourth season.
Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) just cannot stay away from our screens. Netflix’s You came back in early 2023 with its fourth season, and a brand new setting, of course. For the third time in a row, Joe attempted to rebuild a life for himself, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake; something all viewers have gotten used to.
In the latest season, though, Joe took his stalker tendencies overseas, attempting to turn over a new leaf with a fancy new job, and a new name to match. Even so, starting over proved more challenging than the anti-hero anticipated, especially with a mysterious murderer on the loose. To the disappointment of many viewers, this wasn’t Joe’s former wife making an unlikely comeback from the dead, but a brand-new flavor of killer, ready to give Joe a taste of his own medicine.
The first three seasons of You have gotten the audience quite used to seeing Joe deal with his problems in ways no typical person does, with murder ranking high on his list of possible solutions. With so much killing happening during the entire series, though, it’s no easy task to keep track of how many people have met their end at Joe’s hands. He most definitely isn’t counting, but we can.
Who has Joe killed in You?
During season one of You, the protagonist killed a total of six people, including his obsession at the time, Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), and her former boyfriend, Benji (Taylor Pucci). In season two, Joe’s body count decreased to two, as was the case in the show’s third season. In season three, he murdered his new stalking victim’s ex, Ryan (Scott Michael Foster), and ultimately his own wife, Love (Victoria Pedretti).
In season four, Joe’s murders were at an all-time high, and he ended the lives of eight people. As viewers later find out, over the course of part one, the protagonist was responsible for the deaths of Malcolm (Stephen Hagan), Vic (Sean Pertwee), Simon (Aidan Cheng), and Gemma (Eve Austin). During the second half of the season, he also kills Rhys (Ed Speleers), Kate’s father, Tom (Greg Kinnear), his bodyguard, Hugo (Craig McGinlay), and his student, Edward (Brad Alexander).
Adding up all of Joe’s kills throughout the series brings us to a grand total of 18. However, with Netflix already committed to a fifth and final season of You, it’s safe to assume that this number will go up in the future. The season four finale concluded with Joe in a position of great power, free to continue his obsessive behaviors and killing sprees, so I’m sure he won’t let the opportunity slip away.
Season 5 of You is scheduled to hit Netflix in 2024.