You know how the literal second Halloween is over, it becomes Christmas? Like, every store is decorated like the North Pole and the only song that plays anywhere is “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” by Mariah Carey? Well, the moment Christmas is over this year, we’re moving right back to spooky season because Netflix is dropping You season 2 on December 26. We’re just gonna move swiftly from Santa Claus to serial killers like it’s fully normal, okay?
Speaking of serial killers, Cosmopolitan recently spoke to Penn Badgley to see what it’s like to portray the murderous bookstore owner Joe Goldberg. Penn says he never feels convinced that he’s actually in Joe’s headspace (phew), but when he talks about the character, it’s clear that he understands him inside out. That’s probably why he can see that one of Joe’s most redeeming qualities—his love for books—is actually one of the most dangerous things about him.
“His problem is that he specifically sort of weaponizes his love for books against people and judges them to a point because he’s essentially holding the world of humanity up to a fantasy that is not achievable,” says Penn. “And maybe not even desirable if you really think about it. And then he’s disappointed.”
Uh...that’s a pretty solid point. And TBH, it’s kind of ridiculous to think Joe spends the entire first season dragging Beck for her obsession with the fake world of social media when he’s living in a delusional world of his own. That’s a pretty big oversight for a guy who basically preaches self-awareness.
Penn has spent plenty of time trying to get the world to stop crushing on Joe, but that’s not to say he doesn’t approach the character with a bit of compassion.
“I can’t even imagine how it must be to be this human being,” says Penn. “He seems to carry this sadness with him when he finds something beautiful. He just cares about it more than anything.”
But still...he wants the world to remember that Joe is the literal worst. Like, beyond the worst.
“People talk about him like, oh, he’s a stalker; oh he’s a bad guy,” he says. “But, guys! He’s a murderer!”
