After five intense seasons of stalking, obsession, love, and murder, Netflix’s psychological thriller You has finally reached its haunting conclusion — and with it, actor Penn Badgley is saying goodbye to the character that defined nearly a decade of his life: Joe Goldberg.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Badgley, 38, revealed just how much the role has meant to him — not only as an actor, but as a man navigating the formative stretch of his adult life.
“I think I will miss him a little bit,” Badgley admitted. “He's been a profound experience for me... I've been engaging in this long [journey] my entire 30s.”
A Decade-Long Relationship with Darkness
Badgley took on the role of Joe at 30. Now, nearly 39, he reflects on how the project coincided with some of the most personal milestones of his life — getting married, becoming a father, and coming into his own identity. It’s not just Joe who evolved; Badgley did too.
“I’ve grown a lot and I’ve grown with Joe in a strange way,” he said. “Joe taught me a lot about what it is to be a man — by showing me what it is not.”
This distinction — learning by contrast — underscores how You was never just about the body count. Beneath the bloodstains was a deeper conversation about trauma, toxic love, and the illusions we project onto relationships.
Joe Goldberg: More Than a Killer
In Season 5, Joe returns to New York, seemingly poised for a quiet life. But, in true You fashion, the past claws its way back. Ghosts, both literal and figurative, haunt Joe, unraveling the thin veneer of his supposed redemption.
According to Badgley, Joe was never just a villain. He was a child starved of protection, who became a man obsessed with protecting others — even from dangers of his own making.
“He creates danger he needs to protect people from,” Badgley explained. “That’s a really interesting phenomenon. And it happens in smaller ways in real life, too.”
In Joe, audiences saw not just the terrifying manipulator, but a mirror reflecting the darker complexities of modern love. Possessiveness, jealousy, coercion — You made viewers confront their own definitions of affection and boundaries.
A Farewell That Hits Hard
The final 10 episodes, which dropped on April 25, bring the story full circle, placing Joe in his original habitat of New York — but he’s changed, and so has the world around him. With new characters like those played by Charlotte Richie, Anna Camp, and Griffin Matthews adding layers of suspense and humanity, Season 5 delivers not just closure but introspection.
Though Badgley has portrayed morally questionable characters before (remember Gossip Girl’s Dan?), Joe Goldberg was something entirely different: an experiment in how far empathy can stretch — and when it should snap.
“This show is more about love than it is about murder,” Badgley concluded. “It’s about what we think love is. And that’s the part I’ll carry with me.”
Final Curtain, Last Obsession
As Penn Badgley steps away from the character that dominated his 30s, fans are also left with a lot to unpack. Was Joe redeemable? Was he a victim, a monster — or both?
Whatever the interpretation, You has carved a distinct place in pop culture history. And as the screen fades to black one last time, Penn’s goodbye isn’t just to a role, but to a version of himself that lived in the shadows for nearly a decade.
Don’t miss the final chapter of You. All episodes from Season 5 are now streaming on Netflix.
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