Joe Goldberg has had multiple relationships during You’s three-season run. From his relationships with Candace and Beck, short-lived affairs with Karen and Delilah, to his latest obsession over librarian, Marienne Bellamy, Joe Goldberg isn’t one to stay single for too long. Nevertheless, Joe Goldberg has only tied the knot once during his life, and that happened off-screen by the end of You season two, when he and his murderous counterpart, Love Quinn, finally decide to settle down to start a family. Given their psychopathic nature, they seem like the perfect match… and everyone’s worst nightmare. Here is why Joe Goldberg and Love Quinn are a match from hell.
Manipulative
Netflix
Joe Goldberg and Love Quinn share various negative traits with each other, and this is perhaps their most executed; they’re both incredibly manipulative. In Joe’s case, he stalks, bedazzles, and lies to get exactly what he wants from those around him, specifically his love interests. In Love’s case, she manipulates every situation in her life, from her relationship with her twin brother, Forty, her relationship with her therapist, to her relationship with Joe–they know what to say to get the upper hand at every given moment.
Stalkers
Nextflix
Joe stalks any woman that he’s infatuated with; he actually stalks just about anyone that serves him a greater purpose. From lovers, coworkers, neighbors, enemies to complete strangers, if Joe has his eyes fixed on someone, he’ll manage to know their entire life story sooner than later. The biggest You plot-twist occurs when Joe discovers that Love was actually his stalker all along; from finding out his history prior to arriving in Los Angeles, prompting many of their encounters, to stalking Joe to his storage lair; Love Quinn seems to be on par with Joe’s tracking abilities, if not one step ahead of him.
Shared Trauma
As the saying goes, “Misery loves company.” In this relationship, Joe loves Love until he doesn’t. These two should, theoretically speaking, be completely mad for each other considering they mirror their best and worst qualities. Nevertheless, Joe is repulsed by his shared trauma with Love. When Love confesses that she too is a serial killer with a dark history, Joe’s fantasy crumbles before his eyes and thus commences one of the unhealthiest relationships in You. From deceit, extramarital affairs, murder, covering each other’s tracks, to ultimately trying to murder the other; Joe and Love not only share trauma, they create it for one another.
The Perfect Family
If there’s anything Joe and Love want more than love itself, it’s the perfect family; it’s an extension of their trauma. For Joe, he’s never been part of a conventional family unit: from a negligent mother, foster homes, to Mooney’s abusive mentorship, Joe doesn’t know the meaning of a functional family. For Love, she has always been sidelined by her family, who tend to Forty’s needs over hers every time. Both Joe and Love have a similar response to their lacking guidance; Love assumes a guardianship towards Forty; Joe acts like a paternal figure to a child needing protection such as Paco and Ellie. Ironically, when these two finally have a child together, they are everything bit fit parents. From constant arguing to bringing Henry along for their murder escapades, Joe and Love clearly aren’t qualified to parent anyone, much less maintain any semblance of a family unity.
Protective
Joe and Love even manage to turn their one redeeming quality into something hellish–they are protective. Joe has a soft spot for kids and will protect them at all costs, which usually results in someone’s murder. Love’s protective nature is directly towards those closest to her; she protects Forty from his abusive au pair, by murdering her. She protects Joe, by murdering Delilah and Candace. And she protects her marriage… by killing Natalie. No matter how they go about protecting their loved ones, this duo’s murderous instincts will always drive their execution in doing so.
Impulsive
The deadliest thing about this duo is their impulsive tendencies, which are just about the same in both characters. Joe has committed several of his murders in the spur of the moment; Candace’s lover, Elijah, trying to kill Candace, and killing Peach, Beck, and Henderson. Love’s impulsiveness isn’t limited to her kills; she reacts impulsively towards everything in her life. Love frames Ellie to drive attention away from Joe over Henderson’s murder; she locks Joe in his cage when he rejects her upon discovering she’s a killer, and not even marrying and starting a family deters Love’s erratic behavior.
Once settled in Madre Linda, Love’s impulsiveness leads her to murder her next-door neighbor, Natalie; she beats and abducts Gil after he admits that his son infected Henry with the measles, and she abducts Sherry and Cary when they overhear Love confessing to Natalie’s murder; Love does not hesitate before acting. Together, Joe Goldberg and Love Quinn will bring hell to any place they settle into.
