If there was a contest among serial killers based on the number of people they've killed, You's Joe Goldberg (played by Penn Badgley) would probably be among the top contenders for it. Now that the show has reached its fourth season, we can't help but wonder how many people our favorite serial killer has killed so far. After all, we lost count with You Season 3, since most of the killing was done by Joe's wife, Love Quinn (played by Victoria Pedretti).
Table of Contents
- How Many Kills Before You Are a Serial Killer?
- Benji Ashby (You Season 1)
- Peach Salinger (You Season 1)
- Ron (You Season 1)
- Guinevere Beck (You Season 1)
- Jasper Krenn (You Season 2)
- Henderson (You Season 2)
- Ryan Goodwin (You Season 3)
- Love Quinn (You Season 3)
- Malcolm (You Season 4 Part 1)
- Simon Soo (You Season 4 Part 1)
- Vic (You Season 4 Part 1)
- Gemma (You Season 4 Part 1)
- Rhys Montrose (You Season 4 Part 2)
- Hugo (You Season 4 Part 2)
- Tom Lockwood (You Season 4 Part 2)
- Eddie (You Season 4 Part 2)
- Flashback Murders (You Season 1 & 2)
- So How Many People Has Joe Goldberg Killed on You?
Netflix recently released the fourth season of the fan-favorite show by splitting it into two parts. Now that both parts have been released, let's take a scroll down memory lane by checking out the number of people Joe has killed.
How Many Kills Before You Are a Serial Killer?
First things first-- how many people do you need to kill before you get called a serial killer?
Serial killing (or serial murder) is an unlawful homicide of two or more people enacted upon by the same person in different events. The murders don't have to be done on the same day to be considered a serial killer. Also, it is different from mass murder since the latter kills several victims at the same time and place.
In Joe Goldberg's case, he definitely passes the criteria to be called a serial killer. And while he has some unfortunate victims, there are others who deserve their fate. So even though Joe is a serial killer, we can't help but not completely hate him in the show. Not to mention, he did have a pretty disturbing childhood, which we've come to know about over the years. Take note, Joe's childhood doesn't justify his actions; but it explains why he is wired this way.
Here are all of Joe Goldberg's victims throughout the years:
Benji Ashby (You Season 1)
Benji Ashby (played by Lou Taylor Pucci) was Joe's very first victim in You Season 1. Benji is the ex-boyfriend of Guinevere Beck (played by Elizabeth Lail), whom Joe was obsessed with. Joe kills him by giving him a cup of coffee with peanut oil in it, something that Benji is deathly allergic to.
Peach Salinger (You Season 1)
Peach Salinger (played by Shay Mitchell) was also one of Joe's victims in the first season of the show. As Joe tried to get close to Beck, he realized Peach was always in the way. He tries to get her to like him but fails, until he realizes that Peach is in love with her best friend.
Joe sneaks into her house but gets caught by Peach, who points a gun at him. Later, he manages to get gun, shoots Peach, and forges a suicide note.
Ron (You Season 1)
Played by Daniel Cosgrove, Ron was a former police officer in You Season 1 who fans disliked. He was abusive towards his ex and step-son, Paco (played by Luca Padovan), who considered Joe his friendly neighbor.
After hitting his mom, Paco drugged and hit Ron with a baseball bat. When Ron wakes up, he finds Joe trying to revive him but beats him up instead. Later, Ron returns to the apartment to look for Paco. Joe protects Paco by stabbing Ron in the neck and burying his body.
Paco is one of the characters in You who know Joe's secret.
Guinevere Beck (You Season 1)
Even though You Season 1 started off with Joe obsessing about Beck and even getting into a relationship with her, the show ends with her being strangled to death by Joe after she discovers he has been murdering people she knew, including her best friend, Peach.
Before she died, Beck was able to start writing a book about Joe. When he discovers this, he finishes the book and makes it look like Beck's therapist, Dr. Nicky (played by John Stamos), killed her. Dr. Nicky is still alive but is behind bars.
Jasper Krenn (You Season 2)
In You Season 2, Joe only kills a couple of characters throughout the show. His love interest, Love Quinn, manages to kill the other two characters: Joe's ex, Candace Stone (played by Ambyr Childers), and Delilah Alves (played by Carmela Zumbado). Also, Love's twin, Forty (played by James Scully) was killed in the season but by a police officer.
One of Joe's victims in You Season 2 was Jasper Krenn (played by Steven W. Bailey), an unimportant character who mistakes Joe for the new identity he has taken, Will Bettelheim (played by Robin Lord Taylor). After stabbing Jasper, Joe dismembers him and puts his body through a meat grinder.
Henderson (You Season 2)
The other character that Joe kills in Season 2 is a famous comedian named Henderson (played by Chris D’Elia). He is one of Joe's victims who fans don't like since he was revealed to be a pedophile. Delilah was one of his victims but Henderson also planned on sexually assaulting her sister, Ellie (played by Jenna Ortega), before he accidentally gets killed by Joe, who pushes him down the stairs into his secret sex dungeon.
Ryan Goodwin (You Season 3)
In You Season 3, Joe's murdering spree gets outnumbered by the number of times Love gets them in trouble. Even though there are a total of four deaths throughout this season, Joe only kills two of them. And he believes these two victims deserve to die for the good of everyone around them.
For starters, he killed Marienne Bellamy's (played by Tati Gabrielle) ex-husband, Ryan Goodwin (played by Scott Michael Foster), to help her be free of him and his hold on her. It also allowed Marienne to have full custody of her daughter, Juliette.
Love Quinn (You Season 3)
Throughout the entire You universe, many believe Joe has met his match when he finally discovers who Love Quinn is. This discovery, however, makes Joe lose interest in Love. But when he tries to break up with her, she reveals that she is pregnant with Joe's baby. So they get married and try to raise a newborn child together in the third season.
Unfortunately, Love's jealousy endangers people around them. Not only did she kill Natalie Engler (played by Michaela McManus), they also have to lock up some of their neighbors who begin suspecting them. And this pushes Joe away from her. He realizes his wife is a monster and decides to kill her so he can be free. And that's exactly what he does--by setting their house on fire while Love is unconscious with a medication.
Malcolm (You Season 4 Part 1)
The recently released season of You is where things get interesting. Joe's mental health has spiralled the most in this season. Not only does he kill more people in this season compared to previous seasons, he also doesn't remember doing it. In fact, in the first part of the show, viewers were led to believe that Rhys Montrose (played by Ed Speleers) was hunting Joe and was behind the murders. But as revealed in the second part, Joe has been behind the murders throughout the entire season.
To start with, he murders his neighbor and colleague, Malcolm (played by Stephen Hagan) in his apartment after a crazy night out with his friends. He stabbed Malcolm in the chest and cut off his finger.
Simon Soo (You Season 4 Part 1)
Another victim of the Eat-the-Rich killer, who happens to be Joe, is artist Simon Soo (played by Aidan Cheng). Joe stabs Simon in the heart and cuts off his ear.
Vic (You Season 4 Part 1)
In the entire You Season 4 Part 1, we believe Joe only murdered one person-- Vic (played by Sean Pertwee), who is Lady Phoebe's (played by Tilly Keeper) bodyguard. He gets strangled to death by Joe when he follows him in a crypt.
Gemma (You Season 4 Part 1)
Another victim of the Eat-the-Rich killer is Gemma (played by Eve Austin), an unbearable socialite who accuses Joe of being the killer. Her throat gets slit open in Kate's room (played by Charlotte Ritchie).
Rhys Montrose (You Season 4 Part 2)
And then the realization happens in You Season 4 Part 2, when Joe murders Rhys Montrose. Joe realizes he has been imagining his encounters with Rhys all along. The real Rhys never had a clue or even knew who Joe was from the start.
Hugo (You Season 4 Part 2)
As Joe tries to murder Kate's father Tom Lockwood (played by Greg Kinnear), his bodyguard, Hugo, comes into the room and gets stabbed in the neck by Joe. He also gets framed for his boss' murder.
Tom Lockwood (You Season 4 Part 2)
Joe kills Kate's father in order to free her from his suffocating hold. He suffocates the tycoon with a plastic bag and makes it look like his own bodyguard did it.
Eddie (You Season 4 Part 2)
One of the unfortunate victims in You Season 4 Part 2 is Eddie (played by Brad Alexander) who was stabbed in the neck after Joe discovers he and his girlfriend, Nadia (played by Amy-Leigh Hickman), has been snooping around. Nadia gets framed for Eddie's murder and gets imprisoned.
Flashback Murders (You Season 1 & 2)
One of the things that make You a unique show is that it often has a number of flashback scenes that introduce us to who Joe truly is. In You Season 2, we got to see a young Joe kill his own father to protect his mother.
Joe also killed Elijah Thornton (played by Esteban Benito) by pushing him off of a building. Candace was cheating on him with Elijah so he killed him.
So How Many People Has Joe Goldberg Killed on You?
Here is the total number of people Joe has killed on You:
Season 1 (5 kills)
- Benji Ashby
- Peach Salinger
- Ron
- Elijah Thornton
- Guinevere Beck
Season 2 (3 kills)
- Jasper
- Henderson
- Joe's father
Season 3 (2 kills)
- Ryan Goodwin
- Love Quinn
Season 4 (8 kills)
- Malcolm
- Simon
- Vic
- Gemma
- Rhys
- Hugo
- Tom Lockwood
- Eddie
Total: 18 people
We're sure this number will still increase once You returns for a fifth season. In the meantime, check out this clip of all of Joe's murders throughout the four seasons of the show:
You Season 4 Parts 1 and 2 are available to stream on Netflix.
RELATED: Is Marienne Still Alive in You Season 4 Part 2?