The fifth and final season of You, an American psychological thriller on Netflix, is set to be released on April 24, 2025. Joe Goldberg (played by Penn Badgley) is set to return, his dark, murderous past sure to haunt him as he tries to move on in life.
When season 1 aired, fans took to social media to discuss Goldberg’s mental health, trying to determine whether he is a psychopath or a sociopath. He was never diagnosed with a particular condition in any of the seasons.
Differences between a psychopath and a sociopath
Sociopath and psychopath are often used interchangeably, but both have their clear lines of distinction. While sociopathy is the unofficial term for antisocial personality disorder (APD), psychopathy is not an official diagnosis.
“Sociopaths are generally more clearly aligned with symptoms of APD, but psychopathy can cross over to these characteristics as well,” said Hannah Owens, Mental Health Editor for Verywell Mind. “Labeling someone as a sociopath or a psychopath is a big deal – but not distinguishing between the two, and using them interchangeably, doesn’t do either of you much good.”
According to Verywell Mind, psychopaths have little or no conscience, but can manage to follow social conventions when needed. Sociopaths have a limited ability to feel empathy and remorse, and are “more likely to fly off the handle and react violently when confronted by the consequences of their actions,” according to the outlet.
Is Joe Goldberg a psychopath or a sociopath?
Goldberg was never diagnosed, but most You fans on social media seem to think he is a psychopath. However, mental health experts believe his mental health is more complicated.
“People use the word ‘psychopath’ colloquially to describe a person whose behavior defies social norms and conventional understandings of right and wrong,” Kelly Scott, a therapist at Tribeca Therapy in Manhattan, told Insider. “From a clinical perspective, the word ‘psychopath’ doesn’t mean anything.”
Scott, however, added that the closest clinical diagnosis to a “psychopath” or “sociopath” is antisocial personality disorder, and Goldberg surely shows some traits of this disorder. Experts also believe he demonstrates characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder, Insider reported.
Pamela Rutledge, a social scientist who researches the intersection of media, human behavior, and neuroscience, said that one reason it is difficult to cite a single mental disorder for Goldberg simply because You was created for television. Rutledge told the outlet that Goldberg “seems to be an amalgam of personality traits at abnormal levels that are constructed to make a good story and create a character that elicits a certain amount of empathy” in viewers, despite the fact he brutally murders people. In real life, very few people with mental illness behave like this.
Goldberg comes off as a very charming man from when he is introduced to views, which suggests that he could also be a narcissist. Rutledge believes Goldberg’s actions suggest he has symptoms of mental illnesses like antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.
According to Mayo Clinic, “Antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is a mental health condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others.” The outlet says narcissistic personality disorder is a “mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others.”
Goldberg seems to embody both conditions as he is violent when he thinks someone has wronged him, a common justification people with both illnesses often make. For instance, Goldberg killed Benji, his love interest Guinevere Beck’s boyfriend, in You season 1, and also Beck’s best friend Peach, because both interfered with his relationship with Beck. He committed the murders for his own benefit, and shows no remorse. In this case, he committed the crimes in an attempt to get closer to Beck, which, according to Scott, suggests he could be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder.
Ramani Durvasula, a professor of psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, and a licensed clinical psychologist, previously told Insider that extreme charisma is a red flag that an individual could be narcissistic. Goldberg’s charm in You is undeniable.
“I always tell people: Pay attention when there’s too much on the front end,” Durvasula said. “I know it seems fun and romantic, but it’s probably a trainwreck waiting to happen.”
Scott also said that Goldberg’s past and his behavior in season 2 indicates he might have an attachment disorder too. “Joe [Goldberg] would be a good example of misdiagnosis,” Scott said. “If he was my patient in season 1, sure, he could be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, but upon further excavation, his behavior reveals itself as a trauma symptom versus antisocial personality disorder.”
“Mental health relies on nuance because it is nuance,” Scott added. “A diagnosis is almost never clean-cut and disorders overlap. It’s not like a strep test with ‘yes, you have strep,’ or ‘no, you don’t.'”
Scott stressed not all people with antisocial personality disorder or an attachment disorder will act violently. “You don’t have to kill someone to get that diagnosis,” Scott said. “You can do it in a non-physical way. It can come out in parenting and using your child to meet your own needs in a way that is massively detrimental to your child’s needs.”
“[Goldberg] was attached to someone, his mom, who was unresponsive to his needs, inconsistent, and not a safe person to him,” Scott added. “He’s positioned as alone in the world, abused and neglected by his mom.”
Later in life, Goldberg becomes obsessively attached to women, and even stalks them, when he believes they can give him what he wants. In a scene in season 2, Goldberg looks horrified after learning that his landlord Delilah has been killed, and at one point even says he would not kill Forty even though he hates him, because Forty means a lot to Love, Goldberg’s lover. Scott said these scenes suggest Goldberg may have some empathy.
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