Guinevere Beck isn't Joe Goldberg's first victim, but she's the central focus of You season 5's trailer, it looks like the show will bring Joe's story full circle, dredging up what happened with Beck as he returns to New York. And it's fitting that Joe Goldberg's long line of victims should get attention as he returns to the place where the series started. But so much has happened that viewers may not recall what exactly happened to Beck.
You season 1's ending is all the more tragic because Beck nearly escapes her grim fate at the hands of Joe Goldberg. While Joe locking her in his glass cage is probably the most memorable twist of the season, it's not actually how Beck dies. She gets close to getting away, but unfortunately, Joe winds up with the upper hand. He also finds an easy way to frame someone else for her murder, ensuring he suffers no consequences for Beck's death.
Guinevere Beck's You Season 1 Death Explained: Why & How Joe Goldberg Kills Her
The Finale Doesn't Show Beck's Death On-Screen
You season 1's finale, "Bluebeard's Castle," opens with Beck in Joe Goldberg's cage, an outcome the entire season is building to. He knocks her out at the end of the previous installment, after Beck discovers the box of mementos hidden in his bathroom ceiling — items that prove he was stalking her and confirm his involvement in Benji's and Peach's disappearances. Beck is understandably disturbed by what the box contains. Realizing this, Joe knocks her unconscious and locks her up in the basement of Mooney's bookstore.
Beck doesn't die in the cage, though; she finds a way out despite facing an equally tragic end later on.
Beck doesn't die in the cage, though; she finds a way out despite facing an equally tragic end later on. Beck manages to convince Joe that she can still love him in "Bluebeard's Castle," tricking him into opening the cage and kissing her. When he does, she steals the key from his pocket, then locks him inside the glass box instead. Unfortunately for Beck, she doesn't have the key to open the door leading back to Mooney's. And Paco doesn't answer her cries for help, as Joe saved him by killing the man abusing his mother.
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When Beck returns to the basement to retrieve the second key, she realizes that Joe is no longer locked away. Thanks to a spare key he hid in the cage, he's able to attack Beck yet again. Although she hits him with a hammer, she's still unable to get out of Mooney's basement. And because Beck doesn't land a killing blow, Joe wakes up and grabs her. The Netflix series doesn't reveal exactly how he kills her; it jumps forward four months to tell us that she's dead. However, Joe chokes her to death in Caroline Kepnes' book.
Beck likely dies from strangulation or blunt force in the Netflix series, too, at least judging by the forceful way Joe grabs her.
Beck likely dies from strangulation or blunt force in the Netflix series, at least judging by the forceful way Joe grabs her. You season 1 avoids showing Beck's death on-screen, but we know Joe doesn't put her back in the cage after she its she could never love him. And it's unlikely he goes to other extremes. The two probably have a physical struggle that results in Beck's tragic fate.
How Joe Goldberg Frames Beck's Therapist For Her Murder
The Story Beck Writes To Get Free Is What Incriminates Dr. Nicky
After killing Beck, Joe Goldberg frames her therapist, Dr. Nicky, for her murder — and tragically, Beck makes this lie incredibly easy for him. As Beck is convincing Joe to free her, she offers him his own freedom. With a private investigator getting close to the truth about Peach, Joe is in hot water, even before locking Beck away. When Joe leaves a typewriter in the cage and tells Beck to write, she pens a story about Dr. Nicky, telling Joe they can accuse him of killing Peach.
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You season 1, episode 9 reveals that Beck and Dr. Nicky are having an affair, so there is a morsel of truth to Beck's story. She uses that to weave the lie. However, she likely doesn't intend to frame her therapist for real, as she hopes to lock Joe up and escape. Upon her death, the words she types make it all too easy for Joe to spin the narrative surrounding her death in his favor. When he shares her manuscript, he ensures he's able to walk free — even if certain people, like the Salingers' P.I., still don't believe he's innocent.
Why Joe Publishes Beck's Book At The End Of You Season 1
It's Partly To Frame Dr. Nicky & Partly A Twisted Expression Of Joe's Obsession
Viewers are told about Beck's death as Mooney's is stocking her book, which Joe submits for publication after her death. The main reason he does this is that it s his story: it sets Dr. Nicky up as Beck's killer, and it takes any suspicion off of Joe. However, this isn't the sole motivation for Joe getting Beck's book published. Joe's monologue at the end of You season 1 also reveals that it's his twisted way of honoring her, as Beck's aspiration was to be a writer.
Making her dream come true likely eases the guilt of killing her as well, driving home just how troubled You's main character really is.
This is why Joe doesn't just publish the words that incriminate Dr. Nicky; he also compiles Beck's other work, claiming that this is his way of showing his love for her. The more accurate interpretation is that it's a twisted expression of Joe's obsession with Beck. Making her dream come true likely eases the guilt of killing her as well, driving home just how troubled You's main character really is.
- Directors
- Marcos Siega, Lee Toland Krieger, Cherie Nowlan, DeMane Davis, Kellie Cyrus, Marta Cunningham, Martha Mitchell, Victoria Mahoney, Erin Feeley
- Writers
- Justin W. Lo
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