Shortly after the former Lifetime series You dropped on Netflix, fans noted the complicated relationship they had with Penn Badgley's Joe. Yes, the bookstore manager is a stalker and serial killer, but he's also played by Gossip Girl's Dan Humphrey: It's hard to deny that Joe is aesthetically dreamy, even if his inner monologue is the stuff of nightmares.
What's weird, though, is that while our impression of Joe may have been wildly different without his creepy narration driving the series forward, removing it wouldn't have made Joe more desirable. How do we know? Because Netflix bestowed this gift upon us. If, umm, you can really call it that.
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In a video posted by Netflix's official Twitter account, Joe's narration is removed from critical scenes...and it certainly changes things.
At the moment after Joe gets "over-excited" while on top of Beck (Elizabeth Lail), it's nothing but silence. Silence, well, and mouth noises — neither of which make the situation any less awkward.
It's not the only Joe moment that feels off without him waxing poetic in his own brain. The moment after Beck rejects him from friskiness with the single word "falafel" is also met with silence. Like, dude — say something. Anything!
The video is a fun reminder that while we get to know Joe intimately, most people probably think he's a space cadet who gets lost in his own head even when in the middle of a conversation with other people. That's not sexy — that's serial killer-y. Which means that Joe's outer life isn't as different from his inner one as fans may have thought.
Let's hope that a move to Los Angeles for the show's promised season 2 helps Joe become a little bit more personable.
Check out the video below.
.@YouNetflix is kinda awkward when you remove Joe’s voiceover pic.twitter.com/QNPstTFAaw
— Netflix US (@netflix) February 4, 2019