Warning: the following article contains spoilers for You season four, part two.
With every new season of You, Netflix does its best to flip its own format. Granted, Joe Goldberg’s (Penn Badley) obsession with love and playing the savior to the woman he’s attached to at the time stays the same; other than that, though, the show has managed to introduce some creative and impressive plot twists.
Season four began with Joe seemingly getting a taste of his own medicine, being taunted by an unknown killer who desires some company. The second half of the season proved just how much of an unreliable narrator Joe is, revealing that the Eat the Rich killer had never actually been stalking Joe; in fact, he doesn’t even exist. Nevertheless, Joe turned out not to be the only stalker in the show this season.
In episode six, “Best of Friends,” viewers are introduced to Lady Phoebe’s (Tilly Keeper) concern that someone might be keeping their eyes on her every movement, a fear she expresses to Joe — her most trusted stalker friend. Phoebe claims to feel that she’s being followed, despite not having seen anyone actually doing it, which is making her question some of her friends. This concern had already been brushed off as paranoia by her own boyfriend, Adam (Lukas Gage), but in reality, Lady Phoebe’s instincts are much sharper than others give her credit for.
Mere moments before Phoebe’s conversation with Joe, one of the waiters hired by Adam shows particular interest in Joe, following him with her gaze unnoticed. She had also been photographing the protagonist earlier in the episode, which was cause for belief that she was onto him. However, as the story progresses, viewers learn that the woman, Dawn (Alison Pargeter), is the one stalking Lady Phoebe, and her interest in Joe is merely due to his connection with her.
During Kate’s event, Dawn leads Phoebe to a hotel room, claiming to want to keep her safe from the Eat the Rich killer. It is then revealed that this waitress believes to be best friends with Phoebe — despite them having never met — and is willing to go to extreme lengths to protect her. Dawn further claims to have always felt a connection with Phoebe, believing the socialite has been talking directly to her through the TV and social media posts:
“When you went to Bora Bora and you tweeted about the sunrise, I knew you were telling me that I was the light to your life.”
While at first Phoebe tries to play along with Dawn’s claims for her own safety, eventually she confronts the stalker with her own delusions. The socialite explains that Dawn likely has erotomania, a mental condition that comes back into play later in the season.
What mental condition does Dawn have in You?
De Clérambault’s Syndrome — best known simply as erotomania — is a relatively rare mental condition, in which the person affected has a false belief that another individual loves them. Typically, the object of this delusion is someone of a higher status and unattainable, but in some cases, the person may not even be real or alive at the moment. Oftentimes, the disorder may also lead someone with erotomania to believe that the other person is sending them messages, expressing their love through subtle signals — e.g. a tweet about the sunrise in Bora Bora.
The majority of people affected with erotomania tend to be women, but it’s possible for men to suffer from it as well, of course. In You, both cases are portrayed, first with Dawn, who believes stalking Lady Phoebe is just a way of watching over her – fulfilling her duty as her best friend. While the object of delusion is typically perceived to be in love with the individual affected by erotomania, in the show, Dawn shows no indication of believing Phoebe has romantic feelings for her; from her point of view, the two share a deep bond based on mutual feelings of friendship.
Later in the season, Joe himself is also described as an erotomaniac, which seems to fit the bill. His pattern of obsession, stalking, and delusion certainly tracks for someone with this condition, but it’s important to not fall for the mistake of believing TV shows always portray mental disorders accurately. Some elements in the series are naturally exaggerated for onscreen dramatics, which is understandable, but it would be dangerous to attribute Joe’s violent behavior to erotomania.
Hopefully, if Netflix decides to green-light more seasons of the series, this aspect of Joe’s mental health might be further expanded upon. All four seasons of You are currently available for streaming on Netflix.