Joe Goldberg is one of the most unique characters on TV. Fans have watched Joe maintain his obsessive personality for three seasons of You, and it's fascinating to see if the people around him will figure out the truth. While Joe is intelligent in some ways, as he's a huge reader and can perceive when people are having a hard time, he's ultimately insecure and totally dangerous.
Joe meets many people along his wild and intense journey, from next door neighbours in seasons 2 and 3 to friends of his main love interest, and some of them stand out as the smartest people on this beloved Netflix series.
Matthew Engler
Matthew can be seen as one of You's season 3 villains as he's able to figure out that Joe and Love are up to no good, and he's also a fairly smart character.
Matthew can tell that someone killed his wife Natalie and he begins spying on everyone in their fancy California neighborhood. But if Matthew was truly smart, it seems like he and Theo would move far away, as they would figure out much sooner that they're living next door to evil people.
Ellie Alves
Ellie's story ends in a heartbreaking way as Joe tells her to move away and says that he'll send her money and look out for her. Fans aren't sure what she's doing or how she's faring since Joe mentions sending her cash in one season 3 episode and then she isn't heard from again.
Ellie is smart and precocious because she would rather live with her sister Delilah and she knows that they come from a broken home. She also shows that she's wise beyond her years when she dreams of being a filmmaker.
Cary Conrad
For most of season 3, viewers agree with Joe's perception of Cary: he's too intense, he's a bit strange, and his obsession with life and health hacks seem confusing at best and maybe even a bit dangerous.
Ultimately, though, Cary is smart enough to know that he wants to be a good husband, father, and person. He's okay with being emotional and vulnerable, which is admirable, and he just wants to help other people be happy. It takes him a while to realize that Love and Joe are seriously terrible people, though, which makes him a bit less intelligent than others on the show.
Candace Stone
Candace is Joe's love interest and obsession before Joe's other love interests Beck and Love, and fans are fascinated by the mystery of what happened to Candace. Joe pretends that she disappeared but he thinks that he murdered her.
When Candace comes back, she proves her intelligence as she finds Joe and lets him know that she wants to expose him to the world for how awful and evil he really is. She manages to get pretty far but is tragically killed by Love. It's good that Candace sees the true Joe, but unfortunately, it's too late for her.
Peach Salinger
When fans are introduced to Beck's best friend Peach, they quickly learn that Peach has been in love with Beck for a long time, making Peach and Joe enemies right away.
Peach is smart enough to see through Joe and figure out that he's got an unhealthy fascination with Beck. This is more than many other characters are able to do since many think that Joe is sweet, attractive, and charming. Peach tries her best to beat Joe and gives it her best shot, but he does kill her, which feels both shocking and like it was always going to happen.
Delilah Alves
As an investigative reporter, Delilah sees beyond the perfect exterior that many people are trying to portray to the world. Delilah discovers Joe's real nature and even finds the cage, putting her one step ahead of other people who have been in Joe's social circle.
Delilah also has a bad feeling about Joe right away, which is more than others can say. It seems like Delilah will be able to finish her plan but Love kills her, which is one of the saddest and most realistic deaths on You.
Joe Goldberg
It feels creepy calling Joe smart as he has killed and harmed multiple people, but he is mostly able to go through life without being detected, which does involve a lot of planning and organization on his part.
When compared to the other characters, Joe can tell when someone is covering up their real self and when they're in a lot of pain, thanks to his horrible childhood and how his mother abandoning him has affected him. In season 3, fans see many flashbacks when Joe was bullied as a kid, and it helps fill in the blanks about why he is always searching for love in such an unhealthy way.
Love Quinn
In season 2, Joe falls for Love, becoming completely obsessed with her. But unfortunately for Joe, Love and Joe are similar characters, and Joe spends most of season 3 with no idea whether Love will try to kill him.
In many ways, Love is smarter than Joe as she knows how to cover up her murders and hide her real self better than he can. She traps him by telling him that she's pregnant, knowing that he'll do his best to be a good parent. In season 3, Love proves that she's unstable and just as dangerous as Joe as she murders people, seemingly without a second thought. While Love uses her intelligence for evil, she does always stay one step ahead of the situation.
Marienne Bellamy
Joe is interested in Marienne as soon as he meets her at the town library, and she's incredibly kind and perceptive. She understands the way that the legal system is stacked against her as she's a recovering addict who is doing her best to rebuild her life. Unfortunately for Marienne, her ex is rich and connected and keeps blocking her attempts to spend time with their daughter.
When Marienne shows up at Love and Joe's house in the season 3 finale and realizes that Joe is truly bad news, she shows her intelligence, maturity, and ability to see through a manipulator. Even though she comes very close to committing to Joe, she ultimately realizes that she shouldn't go near Joe again.
Sherry Conrad
Sherry is one of the most compelling You season 3 characters. At first, she's a total nightmare who seems to care more about perfection and popularity than happiness. As a famous lifestyle blogger, Sherry brags about her flawless twins, her keto diet, and the way that she hacks her life.
While fans might think that Sherry is ditzy, she proves how smart she is when Love traps Sherry and Cary in the cage in the basement of the bakery. Sherry quickly realizes that Joe and Love don't trust each other and she finds the key that they hid, allowing her and Cary to escape and survive. Thanks to this brilliant act, Sherry emerges as the smartest character in all three seasons.