The apartment still smells of Benji. Joe finds an expensive bottle of organic mouthwash in the bathroom, a gluten-free cookbook on the shelf, and—most infuriatingly—a half-empty jar of artisanal peanut butter in the pantry. Each object is a silent taunt. Joe’s obsessive-compulsive nature rebels against the chaos, but more than that, he resents Benji’s lingering presence in Beck’s space. He scrubs the apartment top to bottom, not out of kindness, but to erase his rival.
He writes down everything he knows: the therapist’s full name (Nickolas Pasternak), his office address, his license number. He starts planning. If Beck won’t stop seeing Nicky voluntarily, Joe will have to remove the obstacle. He looks at Benji, whimpering in the cage, and smiles coldly. “You’re not my biggest problem anymore,” he whispers. you s01e05 aiff
While cleaning, he discovers Beck’s old laptop. A few keystrokes later (Joe has her password—he’s been watching her type it for weeks), he finds a draft email to her estranged, alcoholic father. It’s a raw, vulnerable plea for connection. Joe reads it with a mix of tenderness and possessiveness: She needs me to protect her from him, too. The apartment still smells of Benji
But Joe’s internal monologue reveals the truth: moving in isn’t about protecting Beck. It’s about total surveillance. From her messy closet to her forgotten voicemails, Joe now has 24/7 access to every corner of her life. And he hates what he finds. He starts planning
Joe sees himself in Paco—a trapped boy desperate for a hero. He gives Paco a first edition of The Count of Monte Cristo , telling him, “Edmond Dantès was locked up for years. But he learned patience. He learned how to wait for the right moment to escape. And then he destroyed every single person who wronged him.” Paco’s eyes light up. Joe has just handed him a blueprint for vengeance.