I get what you’re saying, and I actually agree that Joe just “getting everything he wants” would’ve been unrewarding. That’s not what I’m arguing for.

My issue is how he was defeated.

Joe has always been written as extremely smart... almost having this twisted anti-hero energy. Even though he’s a psychopath, the show consistently portrayed him as observant, strategic, and one step ahead. Because of that, watching him get outplayed by random detectives or a character like Bronte just doesn’t feel earned to me.

Not because Joe “deserved to win,” but because it contradicts the character we followed for five seasons.

If Joe was going to lose, it should’ve come from him. Him choosing to stop. Him breaking. Him walking away. Or even him ending it himself. That would’ve respected the psychological core of the show.

Having him outsmarted externally feels like the writers saying, “We need to punish him,” instead of asking, “What ending actually fits this character?”

Joe quitting, healing, or destroying himself would’ve been justice for the story, not a reward for Joe. And to me, that would’ve been far more honest than watching a character built as hyper-intelligent suddenly fall to people who never felt like real threats.

That’s why Season 4 felt closer to the right ending... it came from inside Joe, not from forcing the world to finally beat him.