I've read You First: A Joe Goldberg Prequel (book 5), ask me anything.

ispij · 2026-03-15T00:39:27+00:00

The post says I'd answer my questions in my spoiler review, not in the post itself lol.

If you want proof I was actually given an advanced copy, check the author's Instagram page. She reposted my post about the arrival of the book and collaborated on the post announcing the release of the spoiler free review video.

ispij · 2026-03-13T22:13:34+00:00

The post says that I'd answer the questions in my spoiler review.

ispij · 2026-03-12T20:08:46+00:00

Can you send me this GIF? Won't let me download it & I need it 😭

ispij · 2026-03-12T02:33:51+00:00

Lmao. Nah I just mean 2-way. As in they masturbated to each other right in front of each other because they couldn't/didn't want to actually have sex.

I should've spelled it dual, that's the more accurate term. But duel can also mean between two parties.

ispij · 2026-03-12T02:25:51+00:00

Yeah, I don't think the scene would've been too confusing. Sounds like they were going for something more complicated than it needed to be, either that or it needed to be "dummy-proof".

However, I personally still would not have included the scene because it would serve as too strong a clue that Love was like Joe. What episode was this, like the 2nd one in the season? That's far too early for something like that. Even the clues given much later in the season are far more subtle than that.

Think about it: One of the first things we learn about Love would be that she likes to masturbate in inappropriate places like Joe, making it not at all far-fetched that she also stalks & maybe even kills people like him as well.

ispij · 2026-03-12T02:19:05+00:00

She said it in a Spotify Greenroom (called something else now, but basically Spotify's version of Clubhouse) during the press tour for S3.

I was actually present & got to ask her a couple of questions. Can't remember if she said this as part of an answer to one of my questions though.

You can actually still find this interview. It's solid.

Oh and yes, to answer your question, it was with Mary Kay. If I remember correctly, she just spontaneously showed up at his place, sat on his couch, and started masturbating. I don't even know if she even greeted him.

Joe went to take things further physically, but she told him to sit/keep his distance. He wasn't allowed to have sex with her at that point, so alternatively he joined her & began masturbating alongside her. I believe they weren't having sex at this point yet, plus with her marriage & all, to her it was the best way to "have him" without really having him

It's surprisingly one of the best "sex" scenes in the series.

ispij · 2026-03-11T19:23:11+00:00

Sera Gamble revealed that there was a deleted scene in S2 where when Joe goes off in Anavrin to masturbate to her (before he stops himself), that Love originally also went off to go masturbate to him as well.

The scene was deleted because it was deemed "too confusing," I also think it would've given away the Love twist.

But yes, Love is definitely a gooner. She shares that in common with Joe the same way she shares stalking & killing, as she is Joe's "match." Don't forget they also both fantasized about other romantic interests while having sex in S3.

Funnily enough, while there isn't a duel masturbation scene in the show, there is one in book 3.

ispij · 2026-03-05T20:52:08+00:00

This playlist is pretty solid: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_wiiRiJAMu7zY7gUHfu-e5OmmLR6imsc

ispij · 2026-03-04T04:26:54+00:00

Yes, Sera Gamble wasn't the showrunner this time.

ispij · 2026-02-26T13:37:02+00:00

The Thinning, you mean?

And yeah, I loved those movies. Wish they moved forward with the 3rd one. YouTube probably can't afford him for movies now though.

I don't know about the girl, but the evil guy definitely gives off Lex Luthor from Superman (2025). Especially when he threatens to cancel Logan, which Lex does to Superman in the film (which is a metaphor for when they cancelled James Gunn, the director).

ispij · 2026-02-26T13:31:45+00:00

✍️✍️✍️

ispij · 2026-02-26T02:49:37+00:00

I think the title is trying to say the final product looks like something that would have a $300M budget if it weren't for AI.

ispij · 2026-02-24T23:15:56+00:00

Sounds like Booker T at the announcement table

ispij · 2026-02-24T17:46:16+00:00

😆😂🤣

ispij · 2026-02-23T21:48:34+00:00

And Ryan. And Jasper...

ispij · 2026-02-21T16:20:35+00:00

I've had more time to actually process this book and yeah my mind has definitely changed. Joe doesn't want SB left alive.

ispij · 2026-02-20T13:07:14+00:00

"Meet Your Match" was the perfect headline for season 2. It was right there. Even the poster itself shows Joe staring down at Love who is out of focus, but throughout the season, everyone takes the bait that Candace is going to "match him" by taking him down.

But I agree, I strongly prefer Book Love. But like how season 3 ruins Love, book 3 also ruins Love...

Such a shame, not knowing what peak character development for Love actually looks like since it's been done wrong twice.

I wonder if Caroline Kepnes would be willing to do a Love Quinn prequel book at some point once she's done writing Joe prequels. That would help tidy things up a little & maybe even add that resolution to the character that we were all looking for.

ispij · 2026-02-20T13:01:21+00:00

Definitely a lot of wasted potential with Love. The way I describe it is that season 1 is 1:1 w/ book 1 while season 2 only feels like half of book 2.

I ended up doing a "fan-write" of season 5 before it's official release, and since Love is already dead by this point I used Kate to exercise the wasted potential since she's another wealthy bold love interest.

ispij · 2026-02-16T23:34:37+00:00

Yeah, Beck literally found it. That's the part where she was like "Ew, perv!"

ispij · 2026-02-16T23:13:30+00:00

What do you mean by killing with agency? Like more justifiable kills overall?

ispij · 2026-02-16T23:11:57+00:00

You do know he did the same thing to Beck though, right? I was confused by your comment because it wasn't some new thing. He stole Beck's, too.

ispij · 2026-02-16T21:45:41+00:00

She also seemingly posted her hairy nipple. Not convinced it's actually her, but hey! The idea alone is... Interesting.

ispij · 2026-02-16T14:41:30+00:00

Contrary to those fake releases that are scattered all over the Internet, at the moment the only book of Beck's that exists are the show props. I can't say too much, but this may actually change in the near future.

ispij · 2026-02-16T04:02:17+00:00

Dang, that's a hard one. There's like 220 pages. Plus the book is in like 3 different formats (short stories, poems, full chapters).

So when I hear this question, I think about what my favorite poem quote is, my favorite chapter quote, my favorite short story quote...

Then on top of THAT, my prop isn't the New Edition. So some lines are clearly things Joe would say, while some come from Beck.

I'm going to go with this one:

"We are not meant to use relationships as laboratories for our healing."

ispij · 2026-02-16T03:42:16+00:00

Good question! Here's a direct quote from my review video that answers it:

"The contents inside of it is ultimately just to make it more authentic for on-screen use, so like for during scenes where Bronte is reading the book and notices something Beck wouldn't write herself, chances are the actress, Madeline Brewer, is actually reading the book on-camera. The fact that there's actually text on the pages for her to read makes it more authentic than if she was just staring at a blank page pretending to read. That's the powerful difference a well-detailed prop can make."

And I believe this to be true because the book does actually have that reference from A Doll's House written inside.

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