Season 5 Joe would NOT have accepted Love.
Ever since season 5 came out people have been saying that Joe would have accepted Love because he is no longer in denial and has accepted himself.
But the self acceptance that Joe has at the end of season 4 and into season 5 would not change the fact that Joe still wouldn’t want Love. I see three reasons for this.
Joe is a control freak, he needs to have control of his environment and the people around him. He stalks, monitors and gathers information to remain in control of his narrative so he can feel at ease and make things play out to his desires. Love ruins this because she is just like him. She is chaotic, violent, manipulative and a predator, not to mention extremely impulsive. Joe can’t control what she does or predict what she’ll do because she is so insane and cunning. He loses his control and power over the narrative when Love is involved, he despises this.
Joe wants a vulnerable innocent woman to white knight for, not a partner in crime. Joe has never been looking for an equal or someone like him. He is a predator and he targets vulnerable women. He wants a woman who is the light in contrast to his darkness, the beauty to his beast. Love is the complete opposite of this since she is a predator herself and just like him.
He’s a narcissist and even if he does the same things as Love, he simply can’t interpret it that way. He views Love’s violence as uncontrolled, psychotic and unjustified. While he sees his own as controlled, necessary and for the greater good. He views Love’s violence as the opposite to his.
Season 5 Joe has accepted the fact that he enjoys killing, but just because he has accepted that for himself does not mean he’s not going to detest others for doing the same. He’s a massive hypocrite.