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'The Circle' winner Joey Sasso deserved to come out on top because of his ever-evolving arc, feel fans

Joey's trajectory on the show has been very real. He began as someone who was thought of as a cocky, know-it-all individual, but later grew into someone everyone wanted to protect and be with.

You either love 'The Circle' or hate it. There is no middle ground. And that's what makes it so watchable. 

The Netflix reality competition show puts 8 contestants in an apartment complex, with each of them couped up in one-bedroom flats. The fun bit is the only way they can communicate with each other is via a voice-activated app called the Circle, and in an even more interesting turn, they can be who they want to be. There are catfishes in the game. Imagine investing in an online relationship only to find out that the person you've been talking to or chatting with isn't who you thought would be? Tough, right? 

This week, the streaming giant has released the final batch of episodes that covers the last leg of the contestants' journey. Among the five finalists -- Joey Sasso, Sammie Cimarelli, Shubham Goel, Chris Sapphire, and Seaburn Williams, who catfished as Rebecca -- Joey won fair and square, walking home with the $100,000 prize. 

Joey's trajectory on the show has been very real. He began as someone who was thought of as a cocky, know-it-all individual, but later grew into someone everyone wanted to protect and be with. The one quality that set him apart was his way of coming clean. Joey has never been the one to not catfish, but every time his pretense caused an argument he was quick to admit it.

Also, he has been extremely respectful of his interactions with the girls. Not once has he used sexual innuendos as a means to flirt or get close with the ladies. When Miranda Bissonnette was voted out, she paid him a visit, which was one of the sweetest, endearing moments of the show. They made promises of staying in touch with each other and even about going on a date once he is out. The 24-year-old Rochester (New York) boy went from being a serial flirter to a one-woman man. No one would have thought that they'd forge a real connection. But here they are. 

Apart from his blooming romance with Miranda, Joey was able to establish a bromance with Shubham Goel aka Shooby and their friendship has survived thus far. Together, they are a powerful alliance both on and off the show. Joey even credits his win to Shooby, whom he calls "boy for life." 

"He had my back along the way with everything. My cousin called me after the first four episodes dropped and he goes, 'That kid's a warrior! He laid his life on the line for you.' Loyalty is so huge for us in my family ... and Shooby, from the start, was just such a gem who really was honest and true," ET Online quoted Joey as saying. 

Meanwhile, fans believe Joey is a well-deserving winner because he grew as a person. With each episode, Joey made an effort to evolve as a person and mend his way, in the sense tailored his approach towards life and people. 

"Joey has genuinely had the greatest redemption arc of all time #TheCircle," a fan wrote. "@joey_sasso is the Alex Karev of #TheCircle he kinda starts off giving bad vibes but then grows into such a genuine person and a personal fave," another expressed. "@joey_sasso so happy for you! Your strategy was on point & you played an awesome game being yourself. You’re an awesome human. Wish you all the best! Congrats! #thecircle," another viewer shared.

You can catch all 12 episodes of 'The Circle' on Netflix.