Do you remember when You began? Maybe not, but almost every modern TV bingewatcher remembers when You landed on Netflix as a holiday surprise that paid off handsomely after the show withered on the Lifetime vine. Netflix then took the serial-killing ball and ran with it, taking Joe from New York to Los Angeles to Suburban Hell to England and now back again to Manhattan. Hopefully, Joe Goldberg will get some of his edge back during the fifth and final season that has been in the works for over a year.
During his run, Penn Badgley has been forthright about how disturbed he feels about fans lusting after his stalker character, and around the fourth season he still felt “icky” about certain promotional aspects of the series, but has also thrown himself headlong into his character’s mirror-to-society characteristics to chilling effect. Let’s piece together some evidence about how it might end for Netflix’s thirsted-after killer.
Plot
Dancing around this possibility seems pointless, so let’s rip off the bandaid: is Joe Goldberg going to die? That feels destined to occur, although Netflix of course hasn’t taken a stance to avoid spoiling what happens. What does seem telling is that Joe Goldberg, who will return to his bookshop management gig, will be (as revealed by Badgley in a video announcement) visited by his past in a vengeance. Badgley suggested that anyone, including John Stamos’ Dr. Nicky, could be back to cause trouble. And since we know that Nicky got framed for some of Joe’s misdeeds, the disgraced therapist has a damn fine reason to bring Joe down if possible. Furthermore, a prominent detective character will surface and be portrayed by Baby Reindeer‘s Nava Mau.
In other words, going “home” might have been the biggest mistake that Joe has ever made. Netflix has revealed a photo of Joe striding through the Upper East Side near the bookshop that he used to own. Various photos on the internet show that he at least visited Mooney’s bookshop, which was where most of his first-season homicidal behavior occurred, although we do not know whether any evidence remains in the basement. Nor do we know if he reopens Mooney’s or creates a new business elsewhere in Manhattan. To do so seems like suicide, so is Joe simply exhausted of running from reality? Perhaps he wants to be caught. After all, there have been too many stressed-out moments in his past, going back to when he killed Peach Salinger.
On a production note, Netflix revealed that series co-creator Sera Gamble left her showrunning gig this season, and in her place will be You writers Michael Foley and Justin W. Lo.
And to promote this final season, Badgley posted a TikTok video that took on the “very demure, very mindful” meme: “Playing a romantic icon for five seasons, I’m very modest, I’m very mindful.” Don’t turn on this season and anticipate any Badgley sex scenes, however, because that ship has sailed.
Cast
Badgley will wrap up his most notorious turn yet, even more so than his warm-up role in Gossip Girl. This season, he will be accompanied by an array of new potential victims, including Madeline Brewer’s Bronte, an employee of his bookstore and a playwright who cannot possibly be using her birth name. Joe’s latest wife, Charlotte Ritchie’s Kate, has stuck around, and Griffin Matthews will portray Kate’s socially outcast brother. Kate also has identical twin sisters, both ruthless and manipulative and picked up by Anna Camp, who might not be buying Joe’s BS. And Baby Reindeer star Nava Mau will portray a detective, so watch out, Joe.
As is customary, expect Badgley to be haunted by Elizabeth Lail’s Beck and Victoria Pedretti’s Love, and perhaps we will also see Tati Gabrielle’s Marienne and Ambyr Childers’ Candace to give him a final kick as the series ends. Jenna Ortega, who previously portrayed Ellie Alves, has expressed interest in returning, although her busy schedule would make that possibility a long shot, but John Stamos’ Dr. Nicky remains alive and vengeful [cough].
Release Date
Since 2024 has nearly come and gone, bet on 2025.
Trailer
Netflix has been surprisingly quiet on this front, but here’s a refresher on why Joe is not the guy for “you.”
