simply amazing, always for you.
NEW YORK – April 24, 2025 — After years of obsession, manipulation, and murder cloaked in romance and literary charm, Joe Goldberg’s twisted tale has finally reached its end.
The fifth and final season of You—Netflix’s psychological thriller-turned-pop culture phenomenon—returns Joe to his old hunting grounds in New York City. But the stakes are higher, the body count heavier, and the end, this time, is irreversible.
Joe Tries Again—But the Past Has a Long Memory
The season opens with a familiar premise: a fresh start. Joe (Penn Badgley) is now married to Kate Lockwood (Charlotte Ritchie), a wealthy British socialite who knows about his violent past and still chooses to stand by him. They’re rich, respected, and seemingly stable, living a curated life of Upper East Side prestige.
For a moment, it seems Joe may have actually changed. But You has always thrived on the delusion of redemption. Enter Brontë (Madeline Brewer), a struggling playwright and bookstore clerk who cracks open the facade Joe built. She’s raw, intense, and everything Joe once romanticized in his past obsessions.
As they connect over literature and shared pain, Joe’s old patterns resurface: the obsession, the lies, the urge to control. It’s all-too-familiar territory—but this time, he’s up against more than just his own psyche.
Family Secrets, Fatal Consequences
Kate’s family, the Lockwoods, are not so easily won over. Her sister Raegan and cousin Maddie (both played by Anna Camp) and her brother Teddy (Griffin Matthews) are suspicious of Joe from the start. Their mistrust isn’t just a character quirk—it sets the wheels of tragedy in motion.
As Joe struggles to maintain control, bodies begin to drop. Raegan dies under circumstances linked to Joe’s growing desperation, and Kate’s trust begins to fracture. Ultimately, Joe’s double life implodes spectacularly.
Brontë Delivers the Final Blow
The final arc belongs to Brontë, who refuses to be just another chapter in Joe’s bloody love story. Determined to honor the victims Joe left in his wake, she launches a one-woman crusade to expose him.
Her investigation works. With mounting evidence, public scrutiny, and the unraveling of his carefully constructed lies, Joe is arrested. There is no escape this time. In the finale, he is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole—marking a rare moment in television where the antihero actually faces the music.
Critics Call Out Repetition, Applaud Closure
While the final season delivers the justice many fans had long hoped for, it hasn’t escaped criticism. Critics argue that the show leaned heavily on recycled tropes: Joe meets a woman, tries to change, fails, and people die. Lather, rinse, repeat.
The Guardian labeled the ending “an insultingly rubbish conclusion” for a character that once captivated audiences with his complex contradictions. The attempt to offer commentary on wealth, gender dynamics, and digital culture also falls flat in the eyes of many, coming off as half-baked rather than bold.
Still, some praise the season for closing the loop on Joe’s narrative. For all its narrative stumbles, You commits to a hard ending. Joe doesn’t flee to another city. He doesn’t fake his death. He’s caught. And for a show that built itself on moral ambiguity, that kind of moral clarity is unexpectedly satisfying.
What’s Next for Penn Badgley?
As for Penn Badgley, he seems ready to move on. In interviews promoting the final season, he’s been candid about the toll the character took on him and the discomfort of playing someone who, despite his monstrosity, became a romantic icon for some viewers.
“I’m glad we’re finally closing the book on Joe,” Badgley said. “It’s been a wild ride, but it’s time.”
And with that, Netflix’s You ends not with a bang or a twist, but with a long-overdue reckoning—one that might finally give its haunted lead, and its equally haunted audience, a little peace.