After five murderous seasons, Joe Goldberg’s journey finally came to an end — but did Netflix’s You actually kill him?
The final season, which premiered on Thursday, April 24, featured various twists and turns for Penn Badgley‘s anti-hero. Joe started the season off married to Kate (Charlotte Ritchie) and integrated into her rich family. He was also reunited with his son, Henry, but one chance run-in with the mysterious Bronte (Madeline Brewer) threw Joe for a loop.
It didn’t take long for Joe’s killer tendencies to return, which then combined with his interest in Bronte. Joe ultimately started an affair with Bronte behind Kate’s back before he realized that there was a whole other plan in motion.
Turned out, Bronte had Beck (Elizabeth Lail) as her TA in college. Yes, that Beck. After Beck’s death, Bronte teamed up with some internet friends who didn’t buy the excuse that Dr. Nicky (John Stamos) killed her. This led them to Joe and a scheme to lure him in through Bronte.
After five seasons — and a growing list of victims — Joe Goldberg is about to receive a fitting farewell. But what happened leading up to You‘s series finale? In case you need a refresher, it’s been two years since we last saw Penn Badgley‘s killer character. The show originally debuted on Lifetime in 2018, […]
Bronte, however, found herself falling for Joe and backed out on the plan. It took some ghosts from Joe’s past to convince Bronte he was everything they claimed he was. From there, Bronte thought of a plan that ended with her and Joe in a showdown in the woods. Bronte won — after shooting Joe in a very intimate place — and Joe was locked away for life.
But the Netflix series took the opportunity to pose a question to the audience in its final moments.
“Another fan. Why am I in a cage when these crazies write me all the depraved things they want me to do to them? Maybe we have a problem as a society. Maybe we should fix what’s broken in us,” Badgley’s character said before breaking the fourth wall. “Maybe the problem isn’t me. Maybe it’s you.”
Keep scrolling to find out where every You character ended up in the series finale:
Joe Goldberg
Moving back to New York resulted in Joe falling back into some old patterns — including murder. This caused him to drift away from Kate and right into Bronte’s arms. But the affair took a deadly turn when Joe killed her ex-boyfriend (Tom Francis), who was actually Dr. Nicky’s son. Bronte and a group of friends from the internet set up a plan to take down Joe.
Bronte briefly reconsidered after forming a bond with Joe, but once she saw his true nature she tricked him into getting arrested. Joe was sentenced to life in prison, which is the last scene of the series.
Kate Lockwood-Goldberg
After moving to New York, Kate tried to rehabilitate Joe’s image. Their marriage seemed perfect until Joe had the urge to kill again and later had an affair. Kate then set a plan in motion to take her husband down — and gain full custody of Joe’s son, Henry.
The plan brought several people from Joe’s past back into his life and Kate nearly didn’t make it after they were both caught in a fire at the bookstore. Kate did survive, but suffered third degree burns. She was able to get the confession that put Joe in prison and became Henry’s primary caretaker.
Bronte
Initially, Bronte was a mysterious newcomer who connected with Joe. The truth? Beck was her TA and her death caused Bronte to dig into what actually happened to her. This led her to an online community who blamed Joe — and tracked his movement since Beck’s death.
Bronte went rogue after meeting Joe and briefly turned on her friends. But by the end of the series, Bronte got Joe arrested after a showdown and she was able to republish Beck’s book with Joe’s words.
Netflix’s You is coming to an end after season 5 — but is every fan favorite character returning for the final episodes of the show? You, which originally debuted on Lifetime in 2018, introduced Penn Badgley as a serial killer whose obsession for a girl grew to terrifying heights. Based on books by Caroline Kepnes, […]
Raegan and Maddie Lockwood
With Anna Camp playing both parts, it wasn’t always easy to know when she was Raegan and when she was Maddie. Joe kidnapped who he thought was Raegan but it was actually Maddie and the situation got complicated. Joe wanted to kill Raegan so he kidnapped her too and the sisters faced off in his secret glass cage.
Maddie came out on top — after killing her twin sister — but had to pretend to be Raegan. The guilt got to be too much to her and hijinks ensued as different people found out who Maddie was. Joe even took Maddie and Raegan’s husband — who had an affair with Maddie — hostage. He framed Harrison for her murder but once Joe was arrested, the truth came out.
Maddie didn’t have to serve time for killing her sister and she ended up marrying Raegan’s husband and getting pregnant with his child (after previously carrying Raegan’s daughter).
Teddy Lockwood
Throughout the season, Kate’s half brother (Griffin Matthews) supported her despite having concerns about Joe. A fight for power at their father’s company ultimately resulted in Teddy taking charge and turning it into a nonprofit.
Marienne Bellamy
After faking her death, Marienne (Tati Gabrielle) returned to end Joe’s reign of terror once and for all. She tried to convince Bronte not to trust Joe before going back to Paris and her daughter. Marienne resurfaced once Joe was arrested to work with Kate to sell her art.
Nadia Farran
Once Kate turned on Joe, she tracked down people from his past including Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman). She freed the student from prison and they worked together — with Marienne — to take Joe down. One fire at Mooney’s later, Nadia started over by writing a book and continuing to do outreach with prisoners.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(742x275:744x277)/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-timeline-092523-tout-669c64f9a1c0492ab5c8853b508a9996.jpg "Taylor Swift Wears Matching Travis Kelce Chiefs Jacket for NYE Game")
