Spoiler Alert: This article discusses the ending of You Season 5.
In the climactic conclusion of You Season 5, viewers witness the most intense face-off of the series. Set in the damp woods of upstate New York, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) finds himself stripped down – physically and emotionally – as he pleads for Bronte (Madeline Brewer), his latest obsession and adversary, to end it all.
Filming this scene was gruelling. With rain machines flooding the set and his voice nearly gone, Badgley pushed through exhaustion to deliver a finale that’s as visceral as it is symbolic. “I felt like I gave Joe everything I had,” he told Tudum by Netflix.
Joe Goldberg’s New York Return: A Fresh Start or Final Act?
Three years have passed without a single murder from Joe. Back in New York, he’s seemingly reformed: a doting father to Henry, husband to billionaire Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), and finally free from his past… or so it seems. But his quest for consuming love isn’t over.
Enter Bronte – a mysterious writer with a chaotic backstory and a secret mission. Joe falls hard, not realising he’s being lured into a carefully constructed trap.
Who is Bronte Really? The Truth Behind the Alias
Bronte is not just a lost soul looking for inspiration – she’s actually Louise Flannery, a former student of Guinevere Beck, Joe’s very first victim. After Beck’s death, Louise became obsessed with uncovering the truth and joined an online group dedicated to exposing Joe.
The trap is set in motion by Episode 5 when Joe kills Clayton, thinking he’s protecting Bronte, only to be ambushed and live-streamed by her co-conspirators. The reveal? Bronte was never real – she was built to bring Joe down.
Why Bronte Falls for Joe
Despite her original intentions, Bronte finds herself emotionally entangled with Joe. Her empathy, once her strength as a writer, becomes her downfall. As she debriefs her story to Detective Marquez (Nava Mau), it becomes clear – Bronte genuinely believes Joe might be capable of redemption.
Their emotionally charged interactions inside Joe’s infamous glass cage unlock dark truths. Joe opens up about his traumatic past, revealing that his capacity for murder was instilled by his abusive mother. For the first time, You edges close to giving Joe a diagnosis – he’s not simply a sociopath, but a man molded by childhood violence.
Bronte as the Audience Mirror: Why We Rooted for a Killer
Bronte’s arc reflects a hard truth for fans: we’ve romanticised Joe, much like she does. Her journey from catfish to believer mirrors how viewers have often excused Joe’s crimes for the sake of the story.
“She represents all of us,” said co-creator Michael Foley. “We fell for Joe, just like she did, and had to wake up to the horror of that.”
The Return of Marienne and Nadia
The tide turns when Marienne (Tati Gabrielle) and Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman) re-enter the picture, joining forces with Kate to finally stop Joe. After locking him in his own cage, they attempt to extract a confession, leading to one of the season’s most powerful moments.
Marienne confronts Bronte, delivering a gut-wrenching reminder: abuse can feel like love, and falling for someone like Joe is never your fault. Bronte is forced to face the truth—not just about Joe, but about herself.
The Fire, the Escape, and the Final Betrayal
Joe manages to escape the cage and shoots Kate, but his plans are foiled when Maddie (Anna Camp) traps him in Mooney’s bookstore and sets it ablaze. Bronte rescues Joe – not out of love, but to see justice served.
As fugitives on the run, Joe believes they’re starting over. Bronte, however, has other plans. In a lakeside cabin, she forces him to unwrite his version of events in The Dark Face of Love, setting the stage for their final confrontation.
Does Joe Die in the End of You?
Joe doesn’t die – but he’s destroyed. After attempting to kill Bronte in a fit of rage, she shoots him in the groin, stripping him of the one thing that helped fuel his delusion of romantic power. Police arrive and finally arrest him.
The twist? Bronte takes over narration duties, symbolising a shift in perspective. Joe is no longer the centre of the story – he’s now the cautionary tale.
Joe Goldberg’s Fate: A Life Sentence with No Escape
Rather than being killed off, Joe is sentenced to a fate arguably worse: life in prison, isolated and powerless. For creators and cast alike, this outcome felt more like justice than vengeance.
“Death would’ve been easy,” said Foley. “He needed to be held accountable – not just punished.”
Final Words: Joe’s Unrepentant Monologue
In the series’ haunting final scene, Joe sits behind bars, reading a fan letter with chilling calm. His inner monologue reveals he’s learned nothing, still deflecting blame with unnerving ease. “It’s unfair putting all of this on me. Aren’t we all just products of our environment? Hurt people hurt people. I never stood a chance,” he rationalises. “Why am I in a cage while strangers beg me to do unspeakable things to them? Maybe society’s the problem. Maybe we’re all broken. Maybe it’s not me… maybe it’s you.”
Showrunner Justin Foley says that ending was always intentional: “We knew we wanted to end with Joe having not changed. That was the most important thing – one final deflection.”
Saying goodbye wasn’t easy, but for Penn Badgley, the timing felt right. “We don’t need to see him do what he’s doing any longer,” he admits. Reflecting on the journey, he adds, “I’m grateful I got to play him, but no amount of enjoyment can erase how disturbing a man like Joe Goldberg really is. After this long, I’m ready to let him go. Hopefully, it feels like the right place to end.”
In the closing moments, Joe reads a fan letter behind bars and delivers a chilling monologue: “Maybe the problem isn’t me. Maybe it’s you.” His final words are a dark deflection, a mirror held up to society’s obsession with the monsters it creates.
“We wanted to end with Joe unchanged,” Foley explained. “Still dangerous. Still deluded. Still Joe.”
The End of Joe Goldberg: A Curtain Call, Not a Redemption
As You wraps its final season, Penn Badgley says goodbye to a character he embodied for nearly a decade. “I’m proud of what we did,” he said, “but I’m ready to lay Joe to rest.”
The finale of You doesn’t offer catharsis. It offers clarity. Joe was never a misunderstood romantic – he was a predator hiding behind poetry. And in the end, the story he wrote for himself was torn apart by the very women he underestimated.
