- You Season 5 will be released on Netflix in April and is the last season
- It is about serial killer and stalker Joe Goldberg
- Penn Badgley plays the lead role
A trailer for You season 5 dropped on 10 March and it has everyone talking about the show’s last season. Joe Goldberg is back in New York, this time with all the fame and money in the world. But it seems to come with a price. The Netflix show follows Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) a stalker and serial killer who becomes obsessed with beautiful women and will do anything to get them. The thriller became a big hit for Netflix after being canceled by Lifetime after its first season.
You season 5 plot
Each season Joe Goldberg reinvents himself and becomes obsessed with another girl, and the cycle continues. Despite the repetitive concept, fans have tuned in to the show each season to see what shenanigans Joe will get up to. In You season 5, the objective seems to be taking Joe down. He thinks he has become untouchable in his relationship with his rich British girlfriend Kate (Charlotte Ritchie).
Season 5 seems like it will explore multiple plot lines, one of which will focus on Joe being famous. “Now that he is well known in New York, social media is on him. That’s something fun for us to explore,” Justin W. Lo, one of the show’s executive producers, told Tudum.
Read More: Everything we know about season 5 of You so far
There is also another hint towards Joe repeating his cycle with another young woman played by Madeline Brewer. The action-packed You season 5 trailer has revealed a lot about the show’s plot, but here is what we want to happen in the upcoming season.
1. Joe Goldberg gets taken down in You season 5
Fans of the show have been manifesting for Joe to be taken down by the ghosts from his past since season 1. Joe’s ex Candance Stone (Ambyr Childers) tried to do that in season 2 when she tried to expose his behavior to his equally psycho girlfriend Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti).
However, nobody has succeeded in bringing Joe to justice or seeing him put behind bars for his crimes. The deaths of those he killed could be avenged by exposing his creepy behavior and serial killer tendencies. It is the perfect way to end the series.
Despite many fans rooting for Joe, an ending with him behind bars or killed is a satisfying ending for fans. The writers have already made him go full-circle by returning to New York where the story begins, so why not have it end there? Figuratively and literally.
Furthermore, Joe being exposed brings the potential for many character returns, but we will get into that.
3. Ellie Alves’ return
Fans have wanted Ellie Alves to return since her exit at the end of season 2. The character was played by Jenna Ortega. She became a fan-favorite because of her initial hatred of Joe. However, Ellie bonds with Joe over movies and he becomes a bit of a friend and protector to her. Regardless of her role in season 5, Ellie’s return could bring many potential plot points in her return. What about a revenge plot to take down Joe?
The thing is when Candance tried to exact her revenge, it was cringy and unorganized but someone like Ellie who has stayed in the shadows could outsmart Joe. There is also the fact that before You season 5, Ellie knows that Joe killed Beck (Elizabeth Lail) and Candace. Forty, love’s brother, spills the beans in a rant that Ellie overhears.
Joe tells Ellie to leave LA and she does, after telling him that she hates him. Joe is indirectly responsible for Delilah’s disappearance, death, and uprooting Ellie’s life. Her coming back as a young adult to try and expose Joe could be a juicy story.
She is one of the only people Joe has let live with the knowledge of who he is, yet maybe seeing him famous could enrage her. While Ellie has lived the rest of her teenage years in hiding (she would be around 20) at this point, Joe has become incredibly rich and influential. What if Ellie became angry about how her life was destroyed, and vowed to take Joe down after recognizing him on TV or online?
Wouldn’t that be a story? Ortega also now has major star power after starring in Wednesday season 2 and multiple blockbuster movies, so her return would be amazing.
3. A deeper look into Joe’s psyche
Joe’s mind and behavior are big parts of his personality. The You season 5 trailer shows a moment where Joe says, “At heart, I am a normal guy”. What if he finally has a moment of recognition and admits what he is? Never does Joe admit to himself or others that he is a vicious stalker and serial killer without justification.
Joe coming to terms with that realization would be groundbreaking for him. He has a huge level of self-awareness in other areas, but not in calling himself what he is. There are times when he admits his darkness and the bad things he has done, like killing Love, but he justifies it as a necessary evil. Joe also does this when he is in love with someone. He justifies killing Beck’s therapist and best friend Peach in season 1 because he thinks he’s helping her, when that is not the case.
If Joe admits during this monologue that he is a bad guy through and through, it could lead to his breakdown with admissions of guilt over his killings. Not only would this be a fantastic acting moment for Badgley, but it would also be a turning point in the series where everything in Joe’s mind threatens to unravel.
4. An update on Marianne
Most of You has been about male power until Love comes in season 2. One of Joe’s better and more likable love interests Marianne (Tati Gabrielle) meets Joe in season 3 at the Madre Linda library. She has a whirlwind romance and affair with Joe until she discovers what he is. Part of season 4 is spent with a cat-and-mouse game with Joe trying to find Marianne in her home in Paris.
Season 4 ends with Joe thinking Marianne is dead from an overdose, but she is never confirmed dead. Seeing what became of Marianne would be great closure for fans who loved the character. We even see Marianne find out about Joe and him turning his life around with Kate. Like Ellie, it is likely this turn of events would enrage Marianne. He almost made her lose her daughter Juliette and stalked her for a long time.
Beaten and mentally scarred from Joe, it isn’t unheard of to think that Marianne would return with a newfound motivation to take Joe down, especially now that he is famous. Seeing Joe’s previous victims who he didn’t kill team up in the name of girl power to take him down would be immensely satisfying. Who better to take down a self-absorbed man obsessed with controlling women than a team of women?!
5. Kate starts to realize who and what Joe is
Kate Lockwood’s family is very morally grey from the jump, but she is no serial killer. Kate stays with Joe and protects him from anyone wanting to harm him. Her family has immense wealth and influence through the Lockwood Corporation. This is the family’s medical company that is involved in many unethical business practices.
At the end of season 4, we see that Kate has welcomed Joe with open arms and adopted him as her trophy husband. However, the season 5 trailer shows that Kate is considering those seeds of doubt when she is asked “Who did you marry”? Having her rethink about Joe will be an epic way to conclude the series. Maybe she doesn’t realize it because of an affair like Love does. Maybe she realizes it for the sake of Joe’s son Henry, who is shown bonding with Kate in the trailer.
Alternatively, Kate could feel guilt for using her money and resources to take Henry away from his quiet life in Madre Linda. Because of this, she could feel inclined to escape or take down her husband. Hopefully, this is what fuels her to leave and not Joe’s possible affair with a younger woman.
Having Kate take Henry away from his dad not only will break the trauma cycle but will save him from ending up like his father. This move would also be the ultimate loss of control for Joe, the one thing he craves more than women.
