- You season 5 was released on 24 April
- The Netflix show stars Penn Badgley as stalker Joe Goldberg
- Season 4 premiered in February 2023, but what happened in it?
Hold onto your TV remotes, because You season 5 dropped on Netflix. The thriller series stars Penn Badgley as a derranged man who becomes obsessed with women and goes to incredible lengths to get them. Originally, the show premiered on Lifetime but was canceled after one season. However, Netflix acquired the show and produced the remaining four seasons. You season 4 premiered in February 2023, and two years later, we have the final season!
Read more: You season 5: What We Want To See
Each season, Joe Goldberg travels to a new location and becomes obsessed with a new woman, leading him to reinvent himself and uproot his life. In season 4, he met and settled down with a rich woman, Kate Lockwood (Charlotte Richie). By this point, his identity and patterns had become public knowledge, which set up season 5 beautifully for the downfall of Joe.
But how did Joe get to where he currently is? Let’s recap You season 4.
What happened in You season 4?
You season 4 part 1 recap
After fleeing Madre Linda, Joe relocates to London and reinvents himself as Jonathan Moore, a literature professor at the prestigious Darcy College. As part of the job, he’s given a flat, where he soon notices his uptight neighbor Kate Galvin, who works at an art gallery. Joe becomes obsessed with her, especially after saving her from a mugging. Her boyfriend, Malcolm, invites Joe to Sundry House, a lavish private club, introducing him to a circle of entitled elites — including socialite Lady Phoebe and writer-turned-politician Rhys Montrose.
Before long, Malcolm turns up dead, stabbed on Joe’s kitchen table. Joe, unsure if he killed him during a drunken blackout, begins receiving taunting texts from someone calling themselves the “Eat the Rich Killer,” who knows Joe’s real identity. Meanwhile, flashbacks reveal Joe tracked his former obsession, Marianne, to Paris but ultimately let her go. A hitman working for the Quinn family promised Joe freedom if he killed Marianne, but he spared her.
As the killer continues to target Joe’s new circle, Joe grows closer to Kate. During a weekend away at a countryside estate, Roald accuses Joe of being the killer, pushes him out a window, and hunts him through the woods. Before Roald can kill him, both men are captured by Rhys.
Rhys reveals himself as the Eat the Rich Killer and tries to recruit Joe to his cause. He wants Joe to kill Roald and help him take down the corrupt elite. Joe refuses. Rhys sets the building on fire, but Kate intervenes and saves them. Back in London, Joe and Kate struggle with their connection as Joe tries to bring Rhys down — but the danger is far from over.
Part 2 recap
In You season 4, part 2, Joe begins actively hunting Rhys, who tries to manipulate him into framing others for the murders. Rhys gives Joe the severed ear of artist Simon to plant as evidence. Joe frames a waitress who had previously tried to kidnap Phoebe, which makes his student, Nadia, suspicious as she witnesses it.
Rhys urges Joe to kill Kate’s father, Tom Lockwood, but Joe hesitates, not wanting to harm Kate. However, after Tom publishes an article exposing Rhys as a fraud, Joe is offered a deal: kill Rhys at his countryside cottage. Joe unknowingly believes he’s killing the real Rhys, but in doing so, discovers the Rhys he knows isn’t real; he’s a figment of his imagination. Joe has been the killer all along.
Joe also learns that he kidnapped Marianne during her brief visit to London and locked her in an abandoned building. He had a psychotic break, causing memory gaps. Nadia discovers Marianne’s captivity, and while Joe promises to free her, Nadia vows to do the same.
Joe kills Tom Lockwood after discovering he was behind Kate’s work and business ventures, leaving her to inherit his fortune. Joe and Kate’s relationship deepens as they both confront their pasts. To protect his secret, Joe frames Nadia for her boyfriend’s murder and silences her.
In the final episode, Joe and Kate return to New York, where they work to reshape Joe’s public image, casting him as a victim of Love’s abuse. Joe gets his son, Henry, back, and they begin their new life together, free from the past, for now.
You season 5 is now streaming on Netflix.
