Joe Goldberg has ended his story.
The fifth and final season of Penn Badgley’s Netflix thriller “You” is now streaming. The actor plays Joe Goldberg, a bookish romantic who thinks of himself as sensitive — and has a nasty habit of murdering people wherever he goes.
So, does the final season of “You” let Joe off the hook for his crimes? Does it end with him dead? Or, does it end with him in prison, suffering the consequences of his actions?
Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg in “You.” CLIFTON PRESCOD/NETFLIX
Madeline Brewer as Bronte, Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg in “You.” CLIFTON PRESCOD/NETFLIX
Spoilers below for “You” Season 5.
Ultimately, the show ends with Joe behind bars.
Season 5 finds Joe back where it all started, in New York City with his British wife, Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), and young son, Henry (Frankie DeMaio).
Because Kate is a high-powered business exec, she and Joe become famous and are invited to all the splashy society events. Joe graces magazine covers, and becomes known as her supportive husband. The public thinks he’s Prince Charming.
All isn’t well between Joe and Kate, though. As he becomes disillusioned with his life, Joe meets Bronte (Madeline Brewer) and starts an affair with her.
She’s just his type: a down-on-her luck girl who enjoys discussing books with him.
Madeline Brewer as Bronte in “You.” MATT INFANTE/NETFLIX
Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, Madeline Brewer as Bronte in “You.” CLIFTON PRESCOD/NETFLIX
Halfway through the season, a twist is revealed: Bronte isn’t who she seems to be. She catfished Joe.
Her real name is Louise, and she was close with Joe’s first victim from Season 1, Beck (Elizabeth Lail).
When Beck died, Louise was distraught and suspicious about the circumstances. She ended up finding a group of like-minded internet sleuths to team up with in order to take down Joe.
After her friend Dominique (Natasha Behnam) catches Joe killing someone on video and live-streams it to the world, Joe’s star falls. He even ends up on the cover of the New York Post, with the headline: “Joe Goldmurderer.”
Joe is furious to be so misunderstood by the public.
Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, Charlotte Ritchie as Kate Lockwood in “You.” COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Madeline Brewer as Bronte, Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg in “You.” CLIFTON PRESCOD/NETFLIX
There are twists and turns in his romance with Bronte / Louise, because although she was teaming up with her friends to dupe and expose Joe, it turns out she really did fall for him, and start doubting his guilt.
In the end, Bronte / Louise agrees to run away with Joe to start a new life together – but at this point, she’s once again trying to expose him as a murderer.
After the couple takes refuge at a secluded house, Bronte / Louise holds Joe at gunpoint and demands to know what happened to Beck.
The struggle over the gun, and their fight soon trickles outside, with both of them wounded, running through the woods.
She manages to call the cops, who chase Joe and catch him.
Joe’s famous cell in “You.” COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Charlotte Ritchie as Kate Lockwood, Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, Frankie Demaio as Henry Goldberg in “You.” CLIFTON PRESCOD/NETFLIX
The show ends with Louise’s voiceover telling us that Joe was put on trial, his crimes were exposed, and now he’s in prison.
The camera shows Joe with a shaved head and in a prison jumpsuit, sitting alone in a prison cell.
He still doesn’t take responsibility for his actions, though – as he reads sexy letters that “fans” sent him.
“So in the end, my punishment is even worse than I imagined,” he says in a voiceover. “The loneliness, oh my god, the loneliness. No hope of being held…this is forever. It’s unfair, putting all of this on me. Aren’t we all just projects of our environment? Hurt people hurt people.”
As he reads one particular letter, he asks himself: “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.”
As “Creep” by Radiohead starts to play, Joe proclaims: “Maybe the problem isn’t me…maybe it’s you.”
