‘You’ Season 5: Everything To Know So Far About The Netflix Show’s Final Season

You might not be the most logically coherent TV show, but to its credit, it still manages to addict Netflix viewers despite the lead character being a reprehensible piece of work. Joe Goldberg has stalked his way in and out of trouble for four full seasons, and somehow, he keeps getting away with (literal) murder. The streamer decided that Joe was good for a final season, too, even after an ennui-filled fourth round in gloomy London that scored over 90 million streaming hours in its first week.

Joe, who is always on the move after each round of crime, is taking himself on one last voyage, and he has headed into a new-old setting for the show’s fifth season. Let’s get down to tackling what to expect from more You.

Plot

Let’s get this out of the way: Joe is a stalker extraordinaire, but he’s also a semi-chaste stalker now. That is to say, Penn Badgley voiced his resolve to no longer do sex scenes, and you know, it’s hard to blame the guy after a particularly humiliating scene involving Joe, Love, and another couple in the third season. With that said, he will still be up to his old tricks, and after beginning his story in New York, followed by Los Angeles, France, and England, he’s fully back in the Big Apple.

There, the show might address the biggest mystery of the entire series: how has he been making an on-off living as a bookseller? In all seriousness, however, Joe is opening a new book shop, which means that he will probably favor rare books that need to be preserved in some type of underground vault, the better to hide his inevitable victims. In the fourth season, viewers will will recall, the tables turned on Joe, and he became the hunted. Sort-of. Joe was actually the Eat-the-Rich killer, too, but the season finale saw Kate help Joe free himself from all consequences, and there he was, running merrily free again. Will that last?

Not likely. Badgley has been very upfront about rooting for Joe to get what’s coming, and it seems unlikely that he will face legal consequences because although he’s sloppier, the powers that be are somehow even more inept when it comes to Joe. What does seem more probable is that there could be a legit threat to Joe’s life. Do viewers really want to see him get out of this story alive, or should we expect him dead? The latter seems like the only justice possible.

As well, there’s apparently a ghost from the past (presumably beyond Beck, Candace, and Love) who will be back to mess with Mr. Goldberg.

Who will that be? A teaser has hinted at the open threads that remain in Joe’s story. Those include past victims who could very well get him busted, including Marienne (Tati Gabrielle) and Dr. Nicky (John Stamos), if they find the proper ammo and/or people choose to believe them. Also, Jenna Ortega has gone on record to express interest in returning for her Season 2 character, Ellie, who Joe met in Los Angeles. Here’s what Badgley has said about the final season thus far: “Can his inner monologue evolve some now? What does it mean for him to accept himself?” Take that as you will.

Heck, maybe Joe will take himself out at the end? We need more clues, but the show is shooting now in New York City, so we should at least see some official teaser photos soon.

Cast

Thus far, Penn Badgley has been confirmed to be accompanied by Madeline Brewer, “an enigmatic and free-spirited playwright” named Bronte (of course) who will make the unfortunate decision of working in Joe’s new bookshop.

Release Date

Supposedly, this show will see the Season 5 light in 2024, although it wouldn’t be surprising to see Joe Goldberg’s goodbye land in two parts.

Trailer

No trailer exists yet, but here’s Penn Badgley dropping a few hints and expressing his fondness for the show’s (admittedly obsessive) fans.