You season 5 ending explained: Everything to know about Joe Goldberg's final chapter

Irish Daily Star

24-04-2025

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers from You season five.
You season five has been fully released on
Netflix
, leaving fans eager to discover the conclusion of Joe Goldberg's (portrayed by Penn Badgley) narrative.
The initial half of the fifth series primarily explored Kate Lockwood's (Charlotte Ritchie) relationship with her sister Raegan (Anna Camp), who sought control over the Lockwood Corporation. However, the second half delved deeper into the classic You storyline.
The final season gradually developed Joe's relationship with budding writer Bronte (Madeline Brewer), until it was revealed that she had been catfishing him.
Alongside Clayton (Tom Francis), the son of Dr Nicky (John Stamos) who was imprisoned for Guinevere Beck's (Elizabeth Lail) murder in the first season, and their friends, they were seeking justice.
Beck had been a friend and mentor to Bronte after she relocated to New York to pursue her writing career, so she was devastated when she learned of Beck's death.
However, Bronte suspected that Beck didn't entirely author her posthumously published book The Dark Face Of Love. This suspicion led her to meet Clayton and his friends and seek the truth from their prime suspect: Joe Goldberg.
You season five saw Bronte fight to get justice for her friend Beck who was killed by Joe Goldberg in season one.
(Image: NETFLIX)
During her deception, however, she genuinely falls for Joe and subsequently tells the police that it was self-defense when he kills Clayton.
Joe and Bronte have a deep conversation, where they come to the understanding that despite Joe being a killer, she can accept him for who he is, much to his relief.
On the other hand, Kate has finally realized the dangerous nature of Joe and feels compelled to rectify the wrongs she had previously aided him in.
The first of these wrongs was framing Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman) for her boyfriend's murder in season four. Using her social status and wealth, Kate manages to secure Nadia's release from prison.
Together, they begin to devise a plan: with Joe now smitten with Bronte, he wants Kate out of the equation.
They employ a double to lure him into a car park, where a bodyguard sneaks up behind him and injects Joe with a substance that renders him unconscious.
When he regains consciousness, he finds himself in his infamous glass cage, confronted by Kate, Nadia, and Marienne (Tati Gabrielle), his season three love interest whom he believed he had killed.
After delivering some hard truths, the three women take a break.
At this juncture, Bronte spots Marienne in Mooney's and reminds her of her initial motive for meeting Joe: to bring him down and seek revenge for Beck.
Taken aback by her encounter with Marienne, Bronte hastily departs, now uncertain of what to believe.
You season five sees Nadia released from prison thanks to Kate who wants her help in getting revenge against Joe Goldberg.
(Image: NETFLIX)
Kate, Nadia, and Marienne then agree that it is Kate who will kill Joe, leading the other two to exit the shop.
When she revisits the cellar, the cage is ajar. Joe had sewn one of the cage's keys into his flesh, anticipating he might need it in the near future.
Their confrontation escalates, culminating with Joe shooting Kate in the abdomen, causing her to crumple to the ground. Although, Joe faces more trouble upstairs as he encounters Maddie (Anna Camp).
Outraged that Joe pinned Raegen's murder on Harrison (Pete Ploszek), Maddie seeks vengeance by commanding him to "burn in H**" before igniting Mooney's.
Trapped by the locked gate and unable to escape, Joe retreats back to the cellar for an earnest exchange with Kate.
With a touch of macabre humor, she quips that both of his spouses will have perished in blazes, which leads him to confess his role in Love Quinn's (Victoria Pedretti) poisoning—a confession she records and sends to Nadia before losing consciousness.
Joe's fate seems sealed when Bronte discovers the grim scene downstairs.
But instead of abandoning him to his demise, she assists Joe out of the bookstore, vocally committed to seeking justice for his victims.
In a fit of rage, Maddie burned down Mooney's bookstore in You season five.
(Image: NETFLIX)
Oblivious to her true intentions and touched by her rescue, he proposes to her, receiving an affirmative response.
The finale sees Joe and Bronte on the lam, finding refuge in a luxurious house while the true owners are absent.
As Joe is coordinating their escape with the assistance of season two hacker Will Bettelheim (Robin Lord Taylor), Bronte is contemplating her next move.
The couple share a romantic evening that's about to turn intimate when she suddenly pulls out a gun and points it at Joe.
She demands he confess the truth about what really transpired with Beck, which he eventually does, and then insists he retract all the alterations he made in Beck's book The Dark Face Of Love.
A call comes in from Will who has managed to hack into Joe's son Henry's game, allowing him to communicate with his young son.
Regrettably, the conversation turns into Joe's worst fear as Henry wants nothing to do with him and labels him a monster before abruptly ending the call.
Heartbroken and furious, Joe blames Bronte for everything, sparking a life-or-death struggle.
You season five sees Joe's son Henry want nothing to do with him as he calls him a "monster".
(Image: NETFLIX)
Joe violently assaults Bronte who manages to flee into the woods, frantically trying to get a signal to call the police, with him pursuing her like a deadly predator.
Eventually, her phone connects and as Joe begins to hear police sirens, he pleads with Bronte to kill him, unable to bear the thought of his crimes being exposed in court.
She refuses to kill him but as he lunges at her, she stops Joe by shockingly shooting him in the penis, leaving him bleeding heavily as the police take him away.
The narrative leaps forward as Bronte assumes the role of storyteller, just as Joe is engulfed by a frenzy of media while being escorted into court.
She reveals that Joe is convicted for the murders of Love and Beck, with further allegations leading to additional convictions.
According to Bronte, this seals Joe's fate, ensuring he will remain behind bars indefinitely.
You season five's finale sees Joe Goldberg spending the rest of his life in prison.
(Image: NETFLIX)
Dr Nicky has his conviction overturned, Nadia embarks on a journey to educate women in prison, and Maddie and Harrison find joy expecting twins after everything they've been through.
Despite the scars left by the fire, Kate survives and assumes guardianship of Henry, though carrying physical reminders of the trauma.
Teddy revitalizes Lockwood Corporation, steering it towards philanthropy, bringing joy to Kate who dives back into her passion for art, championing artists like Marienne, now a full-time painter.
Bronte emerges successful in republishing Beck's book, undoing Joe's alterations, and garners more acclaim than its predecessor.
In the concluding moments of 'You', Joe finds himself isolated in his cell, with books as his solitary comfort.
He subsequently receives an unsettling "fan letter", which vividly describes the sender's desires, leading him to assert that he's not the issue, instead turning the accusation on "you", the viewers, in a chilling direct address to the camera.
You is available to watch on Netflix.