You season 5 branded 'rushed and boring' as past characters return for final episodes

Daily Record

24-04-2025

The latest instalment of You brings Joe Goldberg's story full circle, with a host of familiar faces returning for the final chapter. Three years on from season four, we find Joe Goldberg (played by Penn Badgley) settled in New York with his wife Kate Lockwood (Charlotte Ritchie) and their son Henry. But peace is short-lived as Joe becomes infatuated with Bronte (Madeline Brewer), an aspiring writer working at Mooney's bookstore , who harbours a troubling past. Bronte's attempts to escape her abusive ex, Clayton (Tom Francis), are thwarted when she disappears, prompting a desperate search by Joe, reports the Mirror . Joe's quest leads him to a beach house where he believes Clayton has taken Bronte, culminating in a passionate reunion between the "star-crossed lovers". However, their moment is shattered when Joe stumbles upon Clayton threatening Bronte downstairs, resulting in a brutal confrontation that ends with Joe delivering a deadly blow to Clayton's head, smashing it against the fireplace. In a stunning twist, Dominique (Natasha Benham) appears, having live-streamed the entire sequence of events on social media, as Bronte stands by, holding a taser. The subsequent episode reveals that Bronte had been catfishing Joe as a means of seeking revenge for her friend Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail) and justice for Dr Nicky (John Stamos), Clayton's father. Episodes six and seven, titled The Dark Face Of Love and #JoeGoldberg, bring back several familiar faces in You season 5, including Guinevere Beck who is central to Bronte's catfishing scheme. She was Bronte's TA during her writing studies when she moved to New York. Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman) also returns. Joe had framed Nadia for her boyfriend's murder, resulting in her imprisonment. Fortunately, her story doesn't end there as she looks to bring Joe down. Tati Gabrielle's character Marienne, who became the focus of Joe's obsession in the third season of You while he was still wedded to Love, makes a comeback in season five alongside Nadia and Kate, forming an alliance to avenge Joe's actions. In other developments, Dottie Quinn (played by Saffron Burrows), the mother of Love and Forty from prior seasons, reappears in episode seven to besmirch Joe's character publicly. The storyline also revisits husband-and-wife influencers Sherry (Shalita Grant) and Cary (Travis Van Winkle), from season three, who have ended up behind bars. We also revisit Paco, played by Luca Padovan, who looked up to Joe in his attempts to escape the abusive relationship between his mother and her violent partner, Ron Baker. Critics were quick to blast the latest and final season of the Netflix show. Ed Power from the Daily Telegraph commented: "The bodies continue to pile up as he goes along. "But for many viewers, the first thing to croak it will be their attention span as an already silly series commits the unforgivable sin of becoming indulgent and, finally, straight-up stultifying." Kayleigh Donaldson from The Wrap gave her view: "What is 'You' without danger? "It's just kind of daft, but not with any thrills or guilty pleasure". Over at the London Evening Standard, Maddy Mussen concluded: "Penn Badgley remains a strong and steadfast performer to the bitter end. But by god did this series need a mercy killing already. "I'm just glad it's been put of its misery." You Season 5 also debuted with the lowest score from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, only 71 per cent. One user commented: "Not that good, felt rushed and it's so boring," while another chimed in: "You could enjoy it until the first seven episodes, but after that it's complete chaos and illogicality."