What happens at the end of You season 5?

After five seasons, Netflix series You has officially come to an end.

Created by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, the psychological thriller’s final season sees serial killer Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) return to New York, as his dark past threatens to upend his peaceful life.

• READ MORE: ‘You’ season four review: can psycho-killer Joe solve this murder in the members’ club?

Other cast members include Charlotte Ritchie, Griffin Matthews, Anna Camp, Pete Ploszek, Michael Dempsey, Madeline Brewer and Tom Francis.

All ten episodes of season five were released on April 24, 2025 on Netflix.

What happens to Joe Goldberg in theYou finale?

It’s a big confrontation between Bronte and Joe CREDIT: Netflix

Joe Goldberg’s downfall is caused by Bronte (real name Louise Flannery). As revealed in episode six, Bronte is out to get justice for her friend Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), who was killed by Joe in season one.

Bronte’s plan is muddled when she starts to develop actual feelings for Joe over the course of the season, but she’s brought to her senses by Marienne (Tati Gabrielle), who makes her realise she’s the only who can bring him to justice.

After Kate sends Joe’s confession to killing Love and Tom to the police, Joe and Bronte go on the run and hide out in a vacant lake house. While there, Bronte pulls a gun on Joe and confronts him over Beck’s death, forcing him to redact the changes he made to her book.

However, Joe manages to overpower Bronte and tries to kill her by drowning her in a lake. The police arrive and chase Joe through the woods, but Bronte, who is still alive, manages to corner him at gunpoint.

Joe begs Bronte to kill him but she refuses. As Joe lunges to take the gun away from her, Bronte shoots him in the penis. A wounded Joe is then arrested by police, and he’s later sentenced to life in prison for murdering Beck, Love, Benji and Peach.

In her closing narration about Joe, Bronte states: “My life doesn’t boil down to before and after him. Every day that passes, he shrinks. Eventually, he’ll just be some asshole I dated. I still have no idea who I want to be. But I can’t wait to find out.”

Joe is finally caught in ‘You’ season five CREDIT: Netflix

What has Penn Badgley said about the ending?

Speaking about Joe’s fate to Tudum, Badgley explained why he was glad the character wasn’t killed off. “I always thought somebody killing Joe wouldn’t be justice,” he said. “It would be vengeance. Anybody who kills him would be brought down to his level, which is not justice for them. He’s a quandary in a way. What would justice for him look like? I think we get as close as we can.”

On the subject of leaving Joe behind, he added: “I can see the whole arc of the series and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m glad I got to do that.’ But there’s no amount of enjoyment or gratitude that can eclipse the brutal reality of what a man like Joe Goldberg is. And so, giving life to him for this long, I’m ready to lay that down…. hopefully, it just feels like a really good way to end it.”

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