Seven years later, we finally arrive at the conclusion of Joe Goldberg in You Season 5. Back in 2018, when Season 1 was first released, I don’t think any of us really considered where this story would go and how Joe’s journey would end. There were three main possibilities: death, prison, or being on the run. I will soon reveal the ending, but before I do, I must say it fell into one of these three categories – and I don’t know about you, but that’s incredibly disappointing to me.
So, let’s delve into what happened at the end of Season 5 – and the conclusion of You.
Joe’s story has finally come to an end. Typically, at the start of episode 10, we see Joe trying to make a run for it. He’s heading to Alaska with Bronte. At least that’s what Joe believes. However, Bronte has another plan in mind. She wants to bring Joe the ending he deserves; she just doesn’t yet know how that will look.
After a lot of fighting between Joe and Bronte (I won’t go back and forth about all that they did to each other) – Bronte finally shoots Joe in the penis and he is caught and arrested by local police officers.
The ending of You Season 5 summarizes two main themes, I believe: 1) Righteousness and Healing, and 2) The Dark Side of Society.
Righteousness and Healing
There’s a moral concept in life: the idea that we recognize good and evil in this world, and that good will always prevail; what’s wronged will be corrected – there are consequences for committing evil. That’s precisely what happens in the Season 5 finale of You. After five seasons filled with pain, brutality, and death, Joe is finally locked up and unable to harm anyone anymore.
“One thing’s clear, Joe Goldberg will never be free again,” Bronte tells us.
As the finale summarizes, we are met with Bronte giving us a voiceover of everything that happened following Joe’s arrest (and we insert Elton John’s ” Yellow Brick Road ” song). Bronte tells us that the ending she gave Joe is the ending in which he had to look at himself; he had to see all that he had done and caused; it was messy and horrific. And to know that he will have to live without ever having a human connection again. The perfect punishment.
Following the arrest of Joe, Bronte shares all the ways those affected by Joe Goldberg process their trauma and turn it into something positive. They refuse to let this monster control their lives; it’s a beautiful story of how the bravest thing we can do in this world is not allowing our trauma to make us victims. Becoming a victim of the perpetrator means that they win twice; how can that be what we want in this life?
Nadia helps women deal with their trauma through writing and teaching; Harrison and Maddie get to live the life they dreamed of together; Kate, rising from the ashes, is happy with Henry and Teddy; Marienne Bellamy stopped fearing exposure and started painting; Bronte republishes Beck’s book with all of Joe’s additions removed and is happily moving on with her life. The list goes on and on, but the point I’m trying to make is how all things work out in the end.
I believe this to be a genuine principle in life. We all experience hardships, challenges, and trauma, but in the end, everything has a way of working out if we maintain the right perspective.
Bronte became Joe Goldberg’s downfall in the ‘You’ Season 5 finale (Photo: Netflix)
The Dark Side of Society
Funnily enough, the second theme is drastically different from the first. As we leave the sweetness and healing of Bronte’s updates, we transition into the prison cell that prevents Joe Goldberg from ever hurting anyone again.
In his dark little prison cell, Joe is reading “The Executioner’s Song.” I hadn’t read this book, so I didn’t understand the reference until I researched it. From what I understand, this could foreshadow that even though we won’t see it happen, Joe could fight for his right to be executed by the state. Loneliness is Joe’s worst punishment for his crimes. In his mind, everything Joe did was because he just wanted to be loved. So, how could he now survive knowing he’ll never experience female human connection again?
“No hope of being held, knowing this is forever. Is it unfair putting all of this on me? Hurt people, hurt people. I never stood a chance.“
But then, plot twist:
“Ah yes. Another fan. 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. Maybe we should fix what’s broken in us. Maybe the problem isn’t me. Maybe.. It’s you.”
The point I believe is made here is that in our modern society, we have romanticized darkness, illness, and fantasies. There are two problems in our society. Firstly, there are human beings who have acted as Joe Goldberg did in You: to feel so fearful of abandonment and loneliness that they choose to kill rather than let a person leave their lives.
But secondly, to have people who fantasise about the kind of people like Joe Goldberg. Some people in society think it’s hot and attractive to have a person treat you so sexually violently and emotionally control you until they realise the reality of it.
We haven’t confronted the darkness that lies within us, and it is important to acknowledge that it exists in all of us. Everyone has demons and darkness, but some individuals realize it’s something to express to the world. As Jordan Peterson says, we should learn how to control the monster within us rather than letting the beast control us.
I believe this to be a very vivid problem; it may not be as prevalent in the UK, but it certainly is in America.
The ending of You Season 5 holds an important message about healing and addressing our traumas and mental illnesses. We need to stop romanticizing violence, true crime, fantasies, etc. If you’re struggling with where to begin, Dr. Jordan Peterson’s lectures and books are a good starting point for understanding, learning, and healing.
