Warning: The Following Contains Spoilers for the Final Season ofYou
After five seasons, 50 episodes, and a lot of dead bodies, Joe Goldberg finally got what was coming to him at the end ofNetflix’sYou, but things could have taken a supernatural turn had an early idea been implemented into the final season. Based on the books by Caroline Kepnes,Youpremiered on Lifetime all the way back in 2018 before making the jump to Netflix, where it found tremendous success among fans and critics. Upon its release on August 14, 2025, Season 5 continued that trend, shootingto the top of the Netflix chartsjust hours after it was added to the streaming service.
Speaking with the New York Post, co-showrunners Michael Foley and Justin Lo broke down the fifth and final season ofYou, which ended with Joe (Penn Badgley) finally being caught, and his secrets exposed to the world for all to know. Left to rot in prison, Lo mentioned the supernatural twist that was discussed early on in the process of crafting the epic ending, which – thankfully – never made the cut.
“We went through many different options, one of which being that he did die at the hands of Bronte. I was even remembering a version where he was shot. And [the audience] didn’t realize that he was shot until the very last episode, and then he realizes he’s a ghost.”
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Imagine the outcry from fans had that been the ending. What a stinker, right? Waiting five seasons just to find out Joe was a ghost the whole time? No thank you. Him finally getting his comeuppance and being left to die in prison was a much more satisfying ending for the simple reason that now it’s his turn to be trapped in a cage. As Foley added, death would have “been too easy” for him.
‘You’s Ending Wasn’t Locked Down Right Away
ThoughYoumay have featured a fitting end to Joe’s reign of terror, it’s not something that Foley or Lo knew was going to happen right away. The one thing all the writers agreed on was that there would be no redemption arc, but aside from that, Foley told the Post that they “hadn’t landed on [his ending] until very late in the season,” adding:
“Throughout the series, there was a shared belief among the writers and the creators that Joe wouldn’t get away with his crimes. We came into the season knowing that we didn’t want to redeem him, that he would get his comeuppance, that he was going to face some of those whose lives he ruined. And most importantly, we knew he was going to be made to face himself.”
He certainly did that, but even after it was all said and done and Joe was in custody, the narcissistic erotomaniac still couldn’ttake responsibility for his actions. It’s a bit infuriating (which was the point, really), but hey, at least he wasn’t dead the whole time, right? You can catch all 10 episodes of the fifth and final season ofYoustreaming now on Netflix.
Source:New York Post
