So, I’ve just finished watching ‘You Season 5’ and I just can’t get over it. Honestly, the entire series of You is still reeling in my mind – it’s utterly addicting and yes, I am still obsessed with Joe.
(Warning: Spoiler’s Alert)
The season begins with Joe Goldberg back to New York city living what seems like a happy life with Kate Lockwood and now he has Henry as well. Well, what could go wrong when you are a serial killer, but also a husband of one of the richest and powerful women in town, who has gone too far to clean all the dirty records and dark stories of her husband, including framing and imprisoning an innocent University student for the murders. Well, apparently, life isn’t simple even for those who has all the power, because we are social animals and no matter what, we have to deal with all the hyenas and jackals of the jungle.
The episode continues with how Joe has been trying to regain normalcy by abstaining from killing for 3 whole years. Considering how impulsive he is, surviving those years sober in a world full of creeps – without giving a shit about their wrongdoings or acting on his own darker urges – is really intriguing. Some credit goes to Kate, of course, but Joe’s own novel and unconventional coping mechanism – writing about his murder fantasies instead of actually executing them – was just so cool. At the very least, he was trying to contain himself. But as we know, everybody has their breaking point in life and when Kate reaches hers, she decides to unleash the beast within Joe once again.
The moment when Kate asks Joe to do whatever it takes to protect them, because their survival was at stake, and Joe felt so exhilarated hearing that, it was simply arousing. I mean don’t judge me but, this is why dark romance is so popular among many. It gives you the peak satisfaction when you know you can’t let anyone take control over your life, and if they do, you have the power to stop them, to punish them for their wrongdoings. You have someone by your side who is willing to do everything for you, regardless of consequences.
And so, the saga of killings begins. While Kate realizes that her approval was morally wrong, Joe, on the other hand, can no longer resist his dark side. He accepts that this is what gives him true satisfaction. So, unlike previous seasons, where Joe used to justify his actions as being for the sake of his love interests, this time he fully acknowledges that killing has become a part of who he is. He wants Kate to accept him with his dark side and all.
And then comes the Ohio girl Bronte – or Louise Flannery – who comes to New York with a motive to expose Joe for the murder of Guinevere Beck, her friend and TA at college. She catfishes him and blasts him on social media for another killing that Joe committed – this time, ironically- to protect her. But somewhere along the way, the plan goes sideways and she ends up falling in love with him for real.
Well, who can resist the charm of Joe? A killer, but idealistic boyfriend who picks your call even when digging graves and burning bodies. He is handsome. He is smart. He is manipulative. He is impulsive. But above all, he loves you like no one else can… at least until he finds his next ‘You’. 😜
Charming or no charming. Even if you are no longer under his love spell, it’s really not easy to mess up with Joe. He knows his ways out and some of them are really straight up crazy. I mean hiding the cage key in his arm. Oh my god, I can still feel the pain. And thus, another revelation about Joe. His intuitive powers are spot on. Kate, Nadia, Marienne – none of them – even after devising a perfect plan and trying so hard – couldn’t take down Joe. Bronte gets the honor, in the end, after Marienne brings clarity to her mind about the real Joe.
Honestly, I wanted Kate to have that moment. She was such a breath of fresh air this season, considering how grounded she had become. The clarity in her mind. The way she dealt with every problem in the most practical way, instead of starting a series of assassinations for selfish motives. Kate looked beautiful, smart and intelligent in this season.
Bronte, on the other hand, showed a frustrating lack of intelligence. She acted so naive at times, believing in Joe when everyone around warned her, and even after she herself witnessed the real him, that how far he can go to protect someone.
And then there was Kate who was raising Henry as her own child with all the love, affection and protection only a real mother could give – that was truly heartwarming.
In Season 4, I really couldn’t connect with Kate. She seemed outwardly rude, not grounded at all. In fact, I would rank it the weakest season of all, lacking strong characters and compelling personalities. And that dissociative thing was so not Joe. It deviated from the core of the series. The dissociative personality was selfish. It did not have the protective instinct that defines Joe. It was about ‘me’ not ‘you’. It really put me off because it totally ripped off the essence of series which is focused on romantic side of Joe – dark but romantic. Thank goodness the writers chose to leave that gross concept behind this season.
And when we are talking about the gross part, I was relieved to find that there is no chopping and grinding in this season. That kind of intense violence has always felt unnecessary to me. I believe it does not add any layer or depth to the drama. It is repulsive, instead. As such, intimate scenes are also not very intense this time. Romantic side has been explored more, which I found refreshing.
Just one complaint – while all of Joe’s other love interests made guest appearances, his first wife, Love Quinn was absent. Why was she left out? It really left a little void in the final season. I missed her.
So, towards the end, Bronte had another plan to have Joe meet his final fate – pointing a gun at him while being on the bed with him wasn’t a very smart move though. After too much struggle, she is finally able to get Joe arrested. Before he is taken into custody, Bronte shoots him between the legs. Ouch! But I think that was unnecessary too. I mean Joe has never been portrayed as someone who abuses women without their consent. He just wanted true love and of course, the intimacy comes as a part and parcel of romance. So, Joe finally reaches his conclusion and gets imprisoned for lifetime under multiple convictions. There, he now has to confront his worst fear – loneliness. The feeling of not being held ever.
Now, coming to the interesting part – even after meeting his fate, after 5 seasons – Joe feels no remorse. In fact, he says that the problem is not with him, but with the society that roots for the characters like him, justifying his actions from the letter he receives in the prison from a fan who is totally obsessed with him and his twisted idea of caging and all. Honestly, if a new season were in works, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine Joe breaking out of prison using his charm and cunning measures – after all, he always finds a way. That is another reason why the ending feels so satisfying: Joe still exists and so do his romantic fantasies.
I have watched some of the interviews of Penn Badgley and he often says that the character of Joe was too much for him. It exhausted him. He has also often shown his disapproval to fans who glorify or romanticize his stalker character. While I can totally understand the exhaustion part because it isn’t easy to play such a dark character for 5 seasons straight, but come on, Penn – even the makers (and perhaps you, in the end) chose not to make Joe regretful of all his misdeeds. The ending explains all.
It feels like a celebration for him – that somewhere such characters are exactly what the world fantasizes about. And the makers chose to keep that fantasy alive, which, I have to admit I totally loved.😘
But, isn’t that being insincere? If we’re truly supposed not to root for Joe, why the ending feels like we should? 🤔
Anyway, I’ve always loved ‘You’ and ‘Joe’. The character of ‘Joe’ is a product of great storytelling, and if we find ourselves rooting for him, it’s because he was written that way. He should not be confused with real life serial killers, and our moral compass should not be confused by fictional narratives.
Whether it’s morally right to get obsessed with Joe depends on which parts of him you were drawn to – his innocent side, where he wants to live a normal life with someone who loves him unconditionally, something he never had, not even from his own mother, and get over from his childhood trauma; his deeply romantic side where he can fight the entire world to be with, and protect the one he loves; or his darker, abusive side, where he kills brutally, even his own love interests, just because they can no longer love him back.
As for me, I would say that all the seasons of ‘You’ are dope, 10/10. It’s pure entertainment that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I could honestly binge-watch it over and over again. Still can’t get over Joe’s fever. ❤️😉
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