At the end of episode 9 of You season 5, for the first time we got another character's voiceover other than Joe, and that was Bronte. She's vowing to be the one to take Joe down after everything he's done and her getting a wake up call. Is she able to do so without losing her own life in the process? We find out in the season 5 finale, aka episode 10 titled "Finale," on Netflix. Let's get into what happens in the final episode of the series, and our review of how we feel about it. SPOILERS BELOW.
No happily ever after for Joe and Bronte
Alright, well. Let's just jump to the part where Bronte shows Joe her true colors. After leading him on and gaining his trust one last time, Bronte turns the tables on Joe when they jump into bed. She wants to know how Joe killed Beck because now she's back to believing that he did. Plus, she wants Joe to redact everything he added to Beck's book. Joe proves just how good he is at preying on his "loves'" weaknesses, and then he gets the call he's been waiting for.
His friend is able to get ahold of Henry, and Joe gets to speak with his son. Though Henry is also finally seeing his dad for who he is, and calls Joe a monster. Ugh, when that little boy was crying all I wanted to do was give him a hug. Joe has a breakdown, thinks he's unlovable, and maybe he's getting what deserves. But Bronte says what we're all thinking, you don't get to be the victim here, Joe!
Then Joe gets to Bronte. I mean, you never put your hand out close to the person you're holding at gun point. It's the easiest way for them to get you, which is exactly what Joe does. There's a whole long scene of Joe chasing her in a very scary way. He literally looks like a maniac. Which, he is.
He seemingly drowns Bronte but unrealistically, she somehow survives. Ok. The police surround the area and he begs Bronte to kill him. But she's not going to. That would be too easy for him. He needs to go to prison to be alone, which is one of the things that scares him most. The series ends on a happy note for all the characters, except Joe. Which is how it should be.
Joe gets what he deserves
Him being the one behind Beck, Love, Peach, Benji, and so many other's deaths comes to light. Dr. Nicky isn't shown, but we're told his charges have been vacated. Kate also unrealistically survived that inferno and is raising Henry, while Maddie and Harrison are expecting twins and have reunited. Also, Teddy is still CEO and has made the Lockwood company 100% nonprofit.
The final moments show us Joe finally locked up where he should be, and gets some fan mail. Joe's final line is "maybe the problem isn't me, it's you." And while this is cringy, it does make sense in terms of his mindset. And unfortunately, the statement is a little true. Not the part about him not being at fault, because of course he completely is. But the part about how we are as a society and how it influences serial killers like Joe, and even the people who become their "fans."
Alright so the episode and season overall unfortunately were very underwhelming. I feel like the series did not deliver on what was promised, and it could have been done so much better. Bronte's whole storyline was so unncessary, and no offense but I did not care about her journey and starting to believe in herself and all that at all. Maybe if she was a character from the first or previous seasons I would have been more invested.
But I don't understand why she got to take Joe down, if that makes sense. Yes, she is also one of his victims. But there was Kate, Nadia, and Marienne who it felt like they should have been the ones to so. Or those ghosts from the past that was promised so much. The show did not deliver on this at all. Everyone had very brief cameos. I mean, even the fact that Joe's mother being brought up a few times and with her still being alive out there with a new family was such a missed opportunity. The writers could have used that as the main plot line with others from his past instead of this whole Bronte thing.
Goodbye, You
There was also absolutely no point in that sort of goodbye scene between Kate and Joe and her seemingly giving her swan song dialogue when she doesn't even die in the end. What was the point of that and the huge fire, as well as the big scene between Joe and Bronte and her being almost drowned? Sometimes for the narrative, I'm sorry to say, but it's more powerful when characters die. Since they didn't, all this felt like minutes being filled up for the episodes and providing dramatics instead of making a true impact.
I was expecting much more from the final season of You, especially season 5 episode 10 being the series finale, and the psychological drama did not deliver at all. And that makes me so sad because I see the potential it could have had. Penn Badgley was frighteningly perfect in the way he should have been. But it wasn't enough to hide the fact that the storyline and writing did not work. Season grade level: C.
You season 5 is now streaming on Netflix.