‘You’ review: Even time isn’t on Joe Goldberg’s side in his last murderous ride
4/5 book death cages
Hey, you. A mysterious voice over that haunts our nightmares returned for its fifth and final season. And what a page turner Joe Goldberg’s last love story was.
For the last seven years, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) has masqueraded his murderous and stalker tendencies as a deep rooted need to “protect” the women in his life. If Joe set his eyes on you, your days were numbered no matter what you did. And season 5 was no different.
Joe left London a married man. He wed Kate Lockwood (Charlotte Ritchie) and suddenly the murderer who loved rare books was famous. Known as the “Prince Chaming” to Kate’s love story, Joe found sympathy by the masses. Even Sherry and Cary from season 3 allowed the story of Love Quinn-Goldberg (Victoria Pedretti) to hide Joe’s misdoings. He had it all and still it wasn’t enough for him.
Season 5 throws Joe right back where he started: At Mooney’s. The Lockwood family buys his old haunt and he opens the store back up with a new employee, Brontë (Madeline Brewer). And if you know anything about Joe Goldberg, you know that a beautiful young woman who is book savvy is his kryptonite. And Brontë is the perfect storm.
But what You season 5 does incredibly well is set the perfect trap. Maybe not for an unexpecting female victim this time around.
**Spoilers for You season 5 lie ahead**
Same old Joe Goldberg
Each season, Joe Goldberg thinks that he can change. After he killed Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail) in season1, he made a point to act as if his murderous tendencies was the direct result of the women in his life. He had the same reasoning for Beck but it was almost like killing her made him ramp up his victim mentality. Oh was Love going to try to kill him? Better kill her first and frame her because even though she was a murderer, he killed people she loved first.
Was Kate’s friends a direct result of his darker side taking over his body? Yes so why not blame his disassociation instead of seeking help? That’s always been Joe’s motivation. It is never his fault. Even in season 5 when he starts to see the pattern, he still turns himself into a victim, saying he’s unlovable. Which is what makes Joe so dangerous.
It isn’t about his obsession with the women or his idea of what being a “man” is. It’s Joe’s ability to victimize himself and find ways to protect himself that makes him a threat to everyone he sets his eyes on. Joe may “love” deeply but that love always has a murderous cost and season 5 allowed that to really shine through. But it also reminded audiences that Joe’s romanticized version of his relationships is just his view of them.
The women who fought back
Every season, we watch as Joe stalks his prey. With Love, we got to see a bit of a pushback and someone willing to stand up against him. But, for the most part, a woman who ends up with Joe Goldberg ends up dead. This season, we got to see how the women who did survive Joe’s world were ready to take on the killer.
Joe allowed himself fame and fortune. He painted himself as some knight in shining armor for the masses and getting labeled as “Prince Charming” was ultimately his undoing. Meeting Brontë felt like fate but it was all by design. It allowed Marianne (Tati Gabrielle) her revenge on Joe, Kate her own push back on her husband, and ultimately led to the destruction of the serial killer we’ve been obsessed with.
You season 5 was a brilliant end to Joe’s story and unfortunately now, I want to start this journey over from the beginning. The entire series is now streaming on Netflix.
(featured image: Clifton Prescod/Netflix)
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