I guess two years years was the average wait time in between seasons of You, but it felt like an eternity had passed between the last season and this final one.
Something new for this season is that Penn Badgley requested no sex scenes this season in order to be respectful to his wife. That’s a little difficult to do in a show like this. With that being said, there were still “sex scenes,” but they were perhaps little less graphic than in seasons past. There is a lot that noises can make up for in visuals, I guess.
With that out of the way, let’s dive into the season. Since I forgot most of what happened in the penultimate season, the recap that they provided was much needed! Joe escaped England with Kate, a woman with immense power and wealth, who helped Joe essentially get his life back when the move to New York. She’s got a family business to run, and in exchange for Kate’s sacrifices, Joe vows to “be good.” And he does that for almost three years! He gets to love and honor Kate, but also reconnect with his son, who might potentially be like Joe in the future. Love was no normie either. In my opinion, they have a perfect spin-off for the future if they want it. I know I’d watch little Joe be a psychopath.
But Joe’s meticulously groomed goodness is ruined when he meets Bronte, a literary lover caught breaking into Joe’s old bookstore. She keeps coming back and it doesn’t take long for Joe to become infatuated with her. She’s got a nasty ex after all. She needs his help! Only, Bronte is a pretty brave and independent woman until she isn’t. I think it was said best in the series that these women over the years just cannot pinpoint what exactly it is about Joe that makes them fall for him. I suppose I probably would, too, but these women stick around a lot longer then I would!
When Joe starts killing again in the name of Bronte, his son, and Kate, the latter is scared. She thought Joe’s prior misdeeds were out of necessity. But she’s hit the nail on the head. He’s a serial killer, and Joe almost admits as much to himself, but he still manages to try and justify his actions by saying they’re out of love. Only this time, Kate and Bronte are his most formidable opponents. I don’t think individually that either one of them could still have managed to take Joe down, regardless of how much money and power Kate has, and how much dirt Bronte has. In reality, it’s a group effort and they still almost end up failing! There are plenty of blasts from the past this season, but I won’t spoil the fun in how it all connects.
All in all, this was a really satisfying final season. Fear not feminists, Joe does get his, but it is quite the journey. I found myself liking, disliking, and liking again many characters that show up this season, but they all lend themselves to an intricate story with plenty of plot lines that all lead back to the main story. I feel pretty confident that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of this world.