There’s quite a few people out there who still have unfinished business with Joe Goldberg, and one of them is Ellie from season two of “You.” On June 17, Netflix released an early teaser video for “You” season five during the streamer’s annual Tudum fan event in Brazil. In the video, Penn Badgley hints the show’s final season could feature some surprising guest stars — and one of them might just be Jenna Ortega of “Wednesday” fame.
“Hola, Brazil!” Badgley says at the start of the video. “I’ve heard you’re on the edge of your seats waiting and theorizing about the epic conclusion to ‘You.’ More importantly, you’re considering what, or should I say who, Joe will come up against as he finally returns to New York. Though I can’t say who just yet, we all know there are many loose ends from Joe’s past. The question is, ‘Who are you?'”
Throughout the short video, clips from previous seasons are shown, and each one seems to highlight a character who managed to escape Joe in one way or another. In addition to Ellie, Marienne (Tati Gabrielle), Dr. Nicky (John Stamos), Karen (Natalie Paul), Paco (Luca Padovan), Cary (Travis Van Winkle), Sherry (Shalita Grant), Lady Phoebe (Tilly Keeper), Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman), and Joe’s baby son, Henry, are all shown.
While that doesn’t mean all of those characters will definitely be back, it’s likely at least some of them will be. In March, showrunner Sera Gamble told TVLine, “We have kept scrupulous track of everybody who knows anything about Joe who’s not dead.”
She continued, “There are some very smart people who are alive. Some of them are in jail, and some of them are basically in witness protection, but there’s no reason to believe he’s safe.”
Netflix announced that it renewed “You” for a fifth and final season on March 24. “‘You’ became an instant sensation on Netflix with a resounding cultural impact that has grown season over season,” Peter Friedlander, Netflix’s vice president of scripted series in US and Canada, said in a press statement. “We’re excited — and a bit terrified — to see how it all ends for Joe Goldberg, but one thing is for sure: YOU are in for an unforgettable ending.”
Though plot details for season five are still unknown at this time, one thing’s for sure: we’ll soon see how Joe meets his fate after years of terrorizing his many victims (and our TV screens). More than that, we also know where he’s taking his torment next. Per an update from “You”‘s official Twitter account on April 10, it seems Joe is returning to his season one roots in the Big Apple. “Welcome (back) to New York, Joe. see you in S5,” the show tweeted.
“If there’s another one, it’s going to be, I think, a grand finale.”
“You” star Badgley hinted at the possibility of the show ending with a fifth season in am interview with GQ Hype, published on March 14. “I know what Greg [Berlanti, one of the series’s showrunners] pitched me a few years back as what he thought was the right way to end. If there’s another one, it’s going to be, I think, a grand finale,” he told the publication.
Badgley added that he’s “not sure” how he’ll feel leaving behind the character he’s embodied since 2017, but he teased that the show’s final season will definitely be an explosive one.
As we wait for more details about “You” season five, see what else Badgley had to say about the series concluding.
“You” Season 5 Tudum Teaser
Penn Badgley on the “You” Season 4 Ending
Season four was split into two parts, the first released on Feb. 9 and the second a month later. It follows serial killer Joe attempting to turn over a new leaf as a reformed murderer in London. Joe starts his new life under the identity of university professor Jonathan, but of course, in classic Joe fashion, he’s not just in the UK to start a new life — he stalks Marienne (Tati Gabrielle), the object of his affection from season three. While he finds her, he seemingly lets her go, free to return to her daughter in Paris to prove he’s given up his old ways.
Meanwhile, the Eat the Rich Killer takes down Malcolm (in the first episode, of course), Simon, and Gemma and reveals himself to Joe as writer-turned-politician Rhys Montrose. Sort of. And while Joe vows not to let the killer take the lives of any more of his friends, part two still brings a considerable amount of death and a very surprising plot twist.
According to Badgley, “You” season four “wasn’t ever meant to be released as two parts. I don’t know what the conversations were with Sera Gamble and [cocreator] Greg Berlanti, for instance. I think that’s just Netflix’s economic reality,” he added. “And I think it makes sense, generally, to release things in instalments. I like that. When I found out, I was like, ‘We’re going to leave a month between [episodes] five and six? That’s a big old diversion.’ Because, to me, it doesn’t all come home until you finally see the cage.”
Penn Badgley on “You” Ending After Season 5
“You” season five will officially mark the last we see of Joe. Before the show’s renewal, Badgley told IndieWire on March 10 that a final season isn’t just a want but a “need.”
“It feels to me like we need to do another season,” he said. “It feels to me like Joe needs to get what’s coming to him, and now he has further to fall because he has all this power and wealth. . . . I know the creators of the show always had this next season in mind as its last, should there be another one. And then it will probably be a spectacular resolution because it feels to me like something is in the works by the very end of this season.”
While the blood has barely dried on Joe’s recent killing spree, there’s little known about how his story will unfold — although one thing is for sure: the lack of steamy sex scenes will continue. In a Feb. 9 episode of the “Podcrushed” podcast, Badgley revealed that he requested fewer intimate scenes to “You” creator Gamble out of respect for his wife, Domino Kirke. “Fidelity in every relationship, including my marriage, is important to me. It’s got to the point where I don’t want to do [sex scenes],” he told GQ Hype.
Joe’s story is far from over, but as new information is revealed, we’ll be keeping updates on what he’ll be doing and when we can expect the final season of “You” to arrive.