YOU Season 5 review: The murderous stalker saga that forgot what it was

When You first made its debut back in 2018, it was nothing short of a delightful derangement — a sensational and provocative thriller centered around an absurdly charming man who weaponized romance and literature. For four seasons, Joe Goldberg, played by Penn Badgley, seduced, stalked, and (quite literally) killed his way through the Brooklynites, West Coast wellness influencers, and even his own moral compass.

Now, in its final chapter, You seems to have lost what made it good in the first place, along with perhaps an identity.

Season 5 opens with Joe being back in New York, this time a by-marriage billionaire and a head of a literary foundation. He’s married to Kate Lockwood, a shell-firing heiress played by Charlotte Ritchie who gives life to a steely corporate family. With his son Henry back in the picture, he is ready to reinvent himself (or so he thinks). No more aliases and no cages. Only pristine identities and curated Instagram mornings spent in a Manhattan penthouse.

If you think that Joe is done with murder now, you clearly have never watched You.

Murder, monologues and Manhattan’s 1%

It’s a striking difference compared to Joe’s previous behavior as he continues to narrate his inner monologue as if it were slam poetry performed in a therapy session, but this time it’s laced with the guilt of four seasons’ worth of bodies.

Brontë (Madeline Brewer) is yet another of those mysterious personas: a woman with a captivatingly tragic past who has an unflagging interest in Victorian literature. She brings into reality Joe’s obsessive compulsive tendencies which always lead to deception and, of course, murder.

Any way you look at it, Brontë feels more like a narrative function than a person, unlike Beck, Love, and Marienne. A modulo. Rather than a head-turner, she is the final plot twist that becomes a little too obvious.

The midseason change contradicts the underlying tone of satire. The show takes a sudden dip into social criticism. Let’s not forget the chaotic yet glam-filled twin siblings of Kate, Maddie and Reagan Lockwood (Anna Camp brilliantly playing two characters), and their outrageous family empire.

This blunt jab at exposing the life of the ultra-rich attempts to blend elements of Succession and Gossip Girl—but does so without the wit or the sting of either show.

There’s lavish galas, media scandals, exposés on faux feminism, and stiff conversations on billionaires managing control. It’s evident the creators intend for You to grow into something "deeper" and more politically sensitized. But the series was never designed for that – and it shows.

Joe Goldberg, now with a PR team

Season 5 contains perhaps its most peculiar aspect: its self-awareness. Joe not only acknowledges that he’s a monster, but he also discusses it. Again and again.

The season becomes a therapy session pretending to be a thriller, as Joe assesses the repetitive nature of his previous actions, which he seems to take pleasure in fundamentally repeating. It is clear that the show seeks atonement for an irredeemable character while attempting to grant him a glimmer of hope.

Therein lies the issue: You used to be an engaging debater on moral complexities. We ascertained that Joe was horrible, but in one way or another, the show let us partake in his fantasies. Now, they scold us for reveling in the disorder while tautologically serving it up, only now there is less enthusiasm.

The final episode does give some form of solace, albeit while completely unfulfilling. It includes a twist, the death of a character, and of course Joe looking deeply into a mirror trying to find the shattered pieces of the man he once was–or perhaps the show he once belonged to.

A once-great series loses its spark

You started as an incisive romp through romantic clichés and toxic masculinity. You posed critical concerns: What do we neglect in the name of love? Why do we cheer for sociopaths who happen to resemble Penn Badgley in a cardigan? Satire became muddier as seasons progressed, plots became more outlandish, and the show inevitably descended into self-parody.

The final season is marked by the relentless ambition, the writing is burdened with the earlier seasons' writing. The pacing is painfully slow. The characters feel stripped of originality. Joe’s voiceovers, which were once darkly humorous, have transformed into the musings of a man indifferent to his own journal.

Final verdict

In attempting to innovate, You seems to have ‘forgotten’ what made it appealing in the first place: its unapologetic charm, its stylish violence, and unhinged messiness. Season 5 removes moral tension in place of lecturing, and cranks self-importance to 100 at the detriment of style. It isn’t a bang, but a shrug - the show seemingly ready to move on.

Everything about Joe Goldberg is rooted in some self-absorbed delusion, which makes it strangely poetic that he ends right back in New York. The books, the lies, living in denial: all classic Joe. A perfect circle. A sociopathic ouroboros. Just with improved lighting and central air.

I, with a heavy heart can only give this season a 6/10⭐

Best Performance: Anna Camp’s deranged portrayal of the Lockwood twins, who actually seem to understand that this is a soap opera, is arguably my favorite.