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Netflix's psychological thriller You reach a soothing yet poetic conclusion in Season 5 – not only serving the long-awaited reckoning to its captivating yet psychopathic lead, Joe Goldberg, but also a long overdue resolution to his countless victims. The final episode of the season wraps up years of manipulation, obsession, and vivid violence in a shocking manner that is extremely satisfying.
Joe Goldberg: A monster unmasked
Joe Goldberg, a character played so well by Penn Badgley, evaded repercussions for five seasons while masquerading as a deeply troubled romantic. He has killed so many people that you would consider to be way too close to revealing his secrets, like Guinevere Beck and Love Quinn, even after being easily stalked and subsequently becoming obsessed with them.
However, in the final season, Joe's past arrives in a stunningly poetic manner to him at the hands of Bronte, a new love interest who is far more complicated than she seems.
Bronte’s real identity: Justice in disguise
Bronte turns out to be Louise, a woman set on extracting voracious justice for Beck, whom Joe killed in Season 1. Over the season, Louise slowly earns Joe’s trust and wins favor with him by actively participating in his redemption arc.
In a spectacular scene, she rescues him from a blazing fire she set—what appeared to be his burning moment of self-actualization. The reality is much more powerful: Louise never loved Joe. She was carrying out a terror campaign against him that she had made public for Stephanie to observe.
The final letter: Joe’s false redemption
In a way, Joe’s last letter looks like a confession. It is addressed to the public and tries to absolve him of guilt, or at least portray him as pained. It reveals remorse, but in an odd way: he seems to be in pain. Of course, it turns out that this letter was yet another manipulation — another attempt to construct his self-serving narrative.
Louise does not buy this illusion. She makes him confront the truth, not only about his crimes but also about his compulsion to manage the narrative. In her defining moment, she orders him to cut himself out from Beck's book, taking back her story and voice.
Consequences and closure: A look at the survivors
Joe's arrest marks the first step towards restoring balance.
The doctor, exonerated towards the latter season, sentenced for murder due to Beck’s frame-up, gets released.
Nadia, who was quiet during the fourth season, has her reputation redeemed.
In the same breath, most striking is Henry Joe’s son, who, for the first time, aligns himself with Joe’s unflattering characterization of a father and calls him a monster, marking the end of Joe’s self-deluding fantasy of having been a decent father.
Joe remains a captive of his self-image but not unbound from consequences. Stripped of everything— illusions, comforts of reality.
A fitting end: Love, obsession, and the price of power
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With Joe’s death not being an option, his abandonment and exposure may be even harsher for someone of his nature. The series constantly highlights that Joe’s biggest addiction was never love, but rather the control and authority he wielded.
Inverting the narrative, You rips the final blood-stained page from Joe's saga in Season 5, delivering a lesson in long plot arcs deep-cutting that no matter how twisted the most calculating of monsters will always have an end.
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