The final season of You was always going to be about Joe Goldberg facing the repercussions of his horrendous actions, and in that regard, despite the end of the series being predictable, the makers didn’t disappoint in concluding the psychopathic murderer’s arc. Joe pays for all the atrocities he has committed, and for what it’s worth, at least some of his victims get to turn their lives around and get justice at the end, which makes the series finale satisfying. Previously, Kate found herself an ally by freeing Nadia, the girl she and Joe had previously incriminated, as she prepared for a final showdown with Joe. On the other hand, Joe put her complete trust in Bronte after being able to be honest with her. Harrison learned about the Raegan/Maddie switcheroo, but with Joe’s threat and Maddie’s earnest approach to convince her, he decided to keep Raegan’s death a secret. Desperate to gain Henry’s custody, Joe continues to pester Kate, who plans to take him down for good. The final two episodes of the series go through several twists and turns before shedding light on Joe’s final fate and tying up all the subplots neatly at the end.
Spoilers Ahead
What Changes Louise’s Perspective On Joe?
The penultimate episode of the final season of You begins with Joe and Louise/Bronte planning for their future together, and it is revealed that to cover his tracks, Joe has betrayed the trust of Harrison and Maddie by framing Harrison for Raegan’s murder. In London, Kate receives a call from Maddie, learns about the situation, and decides to bail them out before planning to bait Joe into coming out of hiding and confessing his sins. Kate hands over Lockwood Corporation to Teddy, the only deserving member of the family who deserves to run the company, as she seems to be willing to do penance for colluding with Joe in the past by accepting her fate at long last.
To be honest, Kate manages to lure Joe quite easily, cutting him off of her finance plans, putting an eviction notice on his apartment and shop, and lastly, making Joe aware of her arrival in New York by keeping her AirPods tracker active. Joe, desperate to take down Kate to get his life back, gets fooled by a decoy and, in no time, gets himself trapped in the glass vault in the basement of Molly’s. Nadia and Kate approach Joe, trying to force him to acknowledge his role in Raegan’s murder in exchange for getting released, but the psycho tries to manipulate and gaslight them still—to such an extent that it seems he himself believes in his delusional blabbering. However, Joe stops his shameless, vain attempt to take control of the situation for a while when he sees Marianne Bellamy appear in front of him. Marianne was lucky enough to escape from Joe’s vile grasp in the third and fourth seasons and was able to turn her life around, living with her daughter Juliette. Marianne’s testament in court as a victim of Joe’s abuse will definitely prove critical to putting Joe away for good. Knowing this, Joe tries desperately to gaslight her once again, only for Marianne to lash out in fury after getting irritated by Joe’s nonsensical, self-pitying rant. She is no longer going to fall for Joe’s manipulative, toxic mind tricks. In her anger, Marianne ends up revealing that Joe will never get out of his captivity, contrary to what he was promised in exchange for his cooperation.
On the other hand, Kate visits Joe’s apartment after noticing activity in her tracker and finds out Bronte is infiltrating to take her belongings. Without putting Bronte in a defensive position, Kate reminds her what her true motive was behind seeking Joe out. Later, Bronte meets with Marianne and is able to recognize her, and without sharing any judgmental remarks, Marianne very aptly mentions how Bronte, too, is willingly becoming a victim of this narcissistic, abusive, manipulating sick guy by giving in to her insecurities, clinging to false hopes and dreams, and deluding herself to believe in something that really isn’t there because deep down she is afraid that she is just like those victims whom people like Joe prey upon. Tati Gabrielle was phenomenal in her cameo role in the penultimate episode, especially in this particular scenario. Bronte, unable to cope with the reality that she has messed up big time, leaves and tries to reach Dominique to get a chance to reconcile with her.
As Kate returns to Marianne and Nadia, she takes the responsibility to kill Joe, having no option but to pry out his confession now that he knows her true motive. Marianne and Nadia leave, and taking the gun Nadia had brought with herself, Kate returns to the basement, only to find Joe has managed to escape from the vault by using a hidden key he had kept hidden inside his stitched arm. Joe attacks Kate, who gets shot and receives a severe blow to her head, when Maddie, looking for Joe, enters the bookstore. Harrison has taken the entire blame for killing Raegan to save Maddie, and she wants to get even with Joe for the betrayal. Seeing Joe in the basement, Maddie locks the gate and pours gasoline all over, setting the bookshop on fire. Joe mentions Kate being trapped in the basement as well, but Maddie doesn’t believe in his words any longer. Joe gets attacked by Kate after going back, and both of them end up in no condition to escape their situation. However, Kate manages to get a confession from Joe about killing Love Quinn by poisoning her and sends the recording to Nadia, ensuring that even if the scoundrel perishes, an investigation gets launched and past victims get justice. Luck seems to favor Joe, as Bronte, noticing the raging fire in the bookshop, enters the basement and rescues Joe after seeing him alive. Kate’s fate remains in question, but during the final moments of the finale, it is revealed that she miraculously survived with minor burn injuries. A battered-up Joe proposes to Bronte outside the burning bookshop, and as her internal monologue begins, the final conflict of the finale is set in motion.
Was Louise Able To Capture Joe?
The finale begins a while after the events of the penultimate episode. Joe and Louise are on the run as Joe plans to cross the border and settle in Canada to escape the authorities. With the help of one of his contacts, Joe has arranged a way to finally speak with Henry, as he is not willing to let his kid think that he has abandoned him. Louise, keeping up the pretense of being head over heels for Joe, has reconnected with her true motive, getting justice for Guinevere.
Joe takes Louise to a lakeside manor to lay low for a while, and this is where the final act of the series takes place. Following Joe’s attempt to woo Louise with a romantic dinner and stargazing, Louise decides to catch Joe off guard in a vulnerable moment and holds him at gunpoint. Louise demands Joe make amends for what he did to Guinevere by redacting his additions to her incomplete book of poems. This is significant, as Joe’s act of completing Guinevere’s works was a tremendous insult to her craft and her identity, and moreover, it was symbolic of Joe exerting control over his victims. Louise mentions how Joe wanted to entrap her by slowly chipping away at her own identity as well, until she became aware of what’s what and took matters into her own hands.
Joe receives a call from his contact, who has set a conference call with Henry by communicating through a gaming server, and Louise allows him to receive the call. This is when the biggest emotional blow is served to Joe, as Henry, now fully aware of his father’s true nature as a vindictive, violent, murderous person, denounces him. Joe manages to disarm Louise by tackling her, and a prolonged chase ensues between the two, in the midst of which Louise manages to dial 911 to alert the authorities. Joe manages to choke Louise and nearly drown her in the water, mentioning Guinevere suffered the same fate. As the police surround the area, Louise appears to have survived, and she holds Joe at gunpoint to ensure he doesn’t get to escape his predicament. Abusers tend to be the most cowardly persons; Joe proves that by trying to goad Louise into killing her in order to escape justice. Call it poetic justice: when he tries to force Louise to shoot by lunging at her, she accidentally fires her weapon, which ends up blowing off Joe’s genitals.
Did Joe Finally Get His Comeuppance?
Later, Joe is tried for his crimes, and one by one, all his heinous past acts have been uncovered, putting him in life imprisonment. Kate, surviving the arson incident at the bookstore, has focused on her prime interest, art, and slowly but surely, Louise, too, is healing by putting the darkest phase of her life behind. Maddie and Harrison have managed to escape imprisonment after Joe’s involvement with Raegan’s death has surfaced, and Nadia has managed to turn her dream of becoming an author into a reality. It remains to be seen whether Henry, who now knows his birth parents were troubled individuals, can break the shackles of the past and find guidance as Teddy and Kate take care of him.
The final moments of the finale focus on Joe, now spending his time in prison and contemplating his life. Joe receives a manic, perverted love letter from a crazed fan, Belinda, and wonders whether it is the society and ludicrousness of the human psyche that allow people like him to exist in the first place. Sure, Joe has finally received what he deserved, but given the pathetic state of society, which acts as an enabler of abusers like Joe, there is no guarantee that the psycho won’t get released later on, and the narrative, which can be easily manipulated by persons in power, is going to get flipped on his side.
