Final Season Of ‘You’ Examines The Intricate Bond Between Love And Murder

“Did you like the movie When Harry Met Sally? Would you be open to a version where Harry kills people in order to get to Sally?”

This is how executive producer and co-showrunner Michael Foley describes the series You.

Based on the books by Caroline Kepnes, You follows Joe Goldberg, a charming yet intensively obsessive young man, who takes extreme measures to eliminate all obstacles — including people — to improve his personal situation, as well as the lives of those he loves.

In the beginning of the 5^th and final season of the series, Joe finds himself back in New York having left his working-class life behind by marrying billionaire CEO Kate Lockwood. The move has also elevated his status in the community, painting him as a devoted husband and father to his young son, Henry.

Penn Badgley stars as Joe, with Charlotte Richie as Kate. Also appearing in the series are Madeline Brewer, Griffin Matthews, and Anna Camp.

Revealing a bit about what’s in store for Joe this season, Foley says, “At the end of season 4, Joe believes that he’s ‘integrated’ his dark side and he’s made a pact with Kate to ‘be good.’ But, he’s also reconciled that if killing is required, he’ll do that.”

He goes on to say, “Now, it’s three years later, and what Joe didn’t expect is what an incredible life he might have with Kate, most notably that he would have stability for his son, and he doesn’t want to jeopardize any of that. Therefore, he’s been repressing his darker instincts. So the story becomes all about whether Joe can have it all and still really be his true self.”

However, Foley divulges, “Joe still has these dark desires within him that he cannot suppress, and they erupt throughout the season, and by the end of the season, he’s completely indulging them in the most destructive ways.”

While a serial killer is at the center of the narrative, Foley points out that, “This is also a love story. This is Joe pursuing love, and it’s all about what he’s willing to do to get love and keep love in his life.”

About Joe’s penchant for murder, fellow executive producer and co-showrunner Justin W. Lo says, “Joe certainly has a code that he lives by and his code is that he kills to protect the people that he loves or people who he feels are vulnerable.”

“This is really why viewers continue to root for him,” surmises Foley. “He isn’t just killing people to kill people, he has his reasons, and while we wouldn’t do any of what he does, we can see how he justifies it and how he does it ways that seem to make sense.”

To help viewers really understand Joe’s thought process throughout the series, Foley reveals that the production team worked extremely hard to put observers into Joe’s shoes at every turn. “We use voiceover for his thoughts, but it’s also about creating tight eye lines, and using certain lenses to reveal or evoke specific emotions. We very much have made this so that you’re seeing the world as Joe sees it — right and wrong, good and bad. Everything is reality, as dictated by Joe.”

Lo says that due season 5 closing out the series there was ‘much careful consideration of how we were going to end this story.’

Foley agrees, adding, “We stand behind what we’re ultimately releasing. We’re very confident with how we ended it. And of course, we’re also naturally nervous about what the reception will be, but we don’t have reservations.”

In wrapping up You, all of Joe’s deeds and misdeeds come to a head this season, explains Foley. And, he feels that the summary of the story will also make viewers sit up and take notice for another reason.

“Without giving anything away, I can tell you that Joe is made to face what he is, and related to that, we are all, as the audience, made to become aware of what we’ve been co-signing this entire time by rooting for a killer.”

Season 5 of ‘You’ debuts Friday, April 24^th on Netflix. All previous seasons of the series are available for the streaming on the platform.