As YOU wrapped up its fourth season run on March 9, fans couldn’t help but wonder whether a fifth season was in the works.
And while there hasn’t been an official confirmation that YOU Season 5 is happening, the odds are definitely working in Joe Goldberg’s favor—what else is new?
The fourth season of the Lifetime-turned-Netflix thriller basically hit reset, throwing audiences for a loop with a murder mystery format surrounding Joe’s new life in London as Professor Jonathan Moore.
The action really ramped up in the second half of the season as Joe’s lies and secrets began to unravel and catch up to him, threatening his “European getaway” and any shot at happiness.
It’s actually quite amazing what the writers have been able to accomplish. They’ve managed to keep Joe’s character consistent yet provide several unique seasons that continue to keep audiences in suspense and shock with numerous well-executed twists.
And it definitely seems that there’s much more where that came from in terms of a fifth season. Again, there’s no official word that an additional season was greenlit, YOU Season 4 left the door wide open with possibilities, and Netflix would be a fool to get out now.
Spoilers below—stop reading if you’re not caught up on the most recent season of YOU!!
By the end of season 4, Joe managed to come out on top, eliminating Nadia by forcing her to take the fall for Rhys Montrose and Edward’s deaths. He thought his Marienne problem was taken care of when he carried her lifeless body to a park bench, but little did Joe know, she was actually alive. He fell for the elaborate and insane escape plan that she concocted with Nadia.
And after a failed suicide attempt, Joe managed to silence the voices outside of his head, personified by the hallucination of Rhys, embraced his darkness, and found a kindred spirit—sort of—in Kate, who he believes is the love of his life.
The two promised that they’d keep each other on the straight and narrow, though for Joe, that meant simply accepting his desires to kill as normal. And with Kate’s protections in place, he’ll be able to continue on as Joe doing what Joe does.
And thus, Joe is more powerful and dangerous than ever. It would be a shame if the streamer didn’t let writers, and audiences, explore this new side of Joe—the one that’s completely content with himself and no longer running from the darker parts.
There are so many unanswered questions that would benefit from another season. Can he really be the man Kate wants him to be? Will he be content with Kate and tame his obsessive nature? Can he cover up additional murders? Does having Kate on his side make it easier or will she eventually begin to pry and wonder? What if he can’t control his temper? Will Kate end up in a glass cage just like the rest of them eventually?
Then there’s Marienne, who is a loose thread since she’s alive and well. I don’t think she’d actively risk her safety to take down Joe, but she does owe Nadia, who risked everything and went out of her way to help free Marienne, only to get caught in the crosshairs herself.
There’s a lot of story left to tell when it comes to Joe Goldberg’s new lease on life, and while I’m not exactly sure how much more audiences can stomach or how much more blood needs to be spilled, I think Netflix has a duty to the people to end this series the right way—with Joe finally meeting his match and dying an excruciatingly painful death just like all of his victims.
That didn’t happen on YOU Season 4 as he once again got away with murder, so it just means that YOU Season 5 is almost a guarantee.
We’ll update this article with renewal or cancellation news once it’s announced!
You can check out all of our YOU coverage in the meantime!