‘YOU’ Season 5 On Netflix: Spoilers From Penn Padgley And More

With the final five episodes of YOU Season 4 now streaming, the question on everyone’s mind is: What’s next for Netflix’s favorite serial killer?

The Penn Badgley-led thriller hasn’t officially been renewed for a fifth season, so it’s entirely possible that we’ve seen the last of Joe Goldberg. You know, in some bizarre universe where this insanely popular show would get axed without a loudly trumpeted final-season announcement.

So let’s operate under the assumption that it’ll be back for (at least) one more round. What can we expect from Joe’s triumphant return to New York? How will he decide to use (and presumably abuse) his second chance at life? And which of his old frenemies might he encounter now that he’s back in the States?

Team YOU isn’t at liberty to divulge all of those secrets, but we still managed to get some thought-provoking intel from showrunner Sera Gamble.

Grade the season in our poll below, then read on for some early “Season 5” intel from showrunner Gamble, Badgley and more. When you’re done, drop a comment with your own hopes for Joe’s future.

HOME SWEET HOME

Image Credit: Netflix screenshot

The fifth season of YOU would have a full-circle feel to it, with Joe returning to where it all began. But as hinted in the final scene of Season 4, Joe’s life would barely resemble the one he left behind all those years ago — save for his little bookstore purchase that Kate mentioned, not fully aware of her boyfriend’s unique history with bookstores.

“We all like the idea of seeing him come home again in such a different way to New York,” Gamble says.

As Taylor Swift would say to Joe, “Welcome to New York. It’s been waiting for you.”
'LOVE' INTEREST

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When Season 4 wraps, Joe is “in a relationship that, on the face of it, seems pretty great,” Gamble says. “So the question is, how does he f–k that up, really?”

If history is any indication, it won’t be long before another pretty face comes along to give him a renewed sense of purpose. After all, “He’s still Joe, and he still lives for love in so many ways,” Gamble adds.
GUESS WHO!

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Now that Joe is back from the “dead,” there’s also no telling which faces from his checkered past could resurface.

“We have kept scrupulous track of everybody who knows anything about Joe who’s not dead,” Gamble says, clarifying that “the ones who are dead could still appear in dreams and hallucinations.”

But here’s the part that perked our ears right up: “There are some very smart people who are alive. Some of them are in jail, and some of them are basically in witness protection, but there’s no reason to believe he’s safe.”

Dr. Nicky (John Stamos)? Ellie (Jenna Ortega)? The possibilities are endless!
A STUDENT'S REVENGE

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And let’s not forget about Nadia. Given that she’s currently in prison, framed for the murders of Rhys and Edward, the poor girl really has nothing to lose. So what would stop her from at least trying to expose her former professor, even if she has to do it from the inside?

“If she’s done as much as she did in in Season 4, she’s probably not going to shut up for too long, so I definitely think she still has some fight in her,” actress Amy-Leigh Hickman says. “You’ve seen that in her a lot, especially in the way that she helps Marienne, so I think she would try her luck getting out and taking Joe down again. I wouldn’t put it past her.”
ROOM FOR ONE MORE?

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Though it’s unclear whether actor Ed Speleers would return as Joe’s dark passenger, he certainly remains very much part of Joe’s psyche when Season 4 comes to an end.

“We give you about a scene and a half where we let you think that he’s actually gotten a fresh start and has rid himself of the Rhys part of himself,” Gamble says. “And then we tell you… no, not at all.”
THE ART OF THE KILL

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Joe went on quite the personal journey in Season 4, ultimately becoming a “less conflicted version of himself,” Gamble explains, and his philosophy moving forward will reflect his growth.

“There’s a fun new question we get to ask: What is Joe like when he doesn’t have to make every murder an accidental ‘Oh, he tripped and fell’ thing that puts him within inches of the police immediately?” Gamble adds. “What if he admitted to himself what he was doing and he gave it a little bit of solid planning?”

Penn Badgley echoes the showrunner’s sentiments, confirming that Joe has “embraced” that as his new philosophy, which continues to “change and evolve.” Joe’s new outlook is “really a Season 5 question,” Badgley says. “I think we’re going to be looking at that then. I think we’ve got to check back in.”

(Wait, a show about a guy who knowingly plans and commits murders of so-called deserving people while delivering monotonous narration? Dexter Morgan would like a word.)