If you like your soap operas with a healthy dose of social commentary, self-awareness, and murder (so much murder), we’ve got good news – “You” is returning to Netflix for a fifth and final season. 

The quirky thriller starring Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg hit the streaming service with little fanfare back in 2018, but it wasn’t long before viewers started to notice this wasn’t just another shallow entry to the crime/romance/suspense genre. It was good! 

While still requiring viewers to suspend their disbelief at multiple turns, it’s all done with a wink and a nod and there’s plenty of meaningful, entertaining material to carry this thing to the finish line. 

We still don’t know exactly when that will be – the second half of Season 4 debuted in early March of 2023, and the writer’s strike put a halt on production for the fifth and final season. 

Details are still scarce, but Season 5 is still expected to drop at some point in 2024 to bring the show to an end. There’s already been plenty of speculation about the ending, and Netflix higher-ups have promised an “unforgettable ending” for the surprise smash streaming hit. 

While Joe has narrowly avoided death and capture on countless occasions throughout the first four seasons, he’s currently in the strongest position of power he’s ever held – in a relationship with the ultra-wealthy Kate Galvin, who now controls the family business and fortune after Joe killed her dad at the end of Season 4. 

Joe also successfully tied up a few loose ends in London, where he assumed a new identity as a college professor and formed a relationship with his student Nadia. While she eventually caught on to Joe, he successfully killed her boyfriend and framed Nadia before heading back to New York with Kate. 

Now with untold resources at his disposal, Joe has assumed his normal identity once more and there’s no telling what he and Kate are capable of with this newfound freedom. 

While Joe has seemingly done a good job covering his tracks after countless instances of stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and murder, there are still a few survivors out there who either escaped or were let go. 

Showrunners have heavily teased that someone from Joe’s past will return for the fifth and final season. We could see a former victim return to kill Joe or successfully turn him in to authorities, ending a brutal reign of unchecked behavior. 

As for the most likely outcome? 

Joe getting away with everything tops our list. 

Let’s be clear here that Joe is an absolute psychopath, who also suffered from a mental breakdown in London and carried on murdering innocent citizens under the guise of an alter-ego of his own creation. He has attempted suicide, he’s tried to turn over a new leaf on multiple occasions, all while rationalizing his multiple felonies as some sort of social justice warrior. 

Joe has made several critical mistakes – including letting ex-girlfriend Marienne escape from captivity and return back to Paris. He’s also left evidence behind (Really? Peeing in a jar was the best option?) and has been discovered as a killer on multiple occasions. 

Through it all, Joe has only been held accountable through brief moments of pain or uncertainty. There’s always an ace up the sleeve, and while the execution is lacking at times, there’s no doubt Joe is a cunning criminal who has escaped punishment through a series of masterminded schemes and quick thinking. 

It wouldn’t at all be surprising to see Joe escape certain defeat once more, slipping back into the You universe to fall in love and try it all over again. 

A far more satisfying end for most fans would include Joe meeting his demise, via sentencing for his crimes or a good old-fashioned revenge killing. 

Joe ending up in prison might be the most likely outcome if not for the fact that he now has billions of dollars at his disposal. He did a good enough job avoiding jail without the legal power his new fortune provides. But it’s entirely possible someone from his past will creep up and alert the authorities in a way that allows Joe to be taken in. 

A final shot of Joe in a cell, after all those years of locking others away in various basements, would be a satisfying if not predictable conclusion. 

As for those loose ends from Joe’s past, the most intriguing return would involve another former victim caught in his crosshairs. 

Back in Season 2 when Joe was renting an apartment in Los Angeles, he befriended building manager Delilah and her younger sister, Ellie, played by Jenna Ortega. Joe ended up imprisoning Delilah before she was murdered by Joe’s then-girlfriend Love. 

While Ellie seemingly believes Joe that he wasn’t directly responsible for her sister’s death, she’s still out there somewhere and may eventually put all the pieces together. It doesn’t hurt that Ortega is now a massive star and would bring some serious weight to the final season in a return role. 

We also must consider that Kate could turn on Joe at any point. They aren’t married, they’ve both done horrible things and it could turn out that Kate will emerge as the next Joe, so to speak, murdering our protagonist in a final ironic twist. 

There are at least three remaining parties who are aware of Joe’s misdeeds – Marienne, Nadia, and the Conrads. 

Joe began dating Marienne in Season 3 and you can already guess how that ended up – Marienne, locked in the book chamber of doom like so many before her. But having been discovered by Joe’s student, Nadia, Marienne was able to fake an overdose death and escape back to her daughter in Paris. 

Marienne is fully aware of Joe’s capabilities, a terrifying burden especially now that Joe is back in the public eye. She’d likely be hesitant to get anywhere near him again after her miraculous escape, but it’s possible she could set his downfall in motion. 

The same goes for Nadia, who is wrongfully imprisoned at the moment. She knows everything but has no way to prove it and likely won’t be getting out of prison any time soon, barring any further discoveries by authorities. 

Lastly, the Conrads are some of the only people on earth who’ve actually benefited from Joe’s actions. After an attempt at swinging goes horribly wrong, Sherry and Gary Conrad are imprisoned but ultimately escape thanks to a spare key. 

The Conrads parlayed this experience into a couples therapy book and seem to be enjoying their newfound attention. But they’re also presumably under the assumption that Joe is dead, thanks to the trusty old toe-in-the-pie trick he pulled at the end of Season 3. 

With Joe now doing media appearances, the Conrads could go after him and try to do what so many others before them have failed – stop Joe Goldberg. 

The speculation will only ramp up as we wait for a Season 5 premiere date, after which we’ll all say goodbye to Joe and that magical invisibility cloak of a baseball cap – dead or alive.  Stay tuned to entertainment news for the latest updates on the thrilling conclusion of You.