‘You’: Penn Badgley Thinks Season 5 Will Be the End of the Netflix Show
You season 4 just ended, and fans are already clamoring for season 5. Penn Badgley, who plays protagonist Joe Goldberg, revealed he thinks the next season will end the Netflix series. Here’s what Badgley said about You season 5 and what the show creator thinks about making more episodes.
[Spoiler alert: You season 4 spoilers ahead.]
Penn Badgley says fans need ‘You’ season 5 to see ‘Joe come to a conclusion’
You season 4 shows a never-before-seen side of the main character, serial killer Joe Goldberg. In past seasons, he justifies his murders by using them to protect himself or others (with several casualties along the way).
But by the end of the fourth installment of the Netflix series, Joe is revealed as the mysterious “Eat the Rich” killer, meaning he no longer only murders as an act of protection or self-preservation.
The season ends with Joe attempting to stop the killings by taking his own life. But he ultimately embraces his dark side and gains unimaginable wealth and power through his love interest, Kate.
In a March 10 interview with IndieWire, Penn Badgley said season 4 felt like “Part 1 of Joe’s climax,” and season 5 could be “Part 2.”
“You could leave it off where it is now, and it’s somewhat satisfying,” the actor said. “But I think what’s particularly dystopic or chilling about it is he has effectively won. You have taken this man and shown him going out on top. In that sense, I don’t think it’s the conclusion that anybody wants.”
Badgley added, “We’re needing to see Joe come to a conclusion. Should there be another season? That to me feels like what is happening.”
Penn Badgley revealed he thinks ‘You’ will end after season 5
Although Badgley thinks there is more to Joe Goldberg’s story, he predicts You will end after season 5.
“It feels to me like we need to do another season. It feels to me like Joe needs to get what’s coming to him, and now he has further to fall because he has all this power and wealth,” Badgley told IndieWire. “But of course, that’s not up to me. I don’t know where it’s going. But to me, with this concept and with this character, we always wanted to be responsible and it’s not just the kind of thing we can let keep going because it’s doing well.”
He added that the show creators intended the fifth season of You to be the series finale. “I know the creators of the show always had this next season in mind as its last, should there be another one,” Badgley shared. “And then it will probably be a spectacular resolution because it feels to me like something is in the works by the very end of this season.”
The Netflix show’s creator said there ‘certainly could be more’ to Joe Goldberg’s story
Netflix has not yet officially renewed You for season 5, but show creator Sera Gamble said she has more ideas for Joe Goldberg.
“There certainly could be more,” Gamble told The New York Post on March 12. “We have an idea for what happens next. But, we hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”
She worries the season 4 finale may have jinxed the prospect of getting renewed for more episodes. “I feel like if your show hasn’t been picked up and you write a season finale that’s only satisfying if it’s a cliffhanger – and we’ll tell you what happens on the other side – it’s tempting the gods to cancel you,” Gamble said.
