The You series finale has left fans divided — but what was the original alternate ending for the show?
During the last season, which premiered on Thursday, April 24, the final scene showed Penn Badgley‘s Joe reading letters from his supporters after he was arrested for his past crimes.
“Why am I in a cage when these crazies write me all the depraved things they want me to do to them? Maybe we have a problem as a society. Maybe we should fix what’s broken in us,” Joe said, while a version of Radiohead’s “Creep” played in the background. “Maybe the problem isn’t me. Maybe it’s you.”
Showrunner Michael Foley revealed that the creative team didn’t land on the show’s ending “until very late in the season,” telling The New York Post, “Throughout the series, there was a shared belief among the writers and the creators that Joe wouldn’t get away with his crimes.”
After five murderous seasons, Joe Goldberg’s journey finally came to an end — but did Netflix’s You actually kill him? The final season, which premiered on Thursday, April 24, featured various twists and turns for Penn Badgley‘s anti-hero. Joe started the season off married to Kate (Charlotte Ritchie) and integrated into her rich family. He […]
He continued: “We came into the season knowing that we didn’t want to redeem him, that he would get his comeuppance, that he was going to face some of those whose lives he ruined. And most importantly, we knew he was going to be made to face himself.”
Foley noted that death was “too easy” of an ending, adding, “We liked him not knowing the touch of a lover.” Meanwhile, coshowrunner Justin W. Lo teased several alternate endings.
“We went through many different options, one of which being that he did die at the hands of [Madeline Brewer‘s] Bronte. I was even remembering a version where he was shot,” Lo told the outlet. “And [the audience] didn’t realize that he shot until the very last episode, and then he realizes he’s a ghost.”
In addition to Joe being put behind bars, the fictional serial killer was also shot in the penis after a showdown with Bronte.
Charlotte Ritchie, who played Kate, supported seeing Joe behind bars instead of being killed. “I don’t believe in the death penalty and I don’t believe he should just die,” she exclusively told Us Weekly. “Sometimes I wonder if there’s a missing part when he doesn’t reflect because — and it’s a shame that he never gets an inward moment of reflection — but that seems appropriate for him. It doesn’t feel like he’s capable of that.”
Netflix’s final season of You surprised fans with a multitude of cameos from past characters. You, which originally debuted on Lifetime in 2018, introduced Penn Badgley as a serial killer whose obsession for a girl grew to terrifying heights. Based on books by Caroline Kepnes, the series found larger success after it moved to Netflix […]
The actress, 35, noted that Joe still didn’t take any responsibility for his actions.
“Where we leave him, he’s just not even vaguely capable of looking at the blame anywhere else except for somewhere else,” Ritchie said before weighing in on Joe’s brutal injury. “I was like, ‘That’s full on. I guess symbolically it’s very important. But there is something about his brain that is the scariest part of him in the way we see him. He’s really violent in this series where he shows brutality and physical violence that’s very specific in this show. But broadly his threat is his mind and his ability to talk to people.”
Ritchie continued: “In a way it’s symbolic but it’s like he still retains the part of himself that is manipulative and controls people. He sorts out his heart and his head. Whatever happens to his penis is neither here nor there.”
Elizabeth Lail, meanwhile, was glad Joe got what was coming to him.
“Obviously I want to believe in the justice system — particularly in this day and age. I believe in justice and due process so I like to think that that is the best outcome,” Lail, 33, who played Joe’s first victim, Beck, told Us. “He’s been redeemed but it doesn’t mean at times I [don’t think that they should just] kill him [on the show].”
You is currently streaming on Netflix.
#Alternate #Wrapped #Joes #Story #Differently
