Joe Goldberg’s You Season 5 Fate Was Long Overdue, But One Part Of His Ending Misses The Point

Warning! Spoilers for You season 5 ahead!Joe finally got what he deserved at the end of You season 5, but one aspect of his ending didn’t quite fit the bill. Ultimately, there were only a handful of ways that Joe’s story could have come to a close in the Netflix series, and I feel that the writers chose the right one. I know there were some who still hoped that You‘s murderer would suddenly experience remorse for his crimes and turn over a new leaf, but I’m deeply relieved that this isn’t what happened. A lonely life in prison is exactly what Joe Goldberg deserved, and it was perfect that Bronte, Kate, and Nadia were the ones to put him there.

However, not every aspect of Joe’s ending in You was perfect to me. At the end of season 5, Bronte and Joe’s big showdown played out to the point that she held her abuser at gunpoint. Recognizing that he was cornered, Joe begged Bronte to kill him, but she refused. Death would have been far too easy an escape—a way for Joe to avoid ever facing the consequences of his unending violence over the years. Bronte recognized as much, even as Joe attempted to convince her that death was what he deserved. It was a golden moment in You, promptly followed by Joe getting shot in the penis.

Convicting Joe Goldberg In You Season 5 Was Enough – Bronte Didn’t Need To Shoot His Penis

The Leg Would Have Been Just Fine

Joe attacked Bronte in a last-ditch effort to avoid arrest, and this left the latest subject of his obsession with no choice but to pull the trigger at the end of You. Thankfully, Joe wasn’t fatally injured. However, it’s later revealed that the bullet had succeeded in shooting Joe’s penis off. It’s presented as a sort of additional justice for this You character. Not only did he have to spend his life in prison without the touch of a woman, but he had to do it without one of his most important parts. However, I can’t help but feel that this was entirely unnecessary, if not even counterintuitive.

Bronte Shooting Joe In The Groin Adds Humor That Doesn’t Fit You Season 5’s Ending

It’s Comedy Without The Meaningful Return

You has always paired disturbing violence with a touch of comedy, so Joe getting his penis shot off in the end isn’t entirely outside the series’ tone. However, the outrageousness of the situation and the way the montage acknowledged it slightly threw off the balance. Joe, having his manhood removed was cheap justice, and being publicly mocked for it only aided in the whole thing feeling quite slapstick. This really does Bronte’s character in You a disservice, since her big confrontation with Joe had been so powerful up to that point.

Bronte is more of a concept than a character in You, since she represents all the women Joe had abused throughout that series. Characters like Beck and Love had been unable to survive holding Joe accountable. Though Marienne and Kate escaped with their lives, they hadn’t been as successful as Bronte in making Joe confront himself. This big moment in You‘s ending, when Bronte finally held power over Joe, was a significant and symbolic victory. A female character could finally take what was most important to Joe away from him, but that shouldn’t have been his penis.

This Aspect Of Joe Goldberg’s Fate Misses The Point Of His Entire Story

Joe Is Just As Dangerous Without THAT

Joe is looking at himself in the mirror smiling in You season 5

There’s no question that Joe is a predator, and sex certainly plays a role in that. Throughout You, Joe develops romantic relationships with women and then violates them in the most silent ways. He would stalk them and secretly masturbate while watching them in public, and steal intimate items like underwear and used tampons. This is sexual abuse, no doubt about it. However, Joe’s penis wasn’t necessarily the weapon here. Rather, Joe’s own belief that he was better than the standard misogynist is what made him so dangerous.

Joe losing his penis in You season 5 didn’t make him any less dangerous, because this particular body part was never what his brand of sexual violence was about.

Joe losing his penis in You season 5 didn’t make him any less dangerous, because this particular body part was never what his brand of sexual violence was about. If anything, living out the rest of his days intact would be more of a punishment, since it would only add to the immense loneliness that Joe will feel for the rest of his life. Ultimately, it would have been a more effective justice if You season 5 had revealed that Joe came to be known as some rich, elitist, misogynistic pervert, since these were exactly the sort of men that Joe tried to kill off. His penis really could have been left out of it.