Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for You season 4, part 2!
This article discusses scenes involving suicide.
You season 4, part 2 sees the end of Joe’s identity as Jonathan Moore, but leaves plenty of room for another season to develop. Although You season 5 has not been confirmed, with the success of You, as well as Penn Badgley’s six-year contract with Netflix, it is likely that Joe Goldberg will be back. You season 4, part 2 wrapped up Joe’s time in London nicely, but there are plenty of theories for Joe’s future. Joe has had his share of fake “happy endings,” such as his move to Madre Linda with Love Quinn at the end of You season 3.
The You season 4 finale ends with Kate covering up Joe’s murder and accepting his past. However, it is unclear how much of Joe’s past that Kate is familiar with, she may have suspected that he murdered his wife, but the likelihood she knows about Beck and his other murders is low. Joe falls into his old habits and frames Edward for the murder of Rhys Montrose, as well as framing Nadia for the murder of Edward. At the end of You season 4, Joe tells the audience that with Kate’s money and power, killing will be a lot easier. This makes the possibilities for You season 5 limitless, since while Joe has had money before, Kate is another level of wealthy.
6 Jenna Ortega’s Ellie Will Return To Expose Joe
Originally Jenna Ortega’s Ellie was meant to return in You season 4, but her Wednesday shooting schedule conflicted with the shooting of You season 4. If Jenna Ortega had appeared in You season 4, it would’ve been a considerably different season. If You creators were already considering having Ellie return, the likelihood that she will return in You season 5 is pretty high, if their schedules line up. In You season 2, Ellie leaves Los Angeles after her sister Delilah disappears and Joe sends her money. While Ellie wasn’t mentioned in You season 4, it is possible that Joe is still sending her money.
While Ellie doesn’t know that Joe killed her sister, Ellie is a smart girl, and Joe hasn’t always been the most adept at covering his tracks. If Ellie returns to expose Joe, it will be a fitting end for Joe. Joe has always had a soft spot for children, which he sometimes uses to convince himself he’s a good person when in reality, he helps them because he remembers how hard it is to be a kid. If Ellie returns to bring Joe down, his soft spot becomes his downfall. Not only would fans be overjoyed to see Jenna Ortega return, but her bringing Joe down would fit with the themes of the show.
5 Joe Will Try To Kill Kate
In You season 4, Joe realizes that his cycle of killing won’t stop until he dies. To save Kate, Joe decides to jump off a bridge to his death. However, the police take Joe to the hospital where Joe sees Kate. At this moment, Joe forgets his death wish and decides to try to live happily ever after with his love. Yet, earlier in the season, Love Quinn’s hallucination convinces him that he was the reason that all the women he loves die. All of Joe’s conquests end the same, there isn’t any evidence to suggest Kate will be any different. Kate may be smart and have resources, but so did Love Quinn.
Since Kate has resources, she may be able to find out all of Joe’s crimes. Their move to New York where You season 1 started suggests that Joe’s background will come back to haunt him. If Kate threatens to expose him or have him killed, Joe will likely kill her. As much as he loves Kate, Joe may also become obsessed with another woman or figure out that Marienne is still alive in You season 5. Any of these reasons could be a deciding factor for Joe to murder Kate. Yet, Kate is much wealthier and more powerful than Love, so for Joe to make her disappear will be a difficult task even for Joe Goldberg.
4 Joe Will Reunite With His Mother & Brother
Returning to New York means Joe Goldberg may reunite his mother and half-brother Jakey. In a flashback, it is revealed that Joe’s mother left him for another family with Jakey. Along with his other childhood trauma, being left by his mother definitely didn’t help his complicated feelings about women. Whether of his own accord or if his brother seeks him out, Joe could likely see his family again. However, Joe probably harbors hateful emotions towards his family, so what that means for his family is unclear.
Learning more about Joe’s roots will help explain his character, but You season 4 moved away from digging into Joe’s childhood. As previous You seasons have shown, Joe has many repressed memories that have a profound effect on him in the present. Whether his family will be involved in his downfall remains to be seen, but Joe reuniting his family will likely bring up traumatic memories for him.
3 Joe Will Reopen Mooney’s Bookstore
At the end of You season 4, Joe mentions he bought a bookstore that was going out of business. It is very likely that Mooney’s was the bookstore going out of business and since Joe has special memories associated with Mooney’s, with his newfound access to money, he decides to reopen it. This puts You season 5 in an interesting position, putting Joe back in New York, making it the first time he’s returned since You season 1. However, Joe returning to New York may not be a smart move for him, as there could still be people who suspect him from the past.
Along with Mooney’s bookstore comes Joe’s cage, he can easily rebuild the cage and continue holding victims inside. Since Joe can get away with murder easier now, he can utilize his cage without fear of being caught and arrested for life. As such, being back in New York at Mooney’s gives Joe more leeway to slide into old habits.
2 Joe Will Become A Monster With Kate’s Money & Power
As someone who grew up poor, Joe is always chasing money, whether he is conscious of this or not. Since Beck, each of his obsessions has been relatively wealthy, Joe marries Love Quinn who is financially successful enough to cover up their crimes. Kate is a different kind of rich, the kind that allowed her father Tom Lockwood to get away with some heinous crimes. Since Joe reminds the audience that killing will be easier now, it illustrates that Joe is already thinking about the perks of being with Kate Lockwood.
With Kate’s unconditional love and resources, Joe will likely feel less guilt for murder. In previous seasons, Joe has feared being caught as well as being told he is a bad person. With Kate, she is feeding him the illusion that he is a good person as well as giving him the possibility of covering up crimes. This is a win-win situation with Joe, but Joe’s troubling psyche always seems to bubble up, so his happy ending with Kate likely won’t last very long.
1 Kate Will End Up Killing Joe
As You season 4 has shown, Kate Lockwood is different from Joe’s past conquests. Not only does she have insane money and power, but she has admitted to doing terrible things in the past. As some fans have argued, Kate is probably hiding more skeletons in her closet than she has presented to Joe. After spending so much time with her father who she called “evil,” some of his behavior has rubbed off on her. Kate will likely grow suspicious of Joe, especially if he is particularly careless with his crimes. She could kill him to keep her name clean, but she could also kill in self-defense.
Since all of Joe’s conquests end in the death of his lover, Kate is likely to be next. However, she could be the one to take Joe down. Kate will not hesitate to murder Joe if he tries to hurt her or her reputation. At the end of You season 4, Kate and Joe say they aren’t married because Kate is too busy. But it is likely that Kate knows the risks she takes marrying someone and does not want to put herself in a financially vulnerable position. With You season 5 still not confirmed, all these theories continue to be speculations, but the possibilities for Joe and his downfall are certainly intriguing.