Image Source: Netflix
There’s no denying that Jonathan Moore – or rather, Joe Goldberg – has a grip on “You” viewers in much the same way that he has a grip on his victims. And while fans of the hit Netflix series may have broken free from his grasp after finishing the recently released part two of season four, they may well fall back into his charming ways as actor Penn Badgley has hinted there could still be a fifth and final season of the show to come.
“I know what Greg [Berlanti, one of the series’s showrunners] pitched me a few years back as what he thought was the right way to end. If there’s another one, it’s going to be, I think, a grand finale,” the new GQ Hype cover star tells the publication. He adds that he’s “not sure” how he will feel leaving behind the character he’s embodied since 2017, revealing that if there were to be another installment of the series, it would be an explosive one.
“If there’s another one, it’s going to be, I think, a grand finale.”
Penn Badgley’s Quotes About the “You” Season 4 Ending
Season four was split into two parts, the first released on Feb. 9 and the second a month later. It follows serial killer Joe attempting to turn over a new leaf as a reformed murderer in London. Joe starts his new life under the identity of university professor Jonathan, but of course, in classic Joe fashion, he’s not just in the UK to start a new life but also to stalk Marienne (Tati Gabrielle), the object of his affections from season three. While he finds her, he seemingly lets her go, free to return to her daughter in Paris to prove he’s given up his old ways.
Meanwhile, the Eat the Rich Killer takes down Malcolm (in the first episode, of course), Simon, and Gemma and reveals himself to Joe as writer-turned-politician Rhys Montrose. Sort of. And while Joe vows not to let the killer take the lives of any more of his friends, part two still brings a considerable amount of death and a very surprising plot twist. “It wasn’t ever meant to be released as two parts. I don’t know what the conversations were with Sera Gamble and [cocreator] Greg Berlanti, for instance. I think that’s just Netflix’s economic reality. And I think it makes sense, generally, to release things in instalments. I like that,” Badgley tells GQ. “When I found out, I was like, ‘We’re going to leave a month between [episodes] five and six? That’s a big old diversion.’ Because, to me, it doesn’t all come home until you finally see the cage.”
Will “You” Season 5 Be Its Last?
Despite the divisive ending, it seems that season five is very likely, although it will be the last we see of Joe. Badgley told IndieWire on March 10 that a final season is not just a want but a “need.”
“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,” he said. “I know the creators of the show always had this next season in mind as its last, should there be another one,” he said. “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.”
Image Source: Samantha Casolari for GQ Hype
While the blood has barely dried on Joe’s recent killing spree, there’s little known about how his story will unfold, although one thing is for sure: the lack of steamy sex scenes will continue. In a Feb. 9 episode of the “Podcrushed” podcast, Badgley revealed that he requested fewer intimate scenes to “You” creator Sera Gamble out of respect to his wife, Domino Kirke. “Fidelity in every relationship, including my marriage, is important to me. It’s got to the point where I don’t want to do [sex scenes],” he said.
Pretty soon, the internet was sparked by hundreds of comments about whether or not acting out a sex scene constitutes cheating – something Badgley considers to be “blown out of proportion” but was, ultimately, his decision to create boundaries that work for him in his workplace. “I was nervous to even have that conversation. It was not easy. It was easy because of Sera’s response, and I felt relieved,” he tells British GQ. “But technically speaking, if I thought I’d had the ability to set that boundary earlier, I would have.” He continues to approach directors with this request to avoid doing so many sex scenes in potential future roles, despite knowing that it could impact “the number of projects you can be a part of.”
While Joe’s story is far from over, we’ll be keeping updates on where he’ll be, what he’ll be doing, and when we can expect the final season of “You.”
Read the full feature online at GQ Hype now.
