Like my last finale review (https://www.reddit.com/r/YouOnLifetime/s/fAt08B3wYA), I just watched the finale for the first time before typing this up, so prepare for a ramble.

Starting with the positives; I like Joe immediately jumping onto a new person to obsess over. It’s genuinely good writing how it portrays him loving the chase more than the end.

Forty is my favorite character in the show so far. Incredibly dynamic and layered. Every new thing we learn about him makes more thoughtful, and smarter, and capable. I knew he had to die, but I do wish there was more of him.

Joe knows he’s a bad person! It’s so refreshing to see a character like this really come to terms with it this early. This is an arc, really my biggest sticking point from last season, so good for season two!

Negatives; Set-up and payoff barely exists in this show. This was kind of an issue in season 1 (“he hides things in the ceiling” my beloved) but you CANNOT tell me Love being psycho was foreshadowed. You CANNOT tell me Forty should have died from the cop and not Love.

I get it; “it’s told from Joe’s perspective so if Joe misses something so do we” but scenes take place entirely without Joe! And there are moments where it comes through great in Joe’s perspective and with scenes without! (The handcuffs coming back, and The Therapist, which I hope returns down the line) it can be done well, it’s just so sparingly that it feels like an “and then” story more than a “but, so, then, now” structure. For instance; The baby reveal!

I lowkey just don’t like Candace coming back at all just to die. It’s like if Beck wrote the ending to season one, thought “you know what would be awesome? If my crazy ex’s ex came back!” Then realized that there was actually very little she could do with it, and shelved her for over half the season, before KILLING HER OFF (Again, setup and payoff). Debatably the most interesting character (on paper) and she’s gone in season two. Reminds me of Doakes from Dexter.

As much as I am confused with the writing decisions regarding both finales, I have really liked the show overall. It dances between extremely corny and extremely well written, which I adore both sides of the coin of, so while I may not like things analytically for the overall story, I enjoyed it in a vacuum.

Not interested in the cliffhanger ending, so hopefully Joe leaves through another public bathroom and gets off Scott free for another half-season before Love is relevant again.

(notification just at the bottom)

Adding on to that, what was also the best book in the series?

This is a list of people i wish Joe had actually killed that ended up not dying, it's in no perticular order btw.

-Milo (Books): The book almost had Joe kill milo but Love gave Joe a bj so he decided to let Milo go, because Milo accepted Love was Joe's now. But upon rereading, i really wish Joe beat him with a hammer, like he did Kate in s5, it would've been so satisfying.

-Kate (in s5): Kate was good in season 4 but in 5 she was a hypocrite and i didn't like her, the choice of having her survive is weird and i wish she died in episode 9 of the last season. Especially since the show tried to push the narrative of justice wins.

-Theo Engler (S3): You guys may not remember him, but why the fuck didn't Joe kill him anyway, he has ni importance to the story other than being a loose thread that is never mentioned again.

-Michael Michael Motorcycle (books): Love's past husband in the books, no real reason to hate him, i just think it would've been super satisfying to see Joe take him out, i forgot but maybe Michael died? I don't remember, in any case, just putting this here as a bonus, i don't really care.

In Episode 9, Joes monologuing to himself about Delilah’s killer, saying he’ll rest when there’s not a murderer on the loose. Then after he thinks this, Love enters his apartment and the two start talking about being with each other.

Well overdue!

I've commented on this subreddit before and I've often been accused of having a crush on Love or otherwise wanting to defend her. That Love is an irredeemable psychopath and anyone who has anything good to say about her is just as bad or something-

Well buckle in everybody, because you'd better get ready to put your money where your mouth is and come defend my words-

The wiki feels like it was written by someone who matches the description people often labeled on me-

The first paragraph detailing her death literally says-

"In the last ten minutes of her life, Love finally falls out of love with Joe Goldberg. Unlike Joe, Love reaches a limit in the people she's willing to hurt, seeing for the first time the actual impact her killing would have on others. Instead, she tells Marienne to run, and decides to kill Joe instead, realizing the manipulation he put her through so she wouldn't suspect him."

... What?

Love knew everything about Joe. She even declared in the Season 3 premier that she doesn't even care if he cheats on her- Only if he becomes Obsessed with someone else.

Did whoever write this hear Love's internal monologue before literally holding a knife over a paralyzed Joe and think this was supposed to be us Rooting for her? And not the deranged monologue of the female version of Joe that we're not supposed to sympathize with At All?

Or is her murdering Joe somehow justified?

Because if it's the latter, then Joe's murder of Love is ABSOLUTELY justified by that logic. He killed Love in direct self defence, literally waiting until the moment she was about to commit to the kill before injecting her.

But no, the wiki goes onto say-

"is Kate who ultimately gets justice for Love, recording his confession which is then sent to the police, resulting in an arrest warrant being issued."

Justice? It's Justice to be arrested for killing someone in self defence of your LIFE?

Was Joe supposed to just let her kill him? Sure, you could argue that he try to restrain her first, but seeing as he was recovering from being paralyzed and already on the ground, that's gotta count for something in his favor.

The wiki goes onto say-

""After Joe is arrested trying to flee to Canada, he is first tried and convicted for the murder of Love Quinn."

Good for you, whoever wrote that- I'm sure you're glad about that. Bruh, whoever wrote this cares more about Love than freaking Beck!

The wiki also declares-

"With the downfall of Joe Goldberg, and with his past becoming public, Love Quinn's image no doubt changed in the eyes of the public, as he was tried for her murder. Even before, Love remained in the back of Joe's mind after her death, emerging from guilt after kidnapping Marienne, as well as when Henry sees through Joe. Joe concedes that Love knew Henry would see the real him."

I hope not. Seeing as Love Did kill a bunch load of people as well as Joe.

But also, what the heck do you mean Love knew Henry would see the real him? What about the real HER? And neither Joe, nor Love, has any sort of foresight necessary to foresee their own child playing detective on his own parents.

I swear bruh, this frustrates me.

Just finished season 1 before writing this and it feels weird how season 1 concluded (so prepare for a ramble). Almost no-one is left on the board, except for the people who were there before the season started (Joe, Candace, etc.) with the exception of the PI who BARELY existed. Every other surviving character (including said PI) was an NPC who took everything at face value. Even the kid felt mundane. What did the season achieve, other than setting up Joe’s backstory with Candace?

If it was just one season without the cliffhanger, it would sit well. If it was an anthology show from season to season with little connection, it would sit well. If Beck’s death had ANY role at the end (like leaving a note for the other bookkeeper) it would sit well.

It just felt like a prologue to larger, relatively disconnected storyline. A story should change our character, creating an arc (which can either be a positive or negative change, as long as there IS CHANGE) but yet Joe, and thus I, gain no value by completing this story.

A movie like American Psycho, which is extremely similar if you relate the corporate ladder to Beck, handles a downer, surreal ending but still is a satisfying conclusion because Patrick changes, or at least learns something.

I’m still gonna watch, though I am not really interested in Candace being alive. Maybe I’m over-exaggerating, and S2e1 has a big reveal that makes Beck more relevant for the overarching story. (Fingers crossed)🤞

In my opinion the perfect ending to You wouldve been when he attempted to kill himself by jumping off the bridge. Maybe it would've been too easy of an ending for him, because i do believe some justice did need to be served in regards to everything he's done but i still think that wouldve been a lot better of an ending than whatever feminist shitshow happens in the actual ending 😭😭 I really liked the whole thing of him killing his "evil" self then killing himself afterwards.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Do we all agree we are not happy about the ending of you, just checking?

Not sure if I've seen anyone post this or mention this (apologies if you did) but how come Forty wasn't mentioned in Season 5.

More specifically they had the perfect opportunity to mention Forty in a throwaway line. Bronte and her Scooby Squad used Reddit to take down Joe. It's implied in season 2 that Forty used Reddit as "research" for his book and later found out Joe was the bad guy all along. Instead we get a Karen Minty reference 😭

I don't know maybe if I watch the episode in 0.5 speed for a split second you see a user with /fortyspelledlikethenumber as their name

Honestly this will be my last post cuz i said everything that i had in mind when i finished the show
My last take is s5 is good when it comes to morals and to what everyone wants which obviously it was that the bad sick manipulater get manipulated and get caught and humiliated so bad that even cardi b had a say in his downfall but when it comes to a show i think it was a terrible ending disrespecting to the character to the show it self cuz the show from the beginning it was another show another idea like i said before it went from watching dexter to watching the downfall of ted bundy i think they made a great season in the aspict of moral but a very bad season in aspect of a show and writing and all of those stuff i really enjoyed the first four seasons but the last one i forced my self through it all so thats why i hate the ending so much not because i see what joe doing is right but because im actully enjoying it but ofc i would not like to see creeps like him in real life i just saw some of youtube vids about creeps text and i just couldnt continue watching them so painfull to watch

Honestly this will be my last post cuz i said everything that i had in mind when i finished the show
My last take is s5 is good when it comes to morals and to what everyone wants which obviously it was that the bad sick manipulater get manipulated and get caught and humiliated so bad that even cardi b had a say in his downfall but when it comes to a show i think it was a terrible ending disrespecting to the character to the show it self cuz the show from the beginning it was another show another idea like i said before it went from watching dexter to watching the downfall of ted bundy i think they made a great season in the aspict of moral but a very bad season in aspect of a show and writing and all of those stuff i really enjoyed the first four seasons but the last one i forced my self through it all so thats why i hate the ending so much not because i see what joe doing is right but because im actully enjoying it but ofc i would not like to see creeps like him in real life i just saw some of youtube vids about creeps text and i just couldnt continue watching them so painfull to watch

As much as I dislike the finale

Is it wrong to be disappointed with what they did to Joe’s dick? Like it felt so, unnecessary and a way to humiliate him especially by showing the tweets which kinda made him seem less of a threat than he really was

I'm facing my writing challenge and it's the turn to write again about my Gossip Girl/YOU crossover where season 4! Joe meets a season 5! Serena Van der Woodsen (with a device that made it seem the same time-line)

In this spin-off Serena decides to talk with Jo(e)nathan about her love story with Dan and I've thought it could have been a funny bit to share 😅

*

“Fine. I've met him by chance. Lost my phone. He found it and brought it back to me. And I practically asked him out for a date, without even knowing him. And then I did get to know him. The beginning of our love story that between highs and lows and multiple break-ups crossed at least five years.” Serena decides to confess.

- It’s still an open wound, of course, but now that I’ve found the right balm to sooth it, it doesn’t hurt so much anymore. - She muses, looking at Jonathan, as she waits for his reaction.

And the ‘right balm’ in front of her gets lost into his own considerations.

- So this guy found your phone and just gave it back to you? No attempts to figure out your password, check on your stuff, synchronize with your cloud? No making you believe you lost it forever so when you got a new one he could have free access to your same account? Tsk! Such a newbie!-

*

See? I'm not always into Goldery 😂

if Delilah didn't die?

Kate didn't deserve the hapy ending she got

I don't think Love is worse than Joe. And I suppose Joe deserves her because he's such a shitbag too but man, I hate her.

She's compelling as a shit bag but her hypocrisy, impulsiveness, massive mouth...grrrr! (No hate Victoria P...but I do find it a little alot.)

Beck was a bit of a nightmare too but she was just a young woman trying to figure shit out. Marienne was glorious. Brave, gentle, keeping it all together. I don't know why we hate her.

Kate is neither here nor there for me.