hen Netflix’s favourite serial killer and twisted romantic, Joe Goldberg comes back for a final bout, everybody watches. Fans have been strung along since the first two explosive and brilliant seasons (shout-out to my favourite, the psychedelic trip episode from the second season).

Nobody quite knew what a final season could have in store. It is difficult to kill off a character like Joe without writers risking being absolute clichés. It is also not a clear choice when the anti-hero has been driving the narrative, having not only his girlfriends but also many of watchers under his spell.

It is clear, from the outset, that the show still packs the punch of earlier seasons even though it feels a bit ‘trope-y.’ The writer’s self-consciousness about this is welcome.

Joe is much less charming and likeable, a lot more obviously psychotic and a lot less sympathetic as a character. There is a nice common ground between the viewers, having been witness to his antics and the people who have been victims to his psychopathy. Whether or not this is intentional does not matter in the final analysis.

What matters is that this is something the show manages to achieve in its final edition. This is not a small achievement. Long drawn out shows risk being an insufferable drag. The final episode of YOU manages to tread that line carefully and come out clean.

The big question on the show from the start was whether Joe was a sympathetic character. Over the years, it transformed into whether he was redeemable. In the final two episodes, it was whether Joe could again get away with it.

The latest season started off with Joe’s wife, Kate, having trouble negotiating her dubious past. She begins to suspect Joe of not just being morally dubious but also having a tendency to kill for pleasure.

Long drawn out shows risk being an insufferable drag. The final installment of YOU manages to tread that line carefully and come out clean. 

As her suspicion grows, Joe begins to have a crisis himself. He now believes that his salvation lies in not just being loved for the idea of him but also fully accepted for his murderous tendencies.

Things are complicated when Kate’s step sister and uncle try to oust Kate from her position as chief executive officer by leaking incriminating evidence about her and Joe. As Joe tries to convince Kate to let him solve the problem his way, Kate comes to realise killing does not weigh on Joe’s conscience as it does on hers. Joe and Kate then begin to fall out and animosity grows between the two.

Joe finds a trespasser at Mooney’s (his bookstore) and decides to give her a job. The trespasser, Bronte, soon becomes an object of Joe’s projection. She encourages him to write and he starts to doubt his relationship with Kate.

Joe and Bronte begin to cheat on Kate. It is the same trope all over again. However, if one chooses not to quit on the show right there, one can find out that there are more possibilities. The kind of possibilities where Joe could be catfished, framed and face a worthy adversary.

Maybe if you want justice to be served hard enough, there could be something for you in the closing episodes. Yes, you.

Uneeb Nasir writes about culture, art and identity. More of his work can be found on instagram.com/un.eeeb