Warning! Spoilers for You season 5 ahead!Joe Goldberg was finally the one faced with the great thereafter in You season 5, but Bronte chose instead to keep him alive. The Netflix series saw this monstrous character kill dozens of people throughout its five seasons, so Joe certainly deserved death by the end. However, his newest lover, Bronte (whose name was actually Louise Flannery), had a different plan for Joe. At first, she wasn't willing to accept that he was a cold, hard killer. Once Bronte knew the truth, however, she became determined to give Joe exactly what he deserved in the final episode of You.

killed back in You season 1. Bronte came to New York intending to catfish Joe and discover the truth of what had happened, but she accidentally fell in love with the man instead. It took a chat from romantic interest number three, Marienne Bellamy, for Bronte to realize that Joe had only gotten in her head. From that point on in You, the big question was who would get the better of the other—Joe or Bronte. Their showdown was magnificent, but when the time came, Bronte let the murderer live.

Bronte Has Multiple Chances To Kill Joe In You Season 5 - Why She Doesn't

Bronte Wanted More Than Just To Punish Joe

Bronte's first opportunity to kill Joe came immediately after her conversation with Marienne in You season 5, episode 9, "Trial of the Furies." Maddie Lockwood had set Mooney's bookstore on fire while Joe and Kate were trapped in the basement. Bronte found the couple there, and saw with her own eyes that Joe had attempted to kill his ex-wife (it seemed at the time he had succeeded). With renewed clarity, Bronte realized that she could walk away and leave Joe to burn. However, she instead pulled him from the fire and jumped right back into pretending to be in love with him.

Joe would have escaped ever facing ability for the dozens of terrible crimes he had committed.

The reason for Bronte's decision was simple, but risky. Had Joe died in the fire, no one would have ever known the truth. Joe would have escaped ever facing ability for the dozens of terrible crimes he had committed. This leads to Bronte's next opportunity to kill Joe. She had him at gunpoint on two occasions, and though she ultimately shot and injured him, she specifically allowed the police to come and take him instead. Joe even begged her to kill him, but she responded that she would never give him that satisfaction. Death would have been too convenient an escape for You's killer.

Killing Joe Goldberg Would Have Been A Disappointing Ending For His Character

Joe's True Punishment Was Loneliness

After everything we saw Joe do throughout You, his own death might have been satisfying for a moment. However, Bronte was right that such a fate would have been far too easy. Joe's defining quality in You is that he thinks all his murders were committed out of necessity. He feels no remorse because he has never taken ability for anything he has done. However, a gruelling trial would make it far harder for Joe to lie to himself. He needed to face the disgust of society and ultimately be accept the truth—Joe Goldberg is a terrible, monstrous murderer.

The final scene of You season 5 demonstrates just how right Bronte was not to kill Joe. He is seen sitting alone in his prison cell, reading the book The Executioner's Song, a true crime novel about a murderer who advocated for his own execution. As Joe finishes the book, he thinks about how cruel his punishment is. The loneliness is too much to bear, and the understanding that he will never be held or loved is torture. It's clear that You's Joe Goldberg would have preferred death to this. However, Bronte ensured that he instead got exactly the punishment he deserved.