You had an alternative ending where Joe realised he was actually dead

While You showrunners Michael Foley and Justin Lo always knew that Joe would be held accountable for his murderous actions one way or another, there was a "very early iteration" in which Joe would find out he was a ghost after being shot by Bronte (Madeline Brewer).

"We went through many different options, one of which being that he did die at the hands of Bronte," Lo told the New York Post.

"I was even remembering a version where he was shot. And [the audience] didn't realise that he [got] shot until the very last episode, and then he realises he's a ghost."

That would've been quite the stark difference to how the fifth season ended, with Joe eventually convicted for his many murders, including that of Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti), Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), Benji Ashby (Lou Taylor Pucci) and Peach Salinger (Shay Mitchell).

The final moments of the season see Joe in his prison cell, where he is handed a letter from a fan. Joe asks whether it's fair that he is in a cage while people like the fan who sent him mail get to roam free, asking if the problem is actually not him, but you.

"We liked putting him in a veritable cage [in prison]. We liked him not knowing the touch of a lover," Foley told the publication, noting that "it was late in the season" when the writers had "finally locked that down".

"Throughout the series, there was a shared belief among the writers and the creators that Joe wouldn't get away with his crimes," he said.

"We came into the season knowing that we didn’t want to redeem him, that he would get his comeuppance, that he was going to face some of those whose lives he ruined. And most importantly, we knew he was going to be made to face himself."

Foley recently told Netflix's Tudum that everyone involved in the series agreed "death would be too easy" for Joe.

"I always thought somebody killing Joe wouldn’t be justice. It would be vengeance. Anybody who kills him would be brought down to his level, which is not justice for them," he said.

"He’s a quandary, in a way. What would justice for him look like? I think we get as close as we can."

Penn Badgley echoed this very sentiment, telling Deadline that it was "the right choice" in bringing Joe to justice.

He said: "What is best, not just for Joe, but the person who then has to do it? If somebody was to kill him — and it would be a woman, right — well then, actually, now what you’ve burdened her with is having committed murder. Like, that’s not just, I don’t think.

"Torture? Uh OK, same thing. Prison? Eh, feels a bit not enough. So what do you do? Take. His. Balls."

You season 5 is available to stream on Netflix now – sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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