All The Clues That Pointed To Bronte's Twist In You Season 5
It feels so much more obvious looking back.
Spoiler alert: This post discusses revelations up to You Season 5, Episode 6.
We all knew You was going to pull out all the stops for its final run, and it hit viewers with a shocking twist midway through Season 5. Much like its daring identity reveal in the middle of Season 4, the last chapter in Joe Goldberg’s story also flips the script when it comes to a newly introduced character. This time, it’s Joe’s newest love interest who reveals she’s not what she seemed — although, there were some hints about her true motives ahead of the big revelation.
Despite his seemingly happy marriage to Kate Lockwood, Joe’s wandering eye once again reared its ugly head in Season 5. This time, he became obsessed with the book-loving Bronte, a down-on-her-luck playwright whom he caught sneaking into his bookstore, Mooney’s. It didn’t take long for Joe to fall for Bronte’s literary charms; in fact, it was almost as if she was created to be his exact perfect partner. Yeah, that’s because she kind of was.
At the end of Episode 5, it’s revealed that Bronte had been undercover ever since she met Joe, with a mission to expose his murderous secrets to the world. It’s a pretty shocking twist, but looking back, there were several clues to the secret she’d been hiding since the start.
1. Her Reading List
Bronte’s special interest in Joe comes up early on when she casually lets it slip that she read Sherry and Cary’s book about being locked in the infamous cage (though they blame it all on Love Quinn). Her Goodreads account, which Joe discovers, also reveals she’s not only read Guinevere Beck’s book The Dark Face of Love, but was “obsessed” with it. Clearly, she’s been doing some research on Joe.
2. Taking Photos In The Cage
When Bronte stumbles upon the translucent cage in Mooney’s basement, she immediately starts taking photos inside it. She tells Joe that she was just interested in the rare books kept there, but once the truth comes out later, it seems much more likely that she was documenting Joe’s notorious prison cell for her fellow TikTok investigators.
3. Her Very Familiar Backstory
Bronte’s Goodreads comment about being “obsessed” with Beck’s book is even more telling, considering her whole character seems to be a perfectly crafted recreation of Beck’s persona. Like Beck, Bronte is a young writer with big ideas who’s struggling to get her career started. She shares Beck’s literary name, and also spends most of her time with Joe at Mooney’s, where they bond over their shared love of books.
It’s almost as if Bronte transformed herself into Beck to seduce Joe. Hmm...
4. Her Reaction To Joe’s Writing
When Bronte first discovers Joe has written erotic fiction clearly inspired by her, she privately recoils and looks distressed. But strangely, she has a completely different reaction when they discuss the work. Bronte effusively praises the writing as a refreshing exploration of kink when speaking to Joe — a sign that she may be hiding her true feelings.
5. The Constant Mention Of Tropes
Bronte didn’t try too hard to conceal that she was basically playing a role all throughout her time with Joe. Her protestation that she’s “not a trope” became so constant, it was difficult to ignore just how laughable the claim was. She said she’s not “the other woman,” or “the enemies-to-lovers,” or the “rich guy falls for poor girl” device that’s so well-known in romantic art... when she basically fit every single trope almost too well.
While Joe claims to be averse to romance novels, he sure seems drawn to their all-too-familiar structures — something Bronte may have used to make herself into the irresistible literary heroine.
6. Her Obsession With Mooney’s
A pretty obvious clue, but still important to call out: Bronte’s laser focus on Mooney’s should have been the first tipoff that she was stalking Joe. Even after he catches her taking books from his store, she still continues to come back — even sleeping in his office despite being warned to stay away. Clearly, this was more than just a love for old books.
7. The Fake Name
Another massive clue: After Joe meets Bronte’s aggro ex Clayton, he learns that her real name is Louise. She gave herself the name Bronte upon coming to New York to pursue her theatrical dreams, supposedly to leave her past in Ohio behind. While the story behind her new name could be believable, the fact she changed her name should have still been a red flag to viewers.
