Warning: You finale spoilers forward. Madeline Brewer manifested her function in You. “I actually love this present,” she says after stopping herself from occurring one other tangent about what the present means.
She first watched You again in 2018, when it was nonetheless on Lifetime earlier than Netflix, and instantly texted her agent asking her how she might be on it. Coincidentally, her agent additionally represented Penn Badgley, so she knew the precise individuals to achieve out to. “I believe she had their ear somewhat bit like, “By the way in which, Madeline Brewer is an enormous fan,” Brewer says.
Every season, Brewer checked in to see if there was a job obtainable. There wasn’t. That was, till 2024 when showrunners Michael Foley and Justin W. Lo had been casting for Bronte, Joe Goldberg’s remaining lady who, unbeknownst to her, could be the important thing to his demise after 5 seasons of murders and manipulation. After a gathering with producers and two chemistry reads with Badgley—one among which he drove down from upstate New York in a snowstorm for—the function was Brewer’s.
“I’ve met people who find themselves like, ‘You‘re the lady who obtained the function in You. Los Angeles was in a tizzy over that function. Each lady wished that function.’” It’s so fascinating to now be at some extent in my profession the place I used to be in a position to get in there,” Brewer says.
Brewer didn’t know a lot concerning the function when she began filming. “The showrunners advised me up by means of Episode 5. They had been like, ‘After which Episode 6… it type of modifications.’ However they didn’t inform me why or what,” she says. “They did say, ‘By the tip of the sequence, Bronte holds Joe’s destiny in her arms.’ And I used to be like, ‘Say much less.’”
She discovered precisely how after studying Episode 6 which revealed that “Bronte” was really Louise—a good friend of Joe’s past love curiosity (and sufferer) Guinevere Beck—who had been investigating Joe ever since Beck’s mysterious dying in Season 1. Collectively, with a gaggle of different true crime conspiracists, Louise was in a position to catfish Joe and trick him into falling in love together with her earlier than exposing his crimes to the world. “I like that she’s type of loopy in her personal means,” she says.
The downfall wasn’t rapid, nonetheless, as Louise—like lots of Joe’s love pursuits—wrestled together with her personal romantic emotions for him earlier than coming to the conclusion about who Joe actually was. “In the long run, he’s a fucking misogynist,” Brewer says.
What her realization ends in is an almost 25-minute combat scene within the finale between Joe and Louise that ends with Louise outsmarting Joe at his personal sport and locking him up eternally. (Or so it appears by the point the credit roll.) “There have been many worthy opponents of Joe,” she says. “However Louise is sensible.”
Forward, Brewer—who’s additionally set to conclude her six-season run on The Handmaid’s Story on Might 27—sat with StyleCaster to interrupt down You’s sequence finale, the way it compares to The Handmaid’s Story, and Louise’s masterful (and typically irritating) selections that led to Joe’s eventual seize.
Let’s begin with the twist. What was your response to the reveal in Episode 6 that Bronte’s actual identify was Louise and he or she was Beck’s good friend who had been investigating Joe for years.
I beloved it. I like that she’s type of loopy in her personal means. She’s daring, trepid and somewhat little bit of a free screw. I additionally love that it makes the love affair with Joe that rather more difficult as a result of she’s so loyal to her associates, however so confused. She actually wrestles with: “I should really feel love and to be beloved in this sort of magical means.” It’s the identical factor all of us do, no matter whether or not the individual we’re courting is a assassin. All of us need to imagine one of the best issues about them. It’s Joe’s M.O. He decides who he desires the lady he’s courting to be, and once they don’t dwell as much as it, he kills them. Most individuals simply break up. He decides to kill them. I believe she was doing a little bit of that too: I deserve how great this man is to me, though he’s terrifying. However that’s additionally the tragedy of being a girl courting males. I don’t know what it’s in us, however we predict typically we may change them, even when it’s somebody who’s demonstrably unchangeable.
In the long run, [Joe is] a fucking misogynist.
Louise makes loads of selections that I believe viewers might be pissed off together with her for. One among which is when she rescued Joe from the hearth and didn’t let him die. Why do you assume she did that?
Firstly, I don’t assume Louise is a assassin. I additionally assume the driving pressure of her friendship with Clayton, Dominique, and Phoenix is the seek for justice. In the end, she’s saying, “It’s not for me to determine what justice is for you. The best way I can facilitate that is offer you as much as the police and let the justice system hopefully do what’s proper.” As everyone knows, it doesn’t all the time do proper, however on Netflix, it does. Episode 10 is her being like, “What do I do?” She is aware of if she let him die within the hearth, she would have regretted it like, “What if I used to be improper?” She’s decided to seek out out for herself.
I believe viewers can even be stunned by Joe not dying in the long run. What was your response to the ending?
It may finish one among two methods: He’s useless or he goes to jail. I personally just like the ending. Joe feeds off of different individuals. He’s a vulture. He’s a leech pulling individuals in. He escapes by means of individuals. In jail, he has no entry. He can’t try this to anybody anymore, which is the factor that may make him probably the most depressing. It’s the worst doable destiny for him. For him, it’s a destiny worse than dying to not have anybody to govern and nobody to fall in love with and attempt to rewrite the historical past and sins of his previous. He has to sit down there and give it some thought.
Do you assume Joe discovered his lesson in the long run?
No, he’s nonetheless blaming everybody else. His voiceover blames the ladies who fall in love with males like him. In the long run, he’s a fucking misogynist. He acts like he’s so developed, however deep down, he had a horrible relationship along with his mom and couldn’t save her and thinks that each one girls want saving. Once they don’t, he has to supply them with a state of affairs wherein they should be saved, and he should be the one to do it. He has a savior complicated. When a girl doesn’t want him, he thinks she must be useless. That’s why he hates Peach in Season 1. It’s what makes him discover Love repulsive at a sure level. She’s as ugly inside as he’s and he or she doesn’t want him. She displays him again to himself. He’s not simply broken. He hates girls.
Joe has by no means been painted as simply the villain on You, particularly within the final season the place viewers be taught extra about his backstory. What do you assume the aim is in humanizing Joe?
That’s why the present is so good. You do see his vulnerabilities. You do fall in love with him. Truthfully, Penn Badgley is unimaginable to not fall in love with. He’s the attraction and the charisma. He’s a lovable individual and character. What I like concerning the present is it confronts us with what we’re keen to just accept from a lovely white man. What we’re keen to let him get away with due to his points in his previous. You’ve obtained white privilege. You’ve obtained fairly privilege. You’ve obtained male privilege. You’ve obtained skinny privilege. You’ve obtained masculine privilege. You’ve obtained educated privilege. There are such a lot of issues that permit him to get away with what he will get away with. We attempt to deny all these issues and simply be like, “He’s a pleasant man.” However a grasp manipulator like Joe makes use of all of them to his benefit.
[Joe’s] not simply broken. He hates girls.
Do you assume Joe had actual emotions for any of his love pursuits?
No, I don’t assume that he’s able to that. He’s an empty one that must fill a void in himself. It seems like love, and it seems to be like love, however I don’t assume it’s actually love. He’s an empty one that is attempting to fill himself up with all of those totally different individuals. It masquerades as love. Perhaps it seems like like to him, but it surely’s not, as a result of love just isn’t murdering somebody once they cease residing as much as the pedestal you place them on. Love just isn’t killing individuals for one more individual.
There are such a lot of individuals who have tried to take down Joe over the course of the present. Why do you assume Louise was the one in a position to do it?
As a result of she’s a nasty bitch. There have been many worthy opponents of Joe. He’s outsmarted them or outstrengthed them. However Louise is sensible, and he or she performs to her personal strengths of attempting to play a component till the second is correct. What was Beck’s demise? She discovered the stuff within the ceiling and freaked out. That doesn’t make her silly. She’s perhaps simply not as savvy or she’s totally horrified by dying. However I believe Louise has spent years on this place of taking a look at crime scene pictures and serious about the actually horrific issues he’s performed. Going into it understanding he could be a assassin, she’s ready for that truth to be true. He can’t actually take her abruptly.
There have been many worthy opponents of Joe. However Louise is sensible
Within the finale, the attitude switches and Louise does the voiceover. What do you assume the importance of that was?
The voiceover we hear from Joe is oftentimes darkish. He has this factor inside him that’s all the time telling him he’s dangerous and improper. It’s not even a conscience. It’s this sort of evil voice within his head. I believe the showruners wished to provide Louise a few of that like, “You’re a fucking fool. What are you doing?” They invite us to listen to that, as a result of in any other case we’d simply learn her as understanding nothing. We now have to ask the viewers inside her thoughts to know that she is aware of what the sport is. We see her in actual time being like, “That is taking place. OK, there’s the mattress. OK, I’ve obtained to go upstairs. He’s appearing somewhat bit unusual. He is aware of I’m mendacity. How do I do that?” It’s enjoyable as an viewers member to be there together with her, and for as soon as, to be within the thoughts of somebody aside from Joe.
How do you assume You’s sequence finale compares to The Handmaid’s Story’s sequence finale?
You goes out with a bang. Handmaid’s Story goes out with… don’t get me improper, the entire season is a bang. However that remaining episode is a very stunning homecoming. Each for June and a few of her relationships all through the entire sequence, but in addition callbacks to earlier seasons. We began taking pictures Handmaid’s Story in 2016 through the 2016 election. We had been ending up The Handmaid’s Story remaining season through the 2024 election. Generally it feels concurrently like we have now helped the world and in addition like we’ve performed nothing. Like nothing has modified. I’ll say this season feels much more hopeful. It feels extra like a name to motion. It seems like it might give viewers much more hope.
What are you able to say about the place Janine results in the finale?
Janine is in a very totally different place than we’ve ever seen her. I used to be watching some clips from Season 1, and I used to be like, “Who the hell is that?” She’s modified. I’ve modified. We’ve naturally, grown collectively. Janine’s M.O. was working contained in the clouds and present. That’s how she survived. However now she’s two toes planted on the bottom, very sensible, eyes extensive open — eye extensive open — I’m very pleased with the place she ended up.
There’s information of a derivative, The Testaments. Would you ever reprise your function for it?
By no means say by no means. I do really feel that Janine and I’ve accomplished our circle. I’ve given her the whole lot I may give her from the place she is, and he or she’s given me the whole lot she may give me. We’re outdated associates. Perhaps I received’t see her for a very long time.
Photographer: George Chinsee
Artistic Director: Stephanie Cui
Make-up: Dani Parkes for Unique Artists
Hair: Michaella Garfinkel