YOU Season 1 Ending Explained

Netflix’sYOU season 1 ending closes the door on one story and opens a door for season 2 to take the series in an all-new direction. YOU season 1 wasn’t particularly successful when it first aired on Lifetime, which is why it was initially canceled, but when the series – which is based on Caroline Kepnes’ novel of the same name – was picked up by Netflix, it found new life. Now, YOU is one of Netflix’s most-watched shows in recent memory.

YOU season 1 saw plenty of twists and turns, all of which were leading up to the tumultuous climax in which Beck sees Joe for who he really is, and Joe is forced to take strong measures to make sure she doesn’t tell the world. Indeed, YOU season 1’s final episode with Beck trapped in the bookstore certainly provides the intense finale the season had been building to.

Related: Netflix’s You: What We Want To See In Season 2

But even though Joe believes he’s gotten away with everything, and cleaned up all the loose ends, there are still some threads dangling. There are also some ghosts that are sure to haunt him, not least of which is Candace, his mysterious ex-girlfriend who everyone was the under the impression had been killed by Joe. Seeing as Candace just stroll’s into Mooney’s bookstore on the launch of Beck’s new book, thus surprising everyone, especially Joe, YOU season 2 is shaping up to be quite an interesting ride.

• This Page: YOU Season 1’s Ending & Twist
• Next Page: What YOU Season 2 Will Be About

What Happened In YOU Season 1’s Ending

Everything goes a bit topsy-turvy for Joe in YOU season 1’s ending; Beck discovers Joe’s stash of objects he was keeping in his bathroom, thus revealing her old broken phone, Benji’s phone, some stuff that’d gone missing from the apartment, and the teeth from Benji’s body. Horrified, she tries to make a break for it, but Joe ambushes her, which forces him to knock her out and restrain her.

Beck wakes up in the airtight plastic cage that’s used for storing old, precious books in Mooney’s’ basement. She and Joe have a back-and-forth, but when she realizes arguing won’t get her anywhere, she concedes to Joe’s wishes and lives peacefully, writing a piece about her personal struggles on the typewriter he left for her. As things between the two gradually pacify, Beck is able to trick Joe and make a break for it. She gets as far as the locked mesh door, out of the basement and into the main shop, where she meets Paco. She pleads with Paco to help, but since Joe killed his mom’s abusive boyfriend, Paco decides to leave, which lets Joe recapture and kill Beck.

YOU season 1 ends months later with Joe having taken all of Beck’s available manuscripts and compiled them into a posthumous book that looks set to become a best-seller. He believes he’s gotten away with everything, having planted evidence in Dr. Nicky’s yard to frame him for the murders, and believing he’s made Beck’s dream come true by doing her a favor. Then Candace walks in, answering Joe’s shocked stare with a demand to talk – and that changes everything for Joe.

Did Joe Try To Murder Candace?

YOU season 1 is ambiguous about what happened to Candace, though it leans heavily towards Joe killing her. Audiences first hear about Joe and Candace having an eventful relationship from Candace’s friend at Peach’s party early in season 1. Candace is then regularly revisited in the form of dream sequences and flashbacks, showing that she and Joe, while happy for a time, weren’t good for each other. She had cheated on him, and from there it’s implied he snapped and killed her, then fabricating an Instagram account he kept updated with pictures of her traveling Europe to make it look like she just disappeared on everyone.

But Candace’s arrival in YOU season 1’s ending obviously quashes any belief that she’s dead, not least from Joe, who immediately tells her she’s supposed to be dead when they meet, to which she replies that they have unfinished business. Of course, it’s possible he did try and actually kill her, but failed without knowing, which would’ve allowed her to slowly recuperate, but that doesn’t necessarily fit with the Joe audiences see through-out YOU season 1. He’s quite methodical and is prone to outbursts when he’s built up enough anger inside. He keeps himself well covered with alibis as well, thanks to Mooney, the owner of the bookstore, teaching him the art of covering his tracks. If he failed to murder Candace, that would be an egregious error on his part.

What also feels plausible is that Candace outsmarted him, and the two reached an agreement that she would leave if Joe did something for her. With all the hubbub around Beck hitting the news, it’s theoretically possible that Candace comes back not liking all this noise around their contract, and she’s here to watch over (and perhaps extort) Joe for a little while. Since Candace’s entrance in YOU season 1’s ending is the cliffhanger bombshell for season 2, it seems that the writers and producers are waiting to show all their cards.

Page 2 of 2: What YOU Season 2 Will Be About

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