Trial of the Furies

Season Five Episode Nine, The Trial of the Furies

ABSOLUTE PEAK

My name is Dexter, Dexter Morgan. I don't know what made me the way I am. But whatever it was, left a hollow place inside. People fake a lot of human interactions, but i feel like I fake them all, and I fake them very well. That's my burden I guessMy name is Dexter, Dexter Morgan. I don't know what made me the way I am. But whatever it was, left a hollow place inside. People fake a lot of human interactions, but i feel like I fake them all, and I fake them very well. That's my burden I guessMy name is Dexter, Dexter Morgan. I don't know what made me the way I am. But whatever it was, left a hollow place inside. People fake a lot of human interactions, but i feel like I fake them all, and I fake them very well. That's my burden I guess.

Brilliant episode. Best episode of season 5, one of the best in all seasons of "You".

I still have to watch the last episode, but I feel like this could have been an ending as well.

Personally I am rooting for the downfall of Joe, I actually really hate the guy and wish nothing but pain and misery upon him.

Seeing the extremely low rating episode 10 got, makes me feel scared about what they decided to do with the series finale.

Even though I personally didn't think the fifth season didn't get really good until episode 5, this ninth episode was absolutely brilliant with me literally sitting on my couch with my mouth wide open.

Was a good dynamic in the episode, and once again I thought "ah come on Bronte" but now I get it. Really good ending with the roles being reversed with the voiceover and good choice of song as well!

This is a textbook case of a show trying so hard to outdo itself with twists that it ends up tripping over its own ambition. The episode tries to deliver tension, cat-and-mouse games, and dramatic reveals every five minutes, but what we actually get is a parade of questionable decisions, glaring plot holes, and characters whose personalities shift with the wind. And sure, there are some entertaining moments (like the fire or the ghostly appearance of Marienne), but it's hard to take the storytelling seriously without rolling your eyes.

Let's start with the season's big showdown: Kate and Nadia's plan to finally bring down Joe. For eight episodes, Kate's been basically a shadow-hesitant, more focused on digesting her guilt than actually doing anything. Then out of nowhere, she becomes a psychological thriller mastermind, pulling off a wild plan involving drugs, recordings, kidnappings, an underground bunker, and even emotional blackmail. Okay, fine-suspension of disbelief can take us that far. But the plan starts falling apart in real time like a badly built house of cards, and the script doesn't seem to care-as long as we're distracted by intense dialogue and dramatic pop songs in the background. The attempt to turn Kate into a determined avenger works for maybe a few seconds, but it's frustrating to see her "hero moment" totally sabotaged by the script the minute she hesitates with Joe... only to then get shot.

Now, the biggest issue in the episode is Bronte. She was supposed to be the emotional core of the season-the one caught in the moral tug-of-war between loving a monster or walking away. But she's completely inconsistent. She starts the episode dreaming of Irish castles, ignores Kate's warnings, listens to Marienne (literally the most direct witness to Joe's horror) share her mirrored trauma, and still needs a literal fire to have a moment of clarity. And even then, her "awakening" has a lag. Because instead of doing the obvious-ditching everything, running, calling the cops, disappearing-she walks into a burning building, with zero clue who's inside, no logical motivation other than, I guess, just passing by. And then, she saves Joe. Just because. Because the writers needed a twist. And then, in the most emotionally contorted move the show's ever pulled, she accepts his proposal just to rip him apart later. Her plan shifts more than Joe changes aliases. It's not emotional incoherence-it's lazy writing that favors shock value over consistency.

Speaking of inconsistency, the show suddenly decides to split the internal narration with Bronte-something it never did with any of Joe's other love interests, not even Love, who had way more depth and screen presence. Bronte's voiceover shows up in a crucial moment and basically spoon-feeds us a message: "Hey, she's not falling for his BS again, relax-she's still got her agency." But the truth is, that narration is only needed because the directing and acting weren't strong enough to convey that ambiguity on their own. And that breaks the show's original language. Since season one, the voiceover was a direct extension of Joe-his delusions, his twisted justifications. When the show starts handing that out like soap opera inner thoughts, something gets lost.

Even the episode's most explosive moments-the fire in the bookstore, Kate's plan imploding, Maddie's meltdown (honestly the most grounded part of the whole thing)-can't hide the fact that the whole structure is crumbling. Joe hiding a surgical key inside his own arm? That's the kind of thing you can pull off if you're making a satire or a campy thriller. But "You" wants to be taken way too seriously to get away with that. It's not just ridiculous-it feels like a desperate move from a writers' room that had no clue how to write their way out of the mess.

At this point, the show has veered far away from the psychological tension that made it compelling in the first place, diving headfirst into glossy telenovela chaos-but without the self-aware charm that could make the absurdity feel intentional. By now, Joe's died and been reborn so many times, both metaphorically and literally, that it's hard to root for any outcome other than a final, definitive ending. And Bronte, who had every reason to be a true counterpoint to him, ends up just becoming another loop in the same toxic cycle-only this time, narrated out loud so there's no doubt left. If the goal was to show that monsters don't change, and that even those trying to "fix" them end up lost, then message received. But the cost was high: an episode that aimed for explosive and ended up just plain messy.

If you're reading this and haven't watched the finale, you honestly should stop here. I'm usually very forgiving with shows and bad finales. Like I can at least rewatch Dexter and get over the bad ending. But the series finale is irredeemably bad.

When I was watching this, I didn't realize there was one more episode and with the ending, I was shocked to see one more episode was up. This episode would be a great ending. Which honestly has got me thinking. I'm wondering if this was intended as the season finale when they started filming, but then they found out the series was ending and had to put something together.

But I don't think you would be miss out on anything by skipping the finale, and would avoid tainting your opinion of the series. The finale literally turns it into a totally different show, and is written incredibly poorly for the most part. I don't mind where they went with it, if that's the story they wanted to tell. But for lack of better words, it was told poorly.

But specifically about this episode, it was honestly very solid and kept me on the edge of my seat till the very end.

Episode 9 of You Season 5 was absolutely wild. It hit all the right notes like it being intense, suspenseful, and full of those unexpected twists we've come to love. Joe is back to his old tricks, but with a fresh set of challenges. The tension between him and the people around him was at an all-time high, and I honestly didn't know how things were going to play out. What I really appreciated was how the episode kept us on edge without overdoing the drama. It felt like every moment mattered, and the pacing was spot on. The ending left me with so many questions, but in the best way possible. It's definitely setting up for a crazy finale, and I can't wait to see how it all wraps up. The only reason I'm not giving it a perfect 10 is because a few moments felt a little predictable, but honestly, that's just nitpicking. Overall, it was a fantastic episode that pushed the story forward in the most thrilling way possible.