Original subtitles

Previously on You…

Joe, I'm sorry. I'm leaving town. Thank you for everything. Bronte.

Did you just break up with me?

Is Clayton there? Has he done something to you?

- Maybe I should go. - No, no, please.

I'm getting a divorce. What if it was you, and only you?

Don't talk about my dad like that.

How did your shitbag ex get in?

- Oh, my God. - Get off of me!

Oh, my God!

Bronte, we need to leave right now.

Did you set me up?

Did you catfish me?

♪ I was busy thinkin' 'bout boys ♪

I can't leave town right now.

- Not for me? - Not even for you.

Come on, don't be a square.

- Square? What are you, my grandma? - Ouch.

What happened to seizing the day?

It's called being responsible. I have TA duties.

Tell your students you're in love. They'll understand if you skip out.

I can't skip.

Well, what if I can't take no for an answer? How about that?

I'm running into a meeting with a student. I gotta go.

- They can... Wait! - No, I'm serious. I'm already late.

Can you please tell Joe that I have to go?

She's mine now, Joe. Bye-bye.

Okay, bye.

I thought I knew love.

But this is what you had planned for me…

…all along, Bronte.

Louise. Whoever you are.

Everything we shared…

…was a sham.

- Mmm. - Whoa.

You played me perfectly.

Fucking take me already.

- Made me think I needed to save you. - I said be quiet!

- Hey! - Oh, my God.

Get the fuck off of me!

And now it's my word against yours.

Kate's lawyers have bailed me out for now.

It's the Lockwood way.

"Shut it down. Deal with it internally."

You.

You look just like the Bronte I thought I knew.

But you're not her. You're a snake.

And I know nothing.

Thank you.

Your friends have been telling a pretty unbelievable story.

They say you moved to New York to catfish Joe Goldberg.

That true?

Yes.

Why?

We wanted justice for Guinevere Beck.

Did you know her?

You have this way of digging into your characters' psyches.

Even the ones that seem irredeemable.

It's like… radical empathy.

It's really impressive.

Oh. That's… That's too nice.

No. Don't do that thing where you undercut my compliment.

Just sit in it and accept that I think you're really good at this.

Okay. Fine.

Um… Thank you.

Oh. Except one thing.

The Doll's House reference? Really?

You don't like A Doll's House?

It's a seminal feminist work.

Okay, no. It was written by a guy

who called himself a humanist.

I challenge you to find something

from an actual female point of view.

Challenge accepted.

Oh, my God. You actually remembered to bring it back?

Uh, yes. She… she was my favorite hostage.

But I… I am returning her now.

You know, nobody's ever championed me as a writer like you have.

Come on.

I mean it. Before we met,

I thought I was making a big, stupid mistake, like, moving here,

doing… creative writing, and I really thought about quitting.

But you saw me.

And, um, I just…

I want you to know that it means a lot.

Sounds like a goodbye speech.

Uh yeah, I'm, uh, dropping… I'm dropping out.

What?

My mom. She… She's taken a turn for the worse.

Oh, God, Louise. I'm so sorry.

I just can't, like, be out here

living my little, artsy, cool girl, New York dreams when she's…

She's at home dying.

I just have to move back to Ohio.

You could transfer to a creative writing program out there.

I'm just gonna get my job at the dental office back.

I mean, we need the money.

What does your mother think about this?

Not really giving her a say.

Do what you gotta do for your family.

But you have to hold on to your love for this.

I see how you come alive when we're here working.

I'd hate for you to lose that. I really, really would.

Yeah, um, I hear you.

Good.

"I am no bird and no net ensnares me."

"I am a free human being with an independent will,

which I now exert to leave you."

"Beck."

We can only aspire to be as quotable as Brontë.

Keep it to remember me by.

Hey, Mom. How you feeling?

Fantastic.

Oh. I can do that, hon.

I got it, Mom.

Did you see this? This is so sad.

The body was found on the property of Dr. Nicolas Angevine,

a therapist in New York.

Why was her body found buried in your backyard, Doctor?

Sources have identified the victim as Guinevere Beck,

a graduate student and reportedly one of Dr. Angevine's patients.

- The chair of office didn't disclose… - Louise, what's wrong?

I couldn't bear the thought Beck was gone.

When her book came out, it was a way to hold on to her.

Say you love him Say thank you

Say anything, but the truth

What if you can't love him back?

Oh, Beck.

"Ibsen's Nora was brave, able to look her husband in the eye."

The Doll's House reference? Really?

But it was weird.

Like parts of the book weren't written by her.

Beck's manuscript was sent anonymously after her death.

Who sent it and why?

The police didn't have an answer for that.

So I got a little obsessed.

During the day, I worked, took care of my mom.

And at night, I went online looking for more information.

For closure. For something.

It turned out I wasn't the only one with questions about Beck's murder.

That's how I met the others.

Hi.

Everybody, this is Brontesaurus2544.

Just… just Bronte is fine.

Uh, are you Dom?

You can call me Dominique. That's Clayton and Phoenix.

Clayton. The victim?

How do you all know each other?

Well, Phoenix and I met online.

We connected over the fact

that both of our families were screwed over by the "justice" system.

We both had this, like… need to do something.

Help someone when no one would help us.

Then we met Clayton.

His dad's getting screwed over as we speak.

Who's your dad?

Nick Angevine.

Dr. Nicky.

Oh, my God. Are you okay?

That's never the first question people ask me.

My mom is a mess.

I had to delete all my socials because people kept on trolling my family,

tracking us down.

We started using a different last name so they'd leave us alone.

That's awful. I'm sorry.

So, Bronte, what brings you to our subreddit?

Oh, I guess, um…

I just wanted to understand.

I was reading Beck's book, The Dark Face of Love, and…

…there was just some stuff that didn't sit right with me.

I felt like maybe Beck didn't write all of it herself. Like…

…maybe someone else finished it.

That's fucked up.

Look… I'm gonna cut to the chase.

We think this boyfriend killed her.

You see, I have these recordings my dad made of all his therapy sessions.

Unethical. We don't love it.

Wait, like, um, Beck's sessions?

Yes. Well, she talked about having major problems with her boyfriend, Joe.

But what got my attention, there was this other patient, Paul Brown.

All the info he gave my dad's office was fake.

Wait, like, you… you think Beck's boyfriend

was seeing Dr. Nicky under a fake identity?

Crazy, right?

As crazy as thinking someone else finished Beck's book?

Will you tell me more?

So you and your friends think Dr. Angevine is innocent?

Law enforcement got it wrong?

We had this idea that… that Joe had fooled a lot of people.

Based on years of… like, chasing down rumors

and social media posts and news archives.

And…

We wanted to expose… expose him for who he really was.

That being?

A killer.

- Happy, happy birthday! - Happy birthday!

Yes, we love it!

You look great.

Let's get to work.

Over the next few years,

we combed the Internet for every piece of information we could find.

It was a distraction for me, I guess, as Mom got worse.

When she was gone, my friends became my family.

We'd learned Joe died in California.

Was killed by his wife.

But then, one day…

Oh!

"I am a free human being with an independent will,

which I now exert to leave you."

Keep it to remember me by.

I mean, hell yeah.

Please, finally come to New York. But why now?

Because we have to get that motherfucker.

Get him how?

Look, you're not in trouble.

We just need your help understanding what happened tonight.

- How we got here. - Uh…

Um…

We didn't have a… solid plan at first.

My friends thought the smart thing

would be to get into the fringes of his life. Um…

Close enough to keep an eye on him

while staying invisible enough that…

…our, uh, cover, I guess, wouldn't be blown.

Sensing a "but."

But I wasn't satisfied with the plan.

Oh.

Oh.

I broke into his bookstore.

I don't exactly know what I was searching for,

but it felt good to be, I don't know, active.

And then, there he was.

He wasn't an idea anymore.

He was real.

Come back to us, my darling girl.

We've got motherfucking filet mignon.

Oh, yes.

What, from last night?

It's been in the fridge.

I saved us having to order takeout for this meeting,

so you're welcome.

Mama Dom blesses all her children.

Okay, I do feel blessed.

Not gonna lie, best catering gig I've ever worked.

The pay was good, and they let us take home leftovers.

How'd it go, you know, the regatta?

The gala, darling. The gala.

Absolute rich person bonanza.

These people smell like uncut money.

It's disgusting. I'm obsessed.

And…

…he was there.

What… What did he seem like?

Yo, it was so different from our shitty, little stalking sessions on the street.

Like, I was in the same room as him.

Like, breathing the same air. It was so weird.

But even up close, he seemed so, like…

- regular. - That's how he gets you.

Uh, well, did you… Did you find out anything?

Like, anything we can use?

Well, it got me in with the catering company

that does all the Lockwoods' events.

We're closer than we've ever been.

Yeah, this shit takes time, Louise. We're gathering evidence.

You gotta be patient to do it right.

Speaking of… how's it going with the mailroom at Lockwood Corp?

Oh, um…

Yeah, I sent in another application.

I don't know, maybe they think I'm underqualified.

Why are you being all weird and spacey?

Um…

Maybe because I'm eating microwaved Lockwood leftovers.

Do you want to lay off?

- I couldn't tell my friends what I did. - Why?

If they knew that I… I broke into Mooney's

and Joe almost caught me and I nearly blew it, uh…

So how'd you meet him?

Uh, I went back and broke into Mooney's again

and Joe caught me and I nearly blew it.

- Hey! - Wait! Don't, please!

I had to think fast, make him think I was harmless.

I'm… Look, I'm sorry.

Sorry, okay?

I made up a story.

Can you just put that down, please?

It's like a different part of me took over.

Somehow, I talked my way out of it.

Dickinson. That'd be a way to go out.

A cleaving in my head As if my brain had split

I can't tell you what it felt like to actually be talking to him.

I couldn't believe I could do it.

And I knew it wouldn't be the last time,

which was exhilarating.

And terrifying.

Hey!

What is going on?

Did you follow me?

After how sus you were acting? Imagine our surprise finding you...

Coming out the front door of his bookstore in the middle of the night.

What part of it's dangerous did you not understand?

Hey, you're shaking. What happened?

I met him.

- No, you didn't. - Fuck off.

Yeah, I did.

And…

I think he liked me.

You can't do that again. No, Dom, she can't do that again.

Clayton, she made contact.

Dom's right.

I'm fucking in.

Okay, so, the big one opens the front door

- and the little one opens the office. - Okay.

See you tomorrow, boss.

Minty Fresh, this was a person posting on the Internet?

Yes. Uh… She dated Joe once.

She said she saw a cage in the basement of the bookstore with her own eyes.

So, uh…

I had to see it for myself.

Holy shit.

But all he had in there were books

and these, uh… these stories that he'd written.

They were, like, murder fantasies.

We thought there's no way these could be confessions, right?

Do you have copies?

No, and anyway, none of the details matched up with anything real.

But I did get one important thing out of them.

I realized Joe was a romantic.

They were all stories about him being a white knight

for the woman he loved.

Seeing her as a bird with a broken wing in need of saving.

Which gave me an idea.

I think I can get Joe to fall in love with me.

- What? - You're joking.

No. No.

Louise, he is an actual serial killer.

I mean, he offered me that apartment, didn't he?

True. God, what a mark.

I mean, I loved Beck,

but she was at a point in her life where she was just…

She was figuring a lot of stuff out,

and that would have been like catnip to him.

Guys, I can be that. I've got it all figured out.

Bronte is, like, a total romantic.

She's an Ohio girl who has dreams of becoming a playwright.

She loves romance novels.

Why romance novels?

Joe likes to be challenged, right?

And arguing about books would totally turn him on.

He wants to bone you. Congrats.

- Clayton! - Nice, Clay.

No. He's gonna sniff you out.

The best-case scenario, the whole thing's shot.

Worst-case, you get disappeared because he's a fucking killer.

Yeah, and that's why I need you. To make this airtight.

Well, how will I make it airtight?

We've got to expand Bronte's world.

Draw him into something that… It… it has to feel real.

Give him something,

or someone, to save me from.

We've got to put on a show.

- I forgot I have a thing, I have to go. - Whoa, seriously?

- Wow… Hello, Bronte. - I, uh…

- Joe, this is Clayton. - We used to fuck.

It's like, if a lie is 90% truth,

then it's easy to get someone to go the extra 10%, you know?

We let Joe discover my real name.

Hey, moneybags, did you know her real name is Louise?

So he would find the socials that we curated.

Make him feel like he found something on me.

Quell his suspicions.

And that worked?

It worked better than we ever could have imagined.

He followed the trail right to Beck.

It was a tragedy, what happened to her.

I've never told anyone this.

I wish I killed Dr. Nicky.

He told me he wishes he killed Dr. Nicky.

- Ew, Jesus, what the fuck? - I know. I know. I know.

It's fucked up. Uh… But it's… it's gnawing at me.

Um…

He said that maybe if he did…

…maybe Beck would still be alive.

Would her killer say something like that?

I'm not sure I'm following the logic there, babe.

Well, it's just, we… we… we need to be certain about this, right?

Like, there can be no doubt that Joe is who we think he is.

What are you saying?

I'm just asking a question.

Well, stop.

We've talked to people who knew Joe.

Phoenix has burned a new hole in the ozone layer,

trying to get potential witnesses to talk.

We know about Ron what's-his-name? Joe's neighbor who disappeared.

- We know about Beck's ex. - We think we know.

If it wasn't Joe, then it sounds like you're saying

Clayton's dad is guilty for Beck's murder after all.

That… That's not what I'm saying.

They literally called Joe Prince Charming. Don't let him fool you.

Yeah.

- Just stay on mission. - Mm-hmm.

Let the rest of it just fall out of your pretty little brain.

- Got it? - Got it.

When did you start sleeping with him?

What do you mean?

You're gonna lie to a cop right now?

Uh, no. No, ma'am, uh, of course not.

Wouldn't that influence your opinion of him?

I think it was the other way around.

We were working off of a theory, right?

Like…

…based on evidence that was circumstantial.

Deaths that had already been explained.

Murders that were already solved.

And any evidence to the contrary wasn't even entertained.

I realized that my friends had blinders on.

I told you not to come.

Is he watching?

He is, right?

- Ow, Clay! - No, I told you that wasn't enough.

Hey! Get your hand off her now.

You can have her back when I'm done.

Get out and stay away from her. I will not tell you twice.

Hey. Got some ice packs on the way home.

It's already bruised, Clayton.

What happened to the version of you who was so concerned I was gonna get hurt?

You didn't even want to do this,

and now you're ignoring me when I tell you we're gonna cool it for the night.

- Everything was set up, Louise. - You ignored me.

Well, if I'd listened,

then we wouldn't have gotten what we got today.

We made him show he's violent in front of all those people.

Did we?

Or did we just prove he will defend a woman

when some guy is hurting her?

Is there a difference?

Yeah, Clayton, I think that there is.

Whoa, hey. These are supposed to be apology burgers.

Are you apologizing, Clayton?

What did your folks say? Is the beach cottage open?

Not for another couple weeks.

Just means we have more time to plan, if you can get your shit together.

I swear, Louise, I was trying to stop him from going to the bookstore.

I know, Dom, it's okay.

Okay, well, I've got cameras on order.

Phoenix and I will go there,

and we'll put them up all over the cottage.

And I'm working on getting a taser, so you'll have one by the time we do this.

Until then, we just have to keep this ruse going a little bit longer.

- Unless you wanna change your mind again. - Stop it!

Fucking asshole.

Louise is the one that's risking her actual body every day,

so we follow her lead.

So, are you up for it?

Okay.

Okay, Phoenix is on their way over here, and…

…they're gonna help me organize all of this

into a nice little accusation presentation for you.

Honestly, Louise, I can't wait to see his face on camera

when you start slamming down evidence like Mariska fucking Hargitay.

When did you decide

Mr. Goldberg wasn't who you thought he was?

Um…

It wasn't a… single moment.

It snuck up on me, I guess.

- Are you all right? - Uh, yeah, I'm fine.

I just… Uh, I think I need some air.

Joe is kind.

He's tender, protective.

Hey. I really didn't mean to scare you.

No, you didn't scare me, Joe.

And Clayton was losing perspective.

Why did you still go through with it?

I didn't feel like I had a choice.

My friends are all I have in the world, and I couldn't lose them.

I, um…

I wanted to come up with some way to convince them that they were wrong, but…

…it got too real.

Please forget about me, Joe.

I think I just, I called… to tell you, uh…

…not to worry about me. That's it.

Hey, were you just on the phone? Who were you talking to?

Joe.

Why?

I told him… to forget about me.

- Like a reverse psychology thing or... - I can't…

I can't go through with tonight.

Wait. Like, you called it off?

- Hmm. - B, what? Without talking to me first?

This is supposed to be about justice, right?

Not just for Clayton, but… for Beck?

If they…

If they had arrested the wrong guy for your aunt's murder,

would you have been okay with that?

We don't have the wrong guy.

Okay.

It's just, uh…

I was naive.

Just thinking I could go through with this catfish thing

is taking over my life.

- No, you've been amazing. - I'm just lying, Dom.

Just so much pretending, making shit up, on the fly, being Bronte.

I'm losing sight of how much is me, and how much is just an act.

I really… I didn't realize how gross and invasive it would feel to do this.

Look, I'll never make you do something that you don't feel safe doing.

Well, we still have the beach house for the weekend.

Let's just go, clear our heads.

Okay, yeah.

Clayton's not gonna be happy about this.

Clayton grabbed my arm hard enough to leave bruises

just to prove a point.

He's not objective, Dom.

Let me call him and Phoenix. I'll tell them tonight's off.

Clayton used Dom's phone call against me.

He…

He went rogue.

We had no idea that he would...

Be right back.

I wish I killed Dr. Nicky.

Then maybe she would still be here.

I wish sometimes I was as strong as I am on the page.

Oh.

Louise, he is an actual serial killer.

Eleven hours since Kate saw me kill a man for all the world to see.

Yet, not a peep from her.

What the hell am I walking into?

Obviously TikTok has already removed it.

I… I want it gone. From everywhere.

Kate?

Don't tell me it's difficult to take the video down. Tell me how you'll fix it.

No. No, no, no, no. It's not good enough.

Look, our people will be in touch. Don't disappoint me.

What the fuck is wrong with you?

Okay, yes. I deserve that.

You really couldn't contain yourself. You needed to kill someone that badly!

Fuck's sake! Of course you got catfished!

You're right. I've made a mistake.

Please stop with the false humility.

Do you think I'm stupid?

Of course not.

You're one of the smartest people I've known.

Oh, bravo. Oh, your flattery has me weak in the knees.

I deserve everything you're throwing at me.

Yeah, because you're fucked without me.

Because it didn't work out with your catfishing TikToker.

Were you always this obvious? This pathetic?

I told you to leave Reagan alone.

What do you mean?

Oh, don't you dare play dumb.

Maddie told me everything.

What did you do to her?

How did you come up with something so horrible?

It was an accident. It got out of hand. Reagan was going to hurt our family.

You killed my sister.

Reagan was evil and technically Maddie did it.

You killed my sister.

So what can I do?

I'll… I'll do anything, Kate.

I don't want you anywhere near us.

You're still complicit.

If I go down, so do you.

Where… is Henry?

Where is my son?!

Safe!

You're not his mother, Kate.

I've been his mother as long as he can remember.

You don't get to take that away from me.

Henry's mom is dead. You… You are a replacement.

You know what I've realized?

- What? - Henry had good dads

and taking him from them is one of the worst things I've helped you do.

- Those men loved him. - I love him! He's mine!

No, no, no, you don't! You think you do, but you never have!

You don't even see him! To you, he is just an extension of yourself.

- Same thing my father did to us. - I am nothing like your father.

If you cared, you would be begging me to take him from you!

You've already abandoned him once.

To chase a woman you thought you loved across the ocean.

To run from all the people that you killed.

Now you've fallen for a new woman. You've killed more people.

Are you trying to tell me

you won't find a reason to abandon him again?

- You'll never take my son from me! - It's already done.

What does that mean?

When you signed the agreement with the lawyer,

there was a temporary custody agreement in the paperwork.

I guessed correctly

that you were too caught up in your own bullshit

to notice it was there.

You've already agreed that you're not fit to care for Henry.

You fucking monster.

- I'm the monster? - I will fight this!

With what money? What lawyers? Everything you have came from me.

No!

On the other side of those doors

are armed bodyguards ready to come in at a moment's notice.

If you try anything like that ever again, you will never regain custody of Henry.

As long as you behave, you will have access to my family's resources.

If you try to come back here or you try to run, you're on your own.

You did this to yourself.

My security will see you out.

Oh, God. Oh, God.

Okay, Louise.

Tonight, will you tell me what happened?

I, uh, wasn't thinking straight.

I knew Joe was a romantic.

I should have guessed that he would still come looking for me.

Dom,

hey, listen to me. Just don't… don't come back here, okay?

- He's here. - Who? Joe?

Yes, he's… He's unconscious. I tased him.

He's like… I don't know if he's… Fuck, he was not supposed to come.

Oh, my God, you need to get out of there.

No, no, no, I'm okay. Dom, you just stay. Stay out there.

Shit. If he tries anything, Louise, I brought Clay's G-U-N.

Dom, don't you dare. Don't you dare take that thing out.

If there was ever a time for you to trust me, this is it.

I will be okay.

Fine, but I'm calling Phoenix for backup.

- Oh, no. - What?

- Have you seen Clayton's Instagram? - No.

Clayton had come up with this story without our knowledge.

He wanted to make Joe think that I had ghosted him

to get back together with my shitty ex.

Why would he do that?

Clayton was convinced that Joe is this guy

who kills all the women that he falls in love with.

He wanted to make Joe jealous

so that he would show up angry

and… and… ready to kill me with all the cameras around.

You think he was willing to risk your life just to prove a point?

Yes.

Okay. What happened next?

I knew Joe would never hurt me, not in the way Clayton expected him to.

I just didn't realize how angry Clayton would be and…

how Joe would react to that.

- Clay, what are you doing? Dom told you... - Turn the cameras on.

You have to get out of here. What are you doing?

I knew you would ruin this.

When I told you to collect Joe's DNA, I didn't mean...

You shut the fuck up, Clayton.

I know what you were trying. You thought he'd kill me.

I didn't know for sure.

And obviously he didn't. So we can go back to the original plan.

No. No, no. I am done. I'm out.

God damn it, Bronte!

- Shut up! - Or Louise.

You're not even actually Bronte.

- Shh! - You're a fucking Manson girl.

- Fuck you. - This isn't your story. It's mine.

- I wanted revenge for my dad. - Shh!

And you latched on like a fucking goddamn tourist!

This isn't just about your dad. Beck is the one who died.

Oh, you are so obsessed with her. Do you want to be her? Is that it?

You want to be her so badly

that you ended up being just as stupid as she was.

Getting duped by a fucking serial killer.

God! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it, Clayton?

Don't talk about my dad like that. Stay there.

- Fuck you. - Be quiet!

Hey!

- Oh, my God. - Get the fuck off of me!

Clayton put me in a situation where he thought I might die.

Joe thought that Clayton was dangerous

because that's what we set him up to believe.

Your friends say that Mr. Goldberg killed Clayton in a rage.

Are you claiming it was self-defense?

Yes.

Clayton started the fight.

What Joe did wasn't murder.

It was self-defense.

♪ Come on in and sit beside me Where the waters collide ♪

♪ Bathin' me in the iris Of your widening eyes ♪

♪ What can you share To keep my hands cuffed? ♪

I'll burn this town to the ground before I let Kate take my son.

♪ Starin' down the simple somethin' That'll shape my whole life ♪

And as for you…

♪ Breathin' and burnin' ♪

♪ Beleaguered and overthrown ♪

♪ I can feel myself comе undone ♪

♪ Yet therе's more ♪

♪ Just a reminder I'm in love ♪

Liar. Catfisher. Spy.

♪ And I can't seem to wash it off ♪

We're not done with each other yet.

Hi, Bronte.