How is Marienne Alive in You Season 5?

Every girl who meets Joe Goldberg and has the misfortune of falling in love with him meets a terrible end. The third and fourth seasons of Netflix’s ‘You’ bestow the same fate on Marienne Bellamy. A young artist and a doting mother, she has many things she wants from her life. But all of that is cut short when she meets Joe and believes him to be the man of her dreams. The fourth season is particularly traumatising for her as he chases after her and keeps her in a cage for months. Because no one knows where she is, there is no way for anyone to come and rescue her. For a minute, it seems that she is dead. And Joe himself believes he has killed her, but he is in for a surprise in the fifth and final season of the show. SPOILERS AHEAD.

A Stranger’s Kindness saves Marienne

In the fourth season of ‘You,’ Marienne is hunted down by Joe, who puts her in a cage when she refuses to be with him. One could say in his defense that his mind splits into two, and he doesn’t realise what he has done. However, in the end, when he does come to his senses, he still refuses to let her go because of some blind faith he has in his ability to revive her love for him. Had things continued as such, Marienne would have died in that cage. However, another woman becomes suspicious of Joe’s actions unbeknownst to her. His student, Nadia, accidentally stumbles upon something that makes her realise that her professor is the Eat the Rich killer.

Nadia’s investigation leads her to follow Joe, which leads her to the cage where she finds Marienne. At first, she tries to help the woman by calling the cops and getting her out of the cage. But she and Marienne confess that this might not keep Joe at bay. While there is the cage, there are also many questions about the crime that they may or may not have the answers to. Nadia accepts that she might not have the evidence she needs to expose Joe, while Marienne knows that even if she escapes, Joe will never stop looking for her, and she will never be safe. Their only option is to let Joe think that Marienne is dead. For this, they come up with a plan where Marienne makes it look like she has overdosed on pills that Joe leaves for her after he thinks that she has an allergic reaction to something he gave her to drink.

Marienne Takes a Huge Risk for Her Freedom

The problem is that Marienne actually has to go through with the overdose because one wrong move could alert Joe to her deception, which could make the escape even more impossible for her. So, she does take the pills, and she does come close to dying. When Joe is convinced that she is not going to survive, he leaves her on a park bench for the authorities to find her. He thinks that they will take her death as an overdose, and he will not be found culpable in the murder. As soon as Joe leaves, Nadia comes in and injects Marienne with a stimulant that cuts off the effect of the overdose and brings her back to life.

With this, Marienne returns home to her daughter, convinced that Joe will never come after her again, and she is truly safe. Of course, when she discovers he is finally being held accountable for his actions, she comes to New York and appears before him, even when she knows it is a risk. Joe is shocked to see her alive; of course, he has many questions. At the same time, the look on his face also makes it clear that if he survives this ordeal, he will continue his hunt for Marienne, precisely what she feared. This is why, when the time comes, she agrees to the fact that he must be killed to make sure that everyone else remains safe. Fortunately for her, Joe finally gets his due when he is sent to prison for life, opening up the entire world for her, which had been closed off so far because she had remained in hiding from her abuser.