Already breezed through You season 5? If so, you might have noticed an uptick in sex scenes from season 4. And, no, you're not imagining things. As confirmed in a recent interview, Penn Badgley went back on his “no sex scenes” request for You's final season. He did, however, still have some requests.
“I had to throw that out the window,” he told People when asked about his previous request to do as few sex scenes as possible in You season 4. Coming into the final season, Penn knew the show had to return to its roots—Joe is a serial stalker, seducer, and killer, after all—so he had to ask himself, “What am I willing to do?” The actor explained, “As I always said, my desire is that least as possible, but if it's necessary, that's the show we all sign up to make. So let's make sure it's vital, let's make sure it's important, it's deliberate. And we did.”
Spoilers for You season 5 ahead.
A major plot point of season 5 was Joe's return to form as everyone's favorite, most romanticized stalker, which meant that sex scenes were unavoidable. But that's not to sway that Penn was eager to do them. In a previous interview with The Guardian, the actor admitted that he simply wasn't “interested” in watered-down sex scenes anymore, calling them traditionally “narrow and simplistic.”
That said, it's clear that Penn wanted this final season of You to emphasize Joe's identity as a sexual predator. Speaking with Deadline about the finale, the actor noted that one thing he fought for in the season 5 finale was that Joe be shirtless for his final confrontation with Bronte. “They really wanted a white tank top on him to show the evolution of the ripping, the blood, the dirt,” Penn said. “I was like, ‘I feel you, I get you, but he needs to be as close to naked as possible because he needs to look like he's about to abuse [Bronte].’”
In other words, sex is a crucial part of Joe Goldberg the predator, and to make his takedown satisfying, Penn believed they had to make his sex life satisfying too. So, no, don't worry, Penn wasn't forced to do anything he didn't sign up for. You can now go forth and enjoy those You sex scenes in peace.
