Madeline Brewer was grateful for the opportunity to join You as a character that reflects the show’s audience.
“I’m a fan of the show, so I feel like a member of the audience in a way,” Brewer, 32, who plays Bronte on the Netflix show’s final season, exclusively told Us Weekly at the red carpet premiere on Wednesday, April 23. “We get inside the audience’s mind a little bit when we get into episode 6.”
Brewer reflected on Bronte’s conflicting feelings for Joe (Penn Badgley), adding, “It’s like, ‘I can’t betray him because I do love him.’ I think that’s similar to how a lot of our audiences feel. But I hope that where we take them in episode 7 and 8 and 9 — and especially 10 — is that hopefully they reach the point that Bronte reaches where it’s like, ‘You know what? It has to be over. It’s time.’”
During the fifth season, which hit the streamer on Thursday, April 24, Joe found himself infatuated with Bronte. Joe entered an affair with Bronte behind wife Kate’s (Charlotte Ritchie) back before he realized that there was a different plan in motion. Bronte teamed up with several internet friends who had a scheme to nail Joe for the murders he committed.
‘You’ Series Finale Ending Explained: Did Joe Die? Who Returned?
Bronte, however, found herself falling for Joe and initially backed out on the plan.
“I knew a bit about Bronte’s backstory. I didn’t know the full extent — but, I mean, it was really just playing the honesty of the scenes as they were written,” Brewer shared. “Credit goes to the show’s writers who are amazing and they so carefully constructed the character. The writing was there and I played the honesty of the moment of someone who’s meeting Joe for the first time because she was. There were a lot of layers underneath all of that.”
The complicated feelings Bronte had for Joe built up to a showdown in the woods. Bronte won — after shooting Joe in a very intimate place — and Joe was locked away for life.
“I think it was important for Bronte to answer the question that she set out to answer so many years ago for her,” Brewer, who wore a Cong Tri gown with Aquazzura shoes at Wednesday’s event, told Us. “And she sees that through to the end and I’m very proud of that.”
Which ‘You’ Characters Are — and Aren’t — Returning for Season 5
You, which originally debuted on Lifetime in 2018, introduced Badgley as a serial killer whose obsession for a girl grew to terrifying heights. Based on books by Caroline Kepnes, the series found larger success after it moved to Netflix in its sophomore season.
The final episodes surprised viewers — and Us — by bringing back multiple women from Joe’s past amid his demise. In addition to Kate working with Tati Gabrielle’s Marienne, Elizabeth Lail reprised the role of Beck, who died in season 1. Bronte was able to finally bring justice to her former friend.
“I think it’s a really sweet ending for her. There is some kind of soul release situation that we’re trying to come to,” Lail, 33, shared at the red carpet premiere. “We filmed the last episode with the same director [from season 1], so it came full circle. Getting to embody Beck again as an actor, I thought my heart — that got me choked up.”
You is currently streaming on Netflix.
