What Transpired Between Marienne and Joe in ‘You’?

The spine-tingling series “You” on Netflix has returned for its final season, and one unexpected character is re-entering Joe Goldberg’s (Penn Badgley) life.

Marienne (Tati Gabrielle), the librarian who managed to escape Joe’s grasp twice, is back in the picture. However, it’s been four years since she was first introduced, leaving us to wonder what transpired between her and Joe.

Continue reading for a summary of their complicated history, which began in Season 3 and unfolded throughout Season 4.

Who is Marienne?

Marienne Bellamy made her debut as a local librarian in Madre Linda, a fictional town in California, during Season 3.

An aspiring artist, Joe initially viewed her as strict and reserved. Yet, over time, their interactions shifted from friendly banter to flirtation.

Marienne has a daughter named Juliette (Dallas Skye), although Marienne’s ex-husband, Ryan Goodwin (Scott Michael Foster), holds full custody.

Marienne’s marriage faced significant challenges. Ryan was abusive, and both battled addiction during Juliette’s early years. Although Marienne managed to get clean, Ryan manipulated the justice system using her past, securing full custody.

Fluent in French, Marienne was born in Paris and spent her youth bouncing between foster homes until she turned 18. Her primary motivation in life is her daughter.

What transpired between Marienne and Joe in Season 3?

Discontented with life in Madre Linda, Joe found solace at Marienne’s library, where he volunteered to repair rare books.

Eventually, Marienne became Joe’s latest obsession, even while he was married to Love (Victoria Pedretti). As Joe’s pattern of fixation continued, he began to stalk Marienne, particularly after Love killed Natalie (Michaela McManus), Joe’s original love interest, making Marienne his new focus.

Their working relationship brought them closer, leading to a romantic kiss.

Fearing that Love would harm Marienne because of their kiss, Joe contemplated resigning from the library. However, Marienne confessed her feelings for Joe, stating she wouldn’t break up his family. They shared another kiss, but Marienne soon ended their secret affair, recognizing it was detrimental to her custody battle.

The judge ruled against Marienne in her custody case, allowing Ryan to take Juliette and move to New Jersey. Joe then informed Marienne of his intent to leave Love, leading them to become more intimate.

However, a future together seemed bleak. Marienne intended to follow Juliette and Ryan to New Jersey for her daughter. In a desperate act, Joe killed Ryan to prevent Marienne from leaving.

Joe falsely told Marienne he had separated from Love, and they exchanged declarations of love while making plans to escape together.

During dinner that night, Love incapacitated Joe and used his phone to invite Marienne over, revealing Joe’s lies and his murderous actions.

As Love prepared to kill Marienne, Juliette’s arrival caused her to pause. Realizing she couldn’t eliminate either woman, Love advised Marienne to flee from Joe.

Marienne suggested Love run as well, but Love was unable to escape — ultimately meeting her end at Joe’s hands that same night. Joe then staged his own death, creating a murder-suicide scene that implicated Love.

What happened to Marienne in Season 4?

In Season 4, Joe relocated to London, continuing to lament Marienne, who took Love’s advice and vanished.

Flashbacks revealed Joe trailing Marienne to an art fair in London, where upon seeing him, she fled. Joe pursued her until he cornered her, only for Marienne to declare that she no longer loved him. She recognized that if he was alive, he must have killed Love and faked his death, branding him a murderer. Joe promised to prove her wrong and let her escape, saying “goodbye.”

Most of the season progressed without Marienne’s presence, yet she consistently occupied Joe’s thoughts.

Then came a shocking twist in Episode 8: Joe had been dissociating all along. He had actually followed Marienne post-art fair, drugged her, and kidnapped her to “work on their relationship.”

In his dissociative state, Joe confined Marienne in his cage. While being moved from a tied-up chair to the cage, she attempted to flee, resulting in a broken arm. Although Joe offered her pain medication, she, as a former addict, refused it. Days passed as Marienne pleaded for her life for Juliette’s sake, but Joe remained unaware of her kidnapping.

Once Joe recognized the situation, he tried to recall the cage’s location. Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman) found Marienne locked up and offered to call the police, but Marienne urged her not to, knowing Joe would evade justice.

Nadia returned the following day to assist, yet Joe had ultimately located the cage. He expressed remorse, vowing never to let this happen again. After Joe left, Nadia suggested killing him, to which Marienne asserted that she would do it. Nadia promised to procure ketamine and a knife, but the police intercepted her.

Meanwhile, Marienne asked Joe to check her phone for updates on Juliette. Joe texted Beatrice — Marienne’s friend caring for Juliette — learning that Marienne was losing custody. This devastating news crushed her, prompting a plea for Joe to end her life, but he was unable to.

In a tragic turn, Marienne swallowed the entire bottle of pain medication she’d resisted, ending her life. She left a note requesting Joe to “please leave me where I’ll be found” so Juliette would know the truth.

In the series finale, Joe abandoned Marienne’s lifeless body on a park bench.

However, “You” delivered one last twist: Nadia had devised a backup plan.

Nadia added her contact information under Beatrice’s name in Marienne’s phone, crafting false messages that portrayed her as a concerned babysitter. She fabricated a tale about Juliette’s grandmother taking custody, providing Marienne with a motive to end her life. Additionally, Nadia swapped Marienne’s painkillers for beta blockers, allowing her to simulate an overdose without actually taking lethal medication.

After Joe left Marienne’s body on the bench, Nadia followed suit and injected Marienne with a substance that revived her, liberating her from Joe’s pursuit.