The third chapter of Season 5 of "You" kicks off with Joe grappling with the enigmatic Maddie. He scribbles down potential solutions, but each one unfolds in disaster. Acutely aware that Reagan's suspicion towards Kate leaves him no room for murder, Joe adopts a tactic inspired by Bronte's romantic novels. He feigns infatuation with Maddie, alleging jealousy upon witnessing her with Harrison. Yet, Maddie isn't deceived; she pierces through his charade with ease.
At their home, Henry rebuffs Joe's attempts to pick him up, having embarked on sessions with his therapist, George. Elsewhere, Teddy and Kate deliberate on how to navigate Reagan's complications, while Joe steadfastly opposes transferring Henry to another school. He proposes manipulating Gretchen against her mother, a suggestion that horrifies Kate. Distrustful of Joe, she decides to tackle the issue solo. Joe's resentment simmers, recalling Kate's initial judgmental stance towards him.
In the bookstore, Bronte inquiries about Joe's writing, to which he confesses his writer's block. She dismisses his woes with a casual remark and steers the conversation towards a romance novel sale. Amidst his anxieties regarding Maddie, Bronte senses his distress. To maintain composure, Joe agrees to accompany her to the sale.
While Bronte fetches the car, Joe pressures Maddie to incriminate Reagan, hoping to turn her into an accomplice and secure her release. She remains smug, aware of her impunity. Sharing her past as a 16-year-old kidnapping victim who manipulated her captor into suicide, she further asserts her control over Joe by revealing her diabetes. Frustrated, Joe hurries to join Bronte at the sale.
Suspicion shadows Joe as he observes Bronte haggling with the seller, her wit and profound knowledge of literature mirroring his ideal companion. Their playful banter includes Joe mocking romance novel clichés, such as the hair-flip-lip-bite-kiss maneuver. Amused, Bronte dares him to reenact it, chuckling when he almost succumbs to the impulse. Joe swiftly reminds himself of her youthful status as his employee.
Meanwhile, Teddy discovers Reagan's embezzlement, though Kate keeps this from Joe. Teddy jests about Joe possibly strangling Reagan, leaving one to ponder: Does Teddy harbor knowledge of Bob's fate?
As Bronte's attention wavers, Joe seizes the moment to present Maddie with an insulin injection, yet she stubbornly refuses his aid, instead mocking him for blindly following Kate's every command. his woes, Kate's advice to burn his work leaves him feeling utterly rejected. But Joe's self-pity is short-lived when Bronte's ex, Clayton, stages a dramatic scene, revealing that she is Louise, a deceptive dental hygienist who once conned him out of money. Clayton brandishes an old manuscript of hers and reads it aloud, eliciting laughter from the gathered crowd. Louise, mortified, rises to her own defense before Joe can intervene.
Elsewhere, Kate prepares to confront Reagan, but Harrison's unexpected exit throws a wrench into her plans. Reagan, aware of Harrison's affair thanks to Maddie's phone being found near the locked storage room, assumes Maddie has gone into hiding. Kate, genuinely empathetic, uses the situation to leverage a truce with Reagan regarding the school's issues. Joe, finally updated by Kate, is only half-listening; his mind is fixated on Reagan's refusal to backtrack on the Bob scandal. Spotting a stack of newly purchased romance novels, inspiration strikes. Maddie and Harrison, now that their affair is out in the open, could flee into the sunset together.
However, Maddie's earlier confidence has evaporated, leaving her panic-stricken. She rants about Reagan seizing Harrison's wealth and shunning them from society. Furthermore, she reveals that Gretchen is her daughter, and Reagan, knowing her feelings for Harrison, used her as a surrogate. Joe, baffled and concerned, administers her insulin.
Later that night, Joe delves into Bronte's background and discovers she has read Beck's book, as well as the Conrads'. Suspecting she is manipulating him, he probes her, catching her in tears. She confesses her imposter syndrome and doubts about her writing abilities. She loved and cared for her ill mother but couldn't bear being trapped in one place. After her mother's death, she fled, embracing a life lived in the present.
Joe introduces the subject of Beck, but Bronte defends her, asserting that she is a beacon of inspiration. Joe finds a kindred spirit in Bronte as they delve into the depths of poetic justice and the fiery emotions channeled through writing. He values her understanding of him, yet flees abruptly upon witnessing her perform the seductive hair flip accompanied by a playful lip bite.
Retreating downstairs, Joe pens a fantastical tale of his romantic entanglement with her, climaxing in solitary masturbation. Conscious of the potential disruption to his family life, he confines the salacious manuscript within a locked compartment.
Returning home, Joeconfesses his true feelings to Kate, acknowledging her awareness of his identity and expressing his desire to be her chivalrous protector. She firmly rejects his notion of resorting to violence for her sake, leaving him visibly deflated. In search of validation, Joe turns his stalkerish attention online, focusing on Clayton.
Just then, Reagan assumes Maddie's identity and goes live, boldly announcing the transferring Maddie's skateboard ownership to herself as an act of atonement. Even Kate, their sister, is fooled by the impersonation, mistaking Reagan for Maddie. Joe seizes this moment of confusion as an opportunity. He poses a question to Maddie, suggesting that she embrace the role of Reagan at the conclusion of You Season 5 Episode 3.
