You season 5 bosses reveal scrapped storyline for Jenna Ortega's Ellie

25 April 2025, 19:46

Jenna Ortega's scrapped You season 5 storyline has been revealed. Picture: John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images, Netflix

By Katie Louise Smith

Jenna Ortega was supposed to return in You season 4 and You season 5 – but Wednesday filming got in the way.

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You season 5 leaves one loose end from Joe Goldberg's past that just couldn't be tied... Jenna Ortega's Ellie Alves.

Jenna's Ellie was last seen in season 2 and was last spoken about in season 3, when Joe reveals that she's now living in Florida and he's still sending her money. Fans have been desperate to see her return but unfortunately, Jenna doesn't make an appearance in the final season of the Netflix series.

That doesn't mean the people in charge didn't try to get her back... several times. She was originally supposed to be in You season 4 but in the end, Jenna couldn't make it work as filming was happening at the same time as Wednesday season 2.

But now that You season 5 is finally here, showrunners Michael Foley and Justin W. Lo have shared exactly what they had planned for Jenna's Ellie in the final season.

Read more: Does Joe Goldberg die or get caught? You season 5 ending explained
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Jenna Ortega's Ellie hasn't been seen since season 2 – but Joe kept in touch with her. Picture: Netflix

Speaking to Business Insider, Foley and Lo revealed that if Jenna was able to take part in the season, they had intended for Ellie serve as a benefactor to internet sleuths Dominique and Phoenix.

Dominique and Phoenix, along with Clayton, ended up joining forces with Bronte to identify Beck's real killer. They were also the duo who manages to catch Joe in the act on a livestream, effectively starting his downfall.

"That was a thought that I'm sure when we were putting things together, we felt like maybe we could make this work, and we just simply couldn't," Foley told the outlet.

However, Lo admits that if Ellie did return, there's a possibility she may have actually ended up sympathising with Joe.

"You could make an argument for pro-Joe because he was there for her during a very difficult time in her life," Lo said. "But you could also say, I think Ellie's very smart and she probably knows that he had something to do with her sister's death, even though it was Love. So she could have turned against him as well."

You season 5 would have been Ellie involved in Dominique and Phoenix's storyline. Picture: Netflix

Ultimately, the show decides to completely omit Ellie from the final season. She doesn't pop up as one of the people from his past who speak out on social media and she isn't mentioned by Joe, either.

Despite that, there's probably no doubt that she'll have heard all about Joe's demise so maybe it's for the best that she wasn't part of the team that took him down. She's minding her business and staying in her lane! Amen!