Penn Badgley Reveals Why His No Sex Scene Rule Was Axed in You’s Final Season: ‘Had to Throw That Out the Window’

Regarding Netflix’s You, Penn Badgley is changing course about one major thing.

As the thriller’s fifth and final season premiered on Thursday, April 24, fans may have noticed that Badgley’s murderous character Joe Goldberg is engaging in steamy sex scenes once again. This was a stark difference from season 4, where Joe and his character’s eventual wife Kate Lockwood (Charlotte Ritchie) didn’t partake in revealing sexual scenes. The decision came after Badgley vowed not to shoot sex scenes, which initially sparked backlash from many fans.

“I had to throw that out the window,” Badgley, 38, now admits to PEOPLE exclusively of the big change in season 5, noting that the drastic shift is “a real question” he and the show’s creative team faced going into the final installment.

“That was the question again. All right, what am I willing to do?” he explains. “And as I always said, I 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.”

In the final season of You, Joe begins an extramarital affair with a young woman named Bronte (Madeline Brewer), who becomes a new employee at Joe’s bookstore. He eventually discovers that Bronte planned to seek revenge against Joe, as she had suspicions that he murdered her former TA, Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail). However, along the way, she wound up falling for Joe

Badgley says that he feels the series “really had to return to form” with Joe being seen as “a romantic icon” again, because of how his seemingly kind and loving nature has clouded the judgment of many of his victims.

Although Joe is far from perfect, the Gossip Girl alum says he “will miss him a little bit.”

“He’s been a profound experience for me. He’s not a real person. So what have I been doing? I’ve been engaging in this … my entire 30s,” he shares. “I was 30 when I took the role. I’m going to be 39 this year. Even though the show, the way it came out, it’s actually been closer to seven years. For me, it’s like my 30s.”