Is the 'Mystery Neighbor' at the End of 'You' Season 2 Ellie's Mom?

Gettyimages | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

--Spoiler warning! This post contains spoilers for Netflix's "You" Season Two.--

To the dismay of many fans, "You" star Penn Badgley recently crushed a popular fan theory about the mystery neighbor's identity at the end of season two, telling Bustle "She's definitely not his mom."

However, this got me thinking. While the mystery neighbor may not be Joe's mom, what if our beloved stalker tracked down Ellie's mom after Delilah's death.

While I haven't seen this Netflix "You" theory floating around online yet, there are surprisingly several clues pointing to this conclusion.

Photo via Instagram | @younetflix

First things first, let's back up a little bit and look at the final statement Joe made at the end of season two. As season two comes to a close, Joe has a girlfriend and a baby on the way but his attention diverts to something across his new backyard. Peering through a hole in the fence, he looks at his new neighbor, a woman sunbathing alongside a stack of books.

"This is just the beginning because this is where I had to be, exactly where I had to be, to meet You. There you were, with your books and sunshine, so close, but worlds away. I will figure out a way, a way to get to You. See you soon neighbor," Joe narrates.

However, like fans who speculated the woman might be Joe's mom, I'm not so convinced that his new neighbor will be his new love interest in season 3. Instead, I think this mystery woman and the upcoming 2021 season will focus on a redemption arc for Joe by introducing him to Ellie's mom.

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Photo via Instagram | @tiffanylonsdale

While the mystery of who Joe's new neighbor is on the show hasn't been solved, online sleuths figured out who the mystery neighbor actress is in real life. Paying attention to the final credits, they noticed Tiffany Lonsdale is listed as playing the mystery woman.

If we're just looking at physical appearance alone, Tiffany Lonsdale definitely fits the description of what I'd expect Ellie and Delilah's mom to look like. She shares similar dark features, light olive skin and big eyes. And, while her birthday is not listed on her online biographies, she also appears to be older than the actresses playing the sisters.

While fans were on the search for an older woman after noticing the mystery woman's hands, they may have just had the wrong mom in mind.

Photo via Instagram | @younetflix

It's likely many fans haven't tossed around the idea that the mystery woman could be Ellie's mom because they're forgetting Ellie lived with Delilah by choice.

In episode nine of season two, Ellie opens up to Joe's girlfriend Love about her father's death and her rocky relationship with her mother. When Love asks her how she ended up living with her sister, Ellie responds with a telling statement.

"I guess my amazing life here started after my dad got sick, which is awesome when he's also your only friend in the world and you also hate your mom. The punchline obviously is that my dad died," Ellie explains.

When Love comments that Ellie was left with the "shitty parent," Ellie goes on to hint that her mom isn't also dead but rather currently absent from her life.

"Delilah bolted first. I endured a couple more years and then showed up and ruined her life," she says.

With this in mind, if Ellie ran away from the mom she hated, where did her mom go and why hasn't she tried to find her daughters?

With Joe obsessed with being a good person and helping innocent kids, it only seems natural that his next target will be reuniting Ellie with her mom since he was pretty much responsible for Delilah's death at the hand of Love. Joe also holds his own mom above anyone else so it would make sense that he would focus on fixing Ellie's relationship with her mom instead of dealing with his own issues.

Photo via Netflix

In the first couple episodes of the second season, Joe and Ellie tease each other for their lack of understanding of one another. Joe lacks in the film world while Ellie hates books.

With Ellie hating books and hating her mom, it pushes me to believe that the two might be related. In the final scene, Joe not only comments on the mystery woman's appreciation for books but the camera also pans to show she is taking notes, implying she may possibly be a writer.

While some fans think this points to a reincarnation of Joe's writer ex-girlfriend Beck, who he killed in season one, it is also likely that Ellie and Delilah's mother would be a writer. After all, Delilah was pursuing a career as a journalist. In addition, the mystery woman likely has to be a new character in the cast instead of someone we've already met because Joe says himself "this is exactly where I had to be to meet You."

Think I've cracked the case? Share your thoughts with me on social media.