Unless you have been living under a rock for the past month, you have probably heard of the recently released Netflix series, "13 Reasons Why", based off of the book by Jay Asher. The book and series are based off of the life of 17 year old, Hannah Baker, and why she committed suicide, which is able to be heard through cassette tapes that she left for each person who had a negative impact on her life, and is narrated by one of her friends who is on the tapes, Clay Jensen. There have been both very positive and negative feedback about the show as to whether it is helping gain awareness about suicide or is glorifying it.
SPOILER ALERTS: Do not read any further if you do not wish to learn spoilers about the show! The last few episodes are very intense and dramatic and include rape and suicide scenes, which are incredibly hard to watch and do leave viewers with many unanswered questions. The following questions have topics related to shootings, rape, self-harm, and suicide, please only read if you are able to, as these topics may be triggering to some.
Here are 13 questions I have about the show that I hope can someday be answered.
1. What happened to Justin?
In the finale, Justin is seen leaving his house (to escape his mom's drug addiction and her abusive boyfriend) with his duffel bag only containing some spare clothes, a gun, money, and alcohol. He tries to apologize to his girlfriend, Jessica, about not telling her that he knew she was raped by Bryce and that Hannah was not lying about this, and she tells him she never wants to see him again. Due to losing his relationships with Bryce and Jessica, Justin is seen walking away and is assumed to be leaving their town, but what happens to him?
2. Did Tyler shoot Alex?
In several scenes of the last 2 episodes of the season, it is made known that Alex Standall is in the hospital in the ICU with a believed self-inflicted gunshot wound. As it would make sense that Alex may attempt suicide due to his very strict father, bullying at school, and how guilty he feels about Hannah's death, there are some who believe otherwise. A final scene shows Tyler covering up his gun stash in his room and then taking down a picture of Alex that he has hung up next to pictures of everyone else who is on the tapes. So could Alex's attempted suicide be faked and actually be the doing of Tyler?
3. What happens to Hannah's case?
One of the main plots in the entire series is the lawsuit Hannah's parents are filing against the school due to the bullying Hannah endured. The series focuses on how Clay currently has the tapes and the others who are on them do not want him to turn them into the police, especially when his mom is a lawyer on the case. During the finale, it is revealed that Tony has given a copy of the tapes to Hannah's parents, but it is not revealed what they do with them, leaving the audience with questions of how the tapes helped Hannah's case.
4. Did Bryce get turned in?
Bryce. The worst human being on the show. He is seen by members of the community and school as an "All-American Boy" who would never hurt a fly, but they are so very wrong. But it is revealed that he raped Jessica at her party while she was passed out and drunk, while Hannah was hiding in the room and that he later raped Hannah while she was at a party at his house. With the tapes being turned into Hannah's parents and Jessica telling her dad what happened, it is very likely that Bryce was turned into the police, but some are skeptical as his family is very rich and would be able to make the situations "disappear." With this knowledge, many fans wonder what will happen to Bryce when the truth is revealed and will justice be served?
5. What happens to Skye and Clay's relationship?
Skye is a supporting character in the series who used to have a crush on Clay when they were younger, but isn't the biggest fan of him anymore because of how much he has changed. Their relationship grows in the last few episodes as Clay relies on her often for support and to just talk to someone, with the last episode showing Clay asking Skye if she would want to hang out with him, as they leave school and she agrees. This left many viewers wondering if Clay and Skye would ever be a couple and what could come of their relationship.
6. Why did Hannah trust Tony so much?
Tony is a main character who is one of Clay's only friends and is shown as the main support system for everyone on the tapes and Hannah's parents. There are a few scenes where he interacts with Hannah, such as giving her the cassette tape recorder, but that is about it. It is known that Hannah instructed Tony to give the tapes out and make sure her rules are followed, even though he is not on the tapes. Maybe she knows how close he is to Clay and that he can protect her, or maybe they used to be good friends, but the truth is never revealed and leaves many viewers wondering why Hannah trusted Tony so much.
7. What does Mr. Porter do with the tapes?
Mr. Porter is the school counselor, who attempts to discover the truth behind Hannah's death and why exactly it occurred and wasn't prevented. Throughout the series, it becomes implied that Mr. Porter was trying to save his own reputation rather than really trying to see why Hannah committed suicide and the fact that he told her to "get over her rape and learn to live with it." This is why he was #13 on the tapes and Clay gave them to him, making fans wonder if he would have turned them in or destroyed them to once again save his own reputation.
8. Why did Jeff have to die?
Jeff is a very well-like student, classmate, and character by many in the book, show and viewers. He is known to be a good friend to Clay, as Clay was his tutor, and began to look out for him as a friend, especially giving him dating advice. He was the one person in Clay's life who told him to be himself and to go after who he loved, which was Hannah. He died tragically in a car crash that was the cause of another person on the tapes, which will be explained later. His death left many fans heartbroken as he was one of the nicest and most genuine characters on the show.
9. What happened to Sheri after she went to the cops?
Sheri was a friend, but mostly acquaintance with Hannah and later showed to be a love interest of Clay. It is shown that she was at Jessica's party and offers to drive Hannah home after seeing that she is upset and was going to walk home in the rain. While they are driving back to Sheri's house, she takes her eyes off of the road for a second and hits a stop sign, knocking it over. Hannah is angry that Sheri just wants to leave the sign and not report it to the cops, as she knows this can cause an accident if it is not fixed soon. Sheri leaves the scene and Hannah runs to a gas station to calls the cops to report it and discovers that the accident had already been reported and that it was Jeff who was involved in the accident, and later passed away, causing Hannah to think his death would no have happened if they had reported it right away.Sheri is seen in the last episodes going to the cops and turning herself in, leaving fans wondering what her repercussions will be for committing this crime.
10. Does Clay's mom drop the case?
A big controversy in the entire show is the fact that Clay's mom is the defense attorney for the school, meaning that she is going against Hannah Baker's parents in the lawsuit. Once she finds out that Clay was very close to Hannah, she begins to doubt her ability to go against Hannah's parents. While the students on the tapes are brought in for questioning, it is revealed to Clay's mom that Clay was on the tapes and was one of the reasons that Hannah committed suicide, leaving viewers to believe that she may not be able to defend the school unbiased anymore.
11. Does Jessica forgive Justin?
In the tapes, Hannah reveals that Bryce raped Jessica at her party. At first, Jessica does not believe this because Justin tells her that it was false and that he would never allow that to happen to her. Justin later tells Jessica the truth due to pressuring to do so from Clay and the fact that she has been hanging out with Bryce a lot. Justin explains to Jessica that he was trying to protect her, which she doesn't believe since she knows he was defending Bryce. The final episode shows Jessica telling Justin that she never wanted to see him again. Leaving viewers wondering if they will stay a couple or not.
12. Are the tapes released to the public?
The tapes are shown to be given to Hannah's parents and Mr. Porter in the finale, but it is not shown what either does with the tapes and if they are given to the cops to be used in the case, or if they are kept a secret.
13. Does Courtney come out?
Courtney is a main character on the show who used to be good friends with Hannah, until a picture of them kissing surfaces, taken by Tyler, and Courtney begins to ignore Hannah because she is fearful that her reputation will be ruined by people knowing that she is lesbian. This thought process does not make sense to many viewers, as she has two gay dads, but continues to blame Hannah for the entire situation. As the tapes are able to be surfaced, many viewers are beginning to wonder if she will finally be her true self.
This show and book are full of raw emotions that are often seen as taboo in society. Though I can see both the positives and negatives of this show, I believe that the warning signs of a possible suicide should be taken more seriously and that it is not something to be joked about. Rememeber that having a bad day does not mean that you have a bad life, just stay positive and try looking past all of the negatives and remember each day is a new day to do brilliant things.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
