Since its' release date on March 31st, the Netflix original series, "13 Reasons Why" has blown up! And, unless you've been living under a rock, chances are you've heard about it. Hopefully you've watched it by now, and if you haven't, WARNING : Spoilers ahead! Based off the book by Jay Asher, the show tells the story of 17-year-old Hannah Baker and the people that influence her in her decision to ultimately commit suicide. However, before her final act, she leaves behind a collection of tapes for those very people that explain her reasons and why they are to blame.
The story is brilliantly told and put together, with complex characters, a great soundtrack, and fabulous acting. And while the 13th and final episode of the season seems to tie up Hannah's story, it still leaves you reeling with questions regarding the crazy finale! So, naturally, your mind will begin to wander, and that will lead to the culmination of some equally crazy conspiracy theories. So, let's talk about some of the very best of them..
1) The Butterfly Effect
This theory states that Clay is essentially the one responsible for not only Hannah's death, but Jeff's also. He even says it in the show after he finishes listening to his tape when he and Tony are on top of the hill. Clay left Hannah at Jessica's party, which led to Hannah getting stuck in the room and seeing Bryce rape Jessica, which led to Hannah wanting to leave the party, which led to Sheri offering her a much needed ride home, which led to Sheri knocking down the stop sign, which ultimately led to Jeff dying in the car accident. Everything that happened resulted in something else down the line, and it all seemed to start with Clay. If any one of those things had gone differently, then maybe Jeff or Hannah wouldn't have ended up dead.
2) Wait...who shot Alex?!
Although it's hard to deny that Alex was showing signs of suicide throughout the series, I think it's equally likely that Tyler is the one that shot Alex. And this is a fairly popular theory going around. One of the reasons I believe this to be possible is because we know that the victim of the gunshot wound to the head is a 17-year-old male...and he's in critical condition when we see him in the ambulance! In other words, NOT DEAD YET. As morbid as it is to think about, if Alex truly wanted to kill himself, shooting yourself in the head would be pretty straight forward. I mean, it would be hard to miss when you can aim the gun directly to your temporal lobe. This leads me to think that maybe Tyler was trying to shoot Alex from a distance and didn't get a good shot, resulting in Alex being still alive when on the way to the hospital, instead of DOA.
Other evidence that could support this theory, includes Tyler taking Alex's picture down in the dark room to resemble him ticking his first victim off his hit list. And the fact that we see Tyler has an ample stash of guns and ammo.
3) Tyler has a hit list!
Yes, you read that right, Tyler has a hit list. And, like I mentioned above Tyler also has an ample amount of guns to check people off his list. Although, he definitely wasn't one of my favorite characters, you can probably agree with me, that he was treated pretty horribly by the majority of his peers. So, although, seeking revenge by killing all of the people who bullied him would in no way be justifiable, you can see how it would effect him and where he would be coming from. I think Tyler could go about this in two ways : 1) He could go after each person one by one, and maybe even go as far as to making each death look like a suicide. Or, 2) He is planning a mass school shooting targeting the people who wronged him! We know Tyler has the equipment to do it. However, if this theory were to come to life in a potential season 2, I don't think he would successfully kill more than one or two people, due to the fact that that would be killing off some of the shows' main characters.
4) Someone other than Alex was in the ambulance?!
Did you ever consider that perhaps Alex wasn't the one in the ambulance at all? Maybe he wasn't even the person who got shot? If you look closely at the shot inside the ambulance, you can clearly see that the patient on the gurney has brown hair sticking out from underneath the bandage wrapped around his head. And, we all know Alex has bleach blonde, practically white hair! So, if it wasn't Alex, then who was it? My radar points to Justin. By the end of the season, Justin has lost practically everything he once had. He decides to leave home after his drug addict mother chooses her boyfriend over him, he loses his best friend Bryce after coming to terms with what he did to Jessica, and he loses Jessica, his girlfriend. Before he leaves home, you see him pack up his stuff with a gun and he goes to try to apologize to Jessica, only to be told that she never wants to see him again! Justin is torn apart and probably at the lowest point in his life, which makes me think that he may have used the gun on himself. Additionally, when Justin is talking to Bryce outside the convenience store in the last episode, Bryce says, "So, I'll see yah around," to which Justin replies, "Nah, I don't think you will," which could mean a plethora of things.
Or, an even more twisted theory, is that Justin went after Bryce and shot him, to try to do right by Jessica! And, if you recall, when Justin tried to go apologize to her, he even says, "I'll kill Bryce," in an effort to earn her forgiveness.
5) Mr. Porter does what with this tape?!
Throughout the series, it's made pretty clear that Mr. Porter doesn't want to lose his job! He mentions it multiple times and we even see him discussing it with his wife at home. This makes me think that he would do anything to make sure he keeps it! We never get to hear Mr. Porter finish listening to his tape, or any of the tapes for that matter. But, if Mr. Porter is desperate enough, do you think he would go as far as to throwing his tape away completely? If he were to end up throwing it away, he would unknowingly end up throwing away Bryce's confession to raping Hannah along with it!
How tragic would it be for Bryce to not pay for what he did? It's a good thing Tony has that extra set!
There are sooo many other theories out there! Some have theories within theories. You may even have some of your own, I know I do! Maybe you agree with some of these, maybe you don't. The only way we'll ever get answers to most of these crazy theories, is if there's a season 2! So, in the meantime, binge watch "13 Reasons Why" again, analyze, and cross your fingers for a second season in the near future!
After all, Hannah did say "There are 13 sides to every story.
