Porter, seemingly ready to take responsibility for his own failures with Hannah, will likely bring the tapes to the authorities. Porter does take the tapes to the police, but it's clear that the writers definitely wanted to leave viewers with a small sense of hope. The show leaves it open-ended as to whether Mr.
Yet almost immediately after that conversation, the series launches into Clay's plan, which isn't so different from Tyler's and yet is framed as heroic.ġ3 ways 13 Reasons Why broke from the book Alex ( Miles Heizer) and Ryan ( Tommy Dorfman) quickly tear this theory to shreds, calling it out as a cowardly way to hide from their own responsibilities and saying that Bryce isn't the only person who needs to be held accountable.
The season's penultimate episode even pokes holes in this notion, when Tyler (Devin Druid) tells the other people on the tapes that they could use Bryce as a scapegoat since none of their terrible misdeeds can compare to sexual assault.
Presenting the idea that Bryce taking responsibility for being a rapist is a potential way to get closure or justice for the tragedy of Hannah's death is a false equivalence that runs counterintuitive to the series' whole message: that the reasons someone commits suicide are complicated, varied, and often hard to understand from an outside perspective. Not all rape victims are suicidal, and not all suicide victims were raped. So rather than end the series by focusing on Hannah's or Jessica's wants and needs, this plan becomes a way for Clay to feel like he's accomplishing something profound in Hannah's honor, that he's found a way to make things better for people in her situation - when really, what he's doing is making himself feel better. And while she tells Clay not to destroy the tapes and does eventually open up to her father, she never tells Clay to go on this crusade. Still reeling from the revelation that she was raped, Jessica tells Clay she isn't yet ready to let anyone, including her father and the police, know about the assault. To make things worse, Bryce's one known living victim, Jessica, whose voice on this matter should be the most important of all, is barely heard on the subject. And so, while getting Bryce to face his crimes may help prevent future assaults from occurring, the singular focus on this form of "justice" overshadows and simplifies the various reasons and incidents that prompted Hannah to take her own life. Bryce raping Hannah helped push her over the edge, but it isn't why she was depressed or suicidal to begin with. When it comes to an issue as complicated as suicide, there is no easy solution there is no justice. And while getting justice for Hannah is obviously part of what drives Clay's obsession with taking down Bryce, the show never fully explores how hollow this notion is.
Up until that moment, 13 Reasons Why does an excellent job of exploring the nuanced and often contradictory reasons that resulted in Hannah's death. They all failed Hannah, Clay pleads, but this is a way to help make things right. Porter to decide what to do with the tapes, which contain more than enough evidence for an arrest warrant for Bryce. Porter about how he mishandled the situation when Hannah came to him after the assault and insists that it's now up to Mr. In the counselor's office, Clay badgers Mr.
Porter.ġ3 Reasons Why isn't perfect, but it is must-see TV After Clay learns that Bryce raped both Hannah and Jessica ( Alisha Boe), he becomes consumed with a need to make Bryce pay and develops a plan: Rather than pass the tapes on to Bryce, who is next on the list, Clay secretly records Bryce confessing raping Hannah and adds it as the 14th tape in Hannah's collection before giving the tapes to Mr. Porter fails to promise Hannah that Bryce will go to jail and instead tells her to simply "move on" from the assault, a hopeless Hannah proceeds to kill herself that afternoon.īut while the book leaves the fallout from the assault at that, the show takes this storyline and turns it into the driving narrative of the show's final episodes. Porter ( Derek Luke) about her rape, depression and suicidal thoughts. Hannah does give life one last try after recording Tape 12, which detailed her assault, when she approaches her guidance counselor Mr. As Clay and the audience learn on Hannah's 12th tape, she was sexually assaulted by Bryce ( Justin Prentice) on what she calls "the worst day of my life." After that, Hannah decides to set the record straight about her life and begins recording her tapes.