8 Burning Questions We’d Like to See Answered in ’13 Reasons Why’ Season 2
Note: This article contains spoilers for Season 1 of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. Proceed at your own risk if you have not watched the episodes.
The last time we saw the cast of characters from the new Netflix hit series 13 Reasons Why, some questions were answered while more were created. On Sunday, it was announced that the show will return for a second season, but where will it lead fans? Since the show is based off of a single book of the same title by Jay Asher, there isn’t much to know about where the story will go from the last episode. With so many loose ends we’re dying to know what will happen next, so here are a few questions that we hope will be answered in the next season.
1. Will Alex Survive?
Towards the end of the last episode, it is reported that Alex (Miles Heizer) had supposedly attempted suicide by a shot to the head. Yet everything surrounding his choice is fuzzy. Sure, Alex was one of the only people other than Clay who felt guilty about Hannah, but wouldn’t he want to face the music for his poor choices? When the other students on the tapes were trying to cover themselves, Alex showed little care over the possibility of being caught. We can’t help but hope that this coffee-loving hipster will pull through, because his genuine guilt makes him one of the likable characters, and because suicide should never be an option.
2. Where did Justin go?
After being thrown out of the apartment he lived in with his mother and her boyfriend, we see Justin (Brandon Flynn) with a money/gun-filled duffel bag slung across his shoulder as he tells Bryce (Justin Prentice) that he won’t see him for a while. After heading down a shadowy alley we can’t help but wonder if Justin’s words for Bryce are in reference to the possible arrest that Bryce faces, or if he’s just skipping town to fend for himself. It is an utter mystery that we’d love to learn more about, and without the support of his “girlfriend” Jessica, Justin is a tightly wound rubber band in danger of snapping.
3. Is Bryce going to jail?
In the penultimate episode, it all comes down to the climatic standoff between Clay (Dylan Minnette) and Bryce that gives the case behind Hannah’s death fuel. The last tape in the series is Bryce’s confession that he raped Hannah, and while we’re not sure about the statute of limitations, his words should be enough to seal his fate. Quite honestly, this is one of the most frustrating parts of the first season’s ending—we never see if Bryce pays for what he did, and we can only assume that he will eventually. Yet the idea of this being depicted in the second season would be extremely satisfying.
4. Will Hannah still be a part of the show?
Of course, we all know that the show is centered around Hannah’s (Katherine Langford) suicide, but with the renewal announcement, and the popularity of her character, could she possibly return for the next season? Maybe she could be used as a subconscious image conjured from Clay’s mind. Hannah’s return would be important and could continue to be utilized in different flashback scenes. Either way, we want this talented newcomer to grace our Netflix queues once more.
5. Where will Season 2 pick up from?
Taking into consideration the use of characters like Hannah, could the next season be picking up where the first one left off, or will other avenues be explored? A jump in time would be an interesting take, and a juxtaposition of time would create a big shock factor. Another possibility would be an alternate universe, one where Hannah doesn’t kill herself. This would also provide an interesting opportunity to see how life can get better if she got the help she needed, especially from Mr. Porter (Derek Luke), who did not seem to grasp the reality of her situation.
6. Will Clay still be the “main character?”
It is no secret that Clay was at the center of this show, aside from Hannah herself. Now that he has solved the mystery behind the tapes, and caught Bryce’s confession, what more is there to know about the boy referred to as “helmet?” Of course, we love Clay, but it would be interesting to see if the next season was more centrally focused on a different character.
7. Is Jessica going to get help?
From the beginning of the series, it’s pretty obvious that Jessica is in denial over the fact that she was raped. Sure, Justin tried to convince her that it never happened, but her drinking habits and erratic moods imply her disbelief in the lie. At the end of the first season, we see Jessica opening up to her dad, the conversation is just beginning, and then the scene cuts away to something else. It would be nice to see a healthier Jessica, because she is clearly headed down a bad road otherwise, if she doesn’t get help.
8. Will we find out the mystery of Hannah’s letter to Zach?
This is just one of the many discrepancies in the story that boggles our minds. When Hannah was creating Zach’s (Ross Butler) tape, she mentions a note that she wrote to him. In the note, she demanded to know why he had been stealing her notes out of the compliment bag, and she says that he tossed the confrontational letter aside. Yet later on, when Clay asks Zach about the letter, he pulls it out of his wallet, which could only be possible if Hannah lied, or if Zach created a duplicate to throw suspicions of his involvement aside. We still can’t determine which of these is the truth, but maybe Season 2 will shed some light for us.
13 Reasons Why Season 1 is available on Netflix.
