Still reeling over the ending of 13 Reasons Why?
Netflix's newest hit ended exactly how it told us it was going to end—with Hannah Baker's suicide—but it also introduced a few new threads in the aftermath of Clay having possession of the tapes.
At the end of the season, Clay (Dylan Minnette) had handed the tapes over to Mr. Porter (Derek Luke), the subject of the 13th side, after recording Bryce's (Justin Prentice) confession of rape on the final blank side. And Tony (Christian Navarro) had copied the tapes onto a USB drive, which he gave to Hannah's (Katherine Langford) parents.
Even if there's not a second season, we could assume that Hannah, and hopefully Jessica (Alisha Boe) as well, will get some justice for what happened to them. However, not every thread was tied up by the end of the season.
In the second to last episode, we saw a glimpse of a 17 year old male gunshot victim in an ambulance, and in the finale, we saw that Tyler (Devin Druid) had several guns and enough ammo to do a lot of damage. And then we learned that Alex (Miles Heizer) had apparently tried to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head, after his father had gotten him out of the deposition.
This combination of developments in the finale sent fans into full conspiracy mode, resulting in a few fan theories that have been making the rounds online since the show's debut. Let's go over them, from the most serious to the most ridiculous!
Theory 1: Tyler shot Alex and framed it to look like a suicide.
We saw Tyler clearly preparing for something big with those guns in his room, and most people assumed the ridiculed photographer was going to take the gun to school. That didn't end up happening in the finale, but we did see him take Alex's picture down from where it was hung up with pictures of all the people involved in Hannah's story.
Instead of planning a school shooting, had Tyler actually started shooting the people who had wronged him and Hannah?
This theory feels somewhat plausible, though Tyler taking Alex's picture down could also mean he didn't think he deserved to die. That would make more sense along with the flashback that showed Alex sticking up for Tyler when he was being bullied.
Plus, when you go back through the entire series, Alex trying to kill himself doesn't feel quite so sudden as it does in the finale. He was clearly completely torn up by what happened to Hannah and the part he and all of his "friends" played in her story. We saw him quit band and constantly wrestle with knowing what was right but not doing what was right, all while trying to live up to his dad's expectations.
And then there's that scene at Bryce's house when Alex threw himself into the pool. He pulled himself up and out of the water eventually, but it definitely looked like he was trying to drown his problems then and there. When you think about it, Alex was always in trouble, and we all missed the signs.
Theory 2: Alex was not the gunshot victim in the ambulance.
We barely get a glimpse of the teen in the ambulance, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, but from what we do see, it looks like he has brown hair. This could just be because a stand in was used, but it could also mean that it wasn't Alex in the ambulance.
Some fans have speculated that Justin was actually in the ambulance, since we saw what a dark place he was in, and that he had access to a gun. That would work if the ambulance scene were a flashforward, which is what it felt like the first time we watched it.
But when you watch it again, the ambulance's lights go past the Jensens' window while Clay's mom is waiting for him to come home, meaning that the person in the ambulance is most likely the only 17 year old male who's not in present day in the finale: Alex. So we're debunking this one.
It seems like fans just don't want to face the fact that Alex tried to kill himself, simply because we didn't see it coming when we definitely should have, which is part of what this entire show is about.
However, we're still very worried about Justin and that gun, especially since he told Bryce he probably wouldn't see him around again. That could either be because he doesn't want to see his rapist friend ever again, or because Bryce is about to go to jail, or because Justin has other plans for himself.
Theory 3: Mr. Porter will get rid of his tape.
The idea is that in order to protect himself and his job (which he's truly terrible at), Mr. Porter will get rid of the final tape, which both incriminates him and contains Bryce's confession. This would make sense for Mr. Porter, but would be kind of pointless in the end, since Tony has the original tapes and already handed the files over to Hannah's parents.
Really, Mr. Porter is just screwed, and we can't feel too bad for him. He messed up.
Theory 4: Tony is a ghost.
This is just our personal feeling and it doesn't actually make a lot of sense, but Tony's a real conundrum of a character. He knows everything about Hannah and was apparently her most trusted friend, since he became the guardian of the tapes, but we only saw them interact a couple of times.
And for supposedly being a normal 17 or 18 year-old kid (who's covered in tattoos), Tony was awfully wise. Remember that time he made Clay climb a mountain (in Converse!) to get over his fear of death or something? That was some serious Obi Wan Kenobi/Mr. Miyagi/Dumbledore nonsense.
We're not suggesting Tony's an actual ghost, but he was just so convenient and so out of place that perhaps he's a guardian angel, there to ensure that Hannah's last request was carried out.
Mark Sloan helped Clay Jensen get ears so he could listen 2 tapes left by Addison Montgomerys daughter #13ReasonsWhypic.twitter.com/SOqydR8Vmg
— ? (@why13reason) April 8, 2017
Theory 5: Grey's Anatomy's Dr. Mark Sloan knew what was up back in 2007.
Clay (Dylan Minnette) guest starred in an episode of Grey's Anatomy in 2007 as a kid who needed new ears…which he would then eventually need in order to listen to the tapes of the daughter of Mrs. Baker (Kate Walsh), who was then going by the name of Addison Montgomery.
Totally plausible, to be honest.
Theory 6: The legal age for getting a tattoo is much lower wherever these kids live.
How else do you explain all these teens covered in ink?!
13 Reasons Why is now streaming on Netflix.