Presumably like many other fans, I finished Season 2 of 13 Reasons Why in a fit of confusion, anxiety, and tears, feeling totally blown away by the ending's massive plot twist. As any show aware of binge-watching's hypnotic power does, the 13 Reasons Why ending left us with plenty of questions for future seasons. Netflix has yet to confirm the show returning for another season, but we've compiled four intense 13 Reasons Why Season 3 theories that already have me crying about all of the story's possibilities.
Season 2 veered in a different direction than Season 1, assigning a new character as a narrator each episode and revisiting Hannah's past from previously unknown perspectives. In my opinion, the result of these new narrative shifts was even more uncertainty about who Hannah was as a person, but after all, we all contain multitudes. 13 Reasons Why fans on Twitter and Reddit have dissected these storylines and why we now think of Hannah the way we do, but they've also concocted some pretty reasonable predictions for Season 3.
Season 2 left us with big questions, specifically about where Tony takes Tyler and whether Clay will be wrongly accused of attempting a school shooting. As always, fans have also come through with ideas about little details that were lost in the finale episode's shuffle. and I can't wait to weigh in on any more theories that appear before Season 3 (hopefully) premieres.
When we last see Tyler in Season 2, Clay talks him down from shooting a gun at the school dance and Tony drives him away in his car. We don't know where Tony takes him or if Clay manages to drop Tyler's gun before the police arrive, but Reddit user PumpkinSpice210 believes that the attempted shooting will still trace back to the MIA Tyler, writing about a possible narration pattern:
In season 3, you could have people being brought in for questioning by the police in regards to where Tyler is. Clay, Jess, Justin, Alex, Tony, Zach, Courtney, Ryan, Cyrus & Mackenzie, Scott, Bryce, his parents and Monty in the “Bryce” role of S3.
The idea of Monty taking on the true villain role in Season 3 definitely intrigues me, and I need to know whether or not he'll receive punishment for sending out threats to testifying students and subsequently sexually assaulting Tyler. Season 2 went out on a limb by linking its narrators to whoever was testifying in court, but the different insight into each character worked so well that a similar theme is bound to repeat next season.
Clay's Season 2 visions of Hannah and obsession with avenging her death stuck out to fans as far more than just loyalty to a friend. In one Reddit thread theorizing about the status of Clay's mental health, viewers have thrown around the possibility of him having PTSD or schizophrenia in addition to venting their frustrations about no characters seeming to catch on to Clay's mental decline throughout the season. Dylan Minnette has even spoken about how "emotionally and physically demanding" the season is for Clay, hinting that he'll definitely need some help next year. User SunnyPixie wrote:
I so, so hope that that were a third season to happen that his wishes (and ours, clearly) gets listened to. I waited ALL season for anyone to confront him about what was happening with him, and nobody did- not even Justin, who spent the most time with him, shared a room with him, had to talk him down from shooting Bryce and himself, and, while trying to talk him out of either of those clearly saw him reacting to something that wasn't there and rambling about "what Hannah wants... can't make her stop".
Go with me on this. As we saw in Season 1, Hannah's shorter hair appears shortly before she committed suicide. Olivia Baker begins Season 2 with a new 'do as well, signifying her new, reinvigorated devotion to finding the truth behind Hannah's death. Tyler also returns to school from his diversion program with a shorter haircut before going on a mission to shoot up the school. Clearly, as Reddit user Guard1anMeme pointed out, crazy things are prone to happen when a character cuts his or her hair.
In Season 2's finale episode, Alex cuts his hair, which shows off the scar from his suicide attempt. Given that Alex has been making slow and steady steps toward a full recovery from shooting himself, the new hair could just be a sign of him making peace with his new lifestyle rather than taking another dark turn. However, I'm definitely keeping my eyes peeled for any new hairstyles in Season 3.
This theory is definitely less likely, but it would be interesting if the show jumps ahead in time for more than just a few months. Imagine if Season 3 picks up when the main characters are adults and possibly have the resources to finally ensure that Bryce receives greater punishment for his deeds. At the end of Season 2, he only receives three months' probation for raping Jessica, but that result could always change if Season 3 explores the immediate aftermath of the trial.
One Twitter user suggests that the story could focus on an entirely different set of rape cases, which definitely wouldn't happen, but seeing how Hannah's death and trial affect the Liberty High students as grown-ups would be a unique concept.
However, high school doesn't last forever, and Season 3 could explore some of the characters graduating and moving on from the town and subsequently Hannah's story. We're not going to pretend that these characters are incapable of aging, right?
If the stories of 13 Reasons Why's production team booking the actual California high school for another season are to be believed, we could see some of these theories come to fruition soon.
