‘13 Reasons Why’ Fans Are Reeling From That Major Death In The Series Finale

Every season of 13 Reasons Why packs an emotional punch, but the teen drama outdid itself for its series finale. The very beginning of the fourth and final season teased a main character would end up dead, and viewers finally learned who met their end in the show's feature-length final episode. Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from the series finale of 13 Reasons Why. These tweets about Justin's death on 13 Reasons Why emphasize just how deeply affected the whole fandom was by the surprising, mournful ending.

13 Reasons Why has become known for shocking its fans by killing off its main characters in especially grim ways, and Season 4 immediately signaled one more beloved Liberty High student would die before the series' end. The final season began with a time jump to a funeral taking place around the time of graduation, six months ahead of where the season's story would kick off. The brief flash-forward showed a minister delivering a eulogy for a Liberty High senior, without revealing the identity of the deceased. The scene cast an ominous shadow over the entire season, until the series finale revealed Justin Foley was the show's final victim.

Although Justin seemed to be doing well at the beginning of Season 4, fresh out of rehab with his focus squarely on his sobriety and his future, he relapsed after finding out his mom had died. After one last dance with Jessica, Justin collapsed at prom and a doctor revealed to Clay and his parents that Justin had contracted HIV which had advanced to AIDS during his time without a home. After saying goodbye to all his friends, Justin died on his hospital bed.

The rest of the finale episode saw the Liberty High seniors attending Justin's funeral and graduating high school without him. Clay got to have a particularly poignant moment with the memory of his adopted brother after discovering Justin's college admissions essay was written about how Clay was the positive influence in his life.

TBH, it was difficult to watch the finale through the tears, and viewers took to Twitter to express all their emotions over Justin's death.

The most prominent responses to the finale pointed out how emotional Clay reading Justin's essay way, while fans also asserted that Justin deserved a better ending after struggling to improve himself throughout the show's run. The one thing everyone seemed to agree on, though, was that Justin was a bright spot in the final season, and his death was absolutely heartbreaking for everyone watching.