'13 Reasons Why' Season 4 Ending Explained: Why did Hannah return to Clay?
This article contains major spoilers
The end of '13 Reasons Why' answers almost every question through Winston Williams' (Deaken Bluman) struggle to seek justice for Monty de la Cruz (Timothy Granadero). After Monty died in prison, Winston moves to Liberty High and tries to bring Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) and his friends to confess. While his plan doesn't succeed, the group of friends bound by tragedy fall prey to yet another giant loss: Justin Foley (Brandon Flynn) dies of AIDS. But even with the last two seasons focusing on Hannah Baker's (Katherine Langford) rapist, Bryce Walker (Justin Prentice), his imminent murder at the hands of Alex Standall (Miles Heizer) and subsequent framing of Monty, the story once again goes back to Hannah in the end. Why? Simply because Clay is the narrator.
The story had begun with Hannah's constant bullying, rape, and eventual suicide. We saw Clay, out of an innate sense of love and wishful thinking, fight for justice day and night as he learned of Hannah's tragedy through the titular tapes she left behind. In season 2, Bryce was finally exposed for raping not just Hannah, but also Jessica Davis (Alisha Boe) in an unconscious state, among several other girls. Yet Bryce served just a few months on probation, even though it was at this time that Hannah's truth allowed Clay to finally let go of her, and her story also concluded at that point. Since then, the story became about Bryce in season 3 - the premise being his murder, and the plot exploring how he was out to redeem himself, until Alex's anger at what he had done to his close friends consumed him, and he made Bryce drown in a waterbody.
The fact that season 3's narrator was Bryce's housekeeper's daughter Ani Achola (Grace Saif), made the third season all about Ani defending Bryce as his former lover. The same tone is heavy in season 4's Winston, as he proudly proclaims how he just knew Monty and loved him for who he was, even though he had raped classmate Tyler Down (Devin Druid) with a mop in the school bathroom.
But when not focusing on Winston's minimal attempts at justice for Monty, it's all about Clay as the narrator once again. And of course, he is yet to forgive Hannah for hurting him all those years ago, making her tragedy all about himself once again. True we are living in Clay's world, but for him to still not be able to let go of the fact that he wasn't the first choice, neither the last, of a girl he has been obsessed with from day one, is the only thing that ties Hannah to a story that isn't even about her anymore.
Hannah returns to the story in fond remembrance - her classmates speaking off her in a tone of wistful longing like she is a messiah that made them actually start listening to each other again. But for Clay, receiving Hannah's original set of tapes from her mother at the end, while coping with the loss of his adopted brother is what finally causes him to snap. True, as Bryce puts it, none of this would have happened if he hadn't raped Hannah, there's no forgetting that none of it would have escalated to him raping her, had it not been for Justin showing the whole football team a picture of Hannah's exposed underwear. Wherever you go, Hannah is tied to every string, pulling them all together.
So for Clay to stop exploding into anger, he had to face that it all boiled down to Hannah, even if his fight isn't for her anymore. He had to face that before hallucinating Bryce, or Monty, or even Justin now, it was Hannah's thoughts he was plagued by. And maybe, instead of just 'thinking' he was in love with her, Clay was in love with Hannah. And the story, even though not hers anymore, never stopped revolving around her.
'13 Reasons Why' season 4 is now available for streaming on Netflix.
