13 Reasons Why Season 2 Finale Explained

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for 13 Reasons Why season 2. Graphic descriptions of sexual assault

13 Reasons Why season 2 was never going to be an easy watch, but no one was quite ready for just how harrowing the ending was going to be. We knew an ongoing court case from the Baker family would force old wounds to be reopened, and we also knew Jessica coming to terms with her rape ordeal would be tough to see played out on screen. In a finale that finally moved away from Hannah's story, which has been exhausted, we were instead given a deeply disturbing and upsetting season finale that profoundly echoed real-life events taking place at the exact same time that 13 Reasons Why season 2 was released.

13 Reasons Why season 1 ended with the reveal that Tyler possesses a massive stash of guns. The scene looked set for some kind of mass shooting to take place, but when 13 Reasons Why season 2 opened, there was absolutely no mention of this. Instead, Tyler was the first witness to take the stand in the court case that Hannah's parents have brought against Liberty High. We heard his tale of how kids get treated at the school, the vast amount of bullying that takes place, and how Hannah had been kind to him initially. What of the guns, though? It seemed as though showrunner Brian Yorkey had decided to ignore that scene altogether, given the current volatile political climate regarding gun laws in the U.S.. As it turned out, that wasn't the case at all.

This Page: Tyler's Season 2 Storyline
Page 2: Montgomery's Attack and Tyler's Response

Everyone Was Rooting For Tyler

Devin Druid managed to make Tyler Down someone whom the viewers rooted for throughout season 2. This wasn't an easy task. The depiction of his behavior in season 1 made him come across as a socially awkward teenager who got off on stalking teenage girls. As the focus of the first episode in season 2, Druid then had the opportunity to present another side to Tyler, and he did so perfectly. We learned why he enjoys photography, how he views the world, and we also got a glimpse into his home life. Tyler remains socially awkward throughout 13 Reasons Why season 2, but when he meets Cyrus (Bryce Cass) and Mackenzie (Chelsea Alden), we rejoice. It's so good to see Tyler making friends, and being accepted into a peer group for who he is. Although he's still endlessly tormented by Montgomery (Timothy Granaderos), having friends seems to make Tyler a much happier person, which makes the season finale all the more shocking.

The Gun Use Slowly Escalated

Reveling in his newfound friendships, and bolstered by his crush on Mackenzie, Tyler started small: planting a paint bomb in the parking lot which Marcus discovered, and defacing the other boy's car. Cyrus found this funny, and when Tyler takes him into the woods to fire guns, he goes along with it, genuinely seeming to enjoy the power of holding a weapon. The pair fire at tins at first, but later in the season, when Tyler successfully blackmails Marcus, he shoots a crow. He also takes Clay out to the woods for shooting practice, and it's apparent that Tyler's obsession with guns is spiraling out of control. After admitting it was him who vandalized the baseball field, Tyler is sent away to a reform program. As Mr. Porter is fired, he hands over a bunch of files, warning that unless the school takes some action, there will be more cases like Hannah. Tyler's file is on top.

Other Characters Are Getting Closure

The finale of 13 Reasons Why season 2 lulls us into a false sense of security at first. Bryce is found guilty of rape, and though his three months probation sentence is an absolute joke, Jessica does clearly state that she feels stronger for having come forward. Hannah's mom decides to go to New York to live her daughter's dreams, Courtney has noticed a cute girl, and Justin looks set to become a permanent member of Clay's family. At Hannah's memorial service, Clay delivers his eulogy and finally gets rid of Hannah's ghost. So far, so good. There are elements set up to explore further in a possible season 3, but for now, life looks a little brighter at Liberty High, so surely it follows that Tyler will be back on form?

Page 2: Montgomery's Attack and Tyler's Response

Montgomery's Actions Were The Trigger

Tyler returns from the program feeling much better. Although at first we're unclear if it's genuine, pretty soon it becomes obvious that he's at least making the effort, and it looks like he could be reformed after all. As the court case is drawing to a close, and Clay is finally letting go of Hannah, it seems as though everything might turn out okay. However, no one had accounted for Montgomery.

A bully for the entirety of seasons 1 and 2, Montgomery's actions have been getting steadily more vile, and Tyler is a particular target. In the finale of 13 Reasons Why season 2, we see Monty corner him in the boy's bathroom. He beats Tyler badly, brutally dunks him in and out of the toilet bowl, and then brutally sodomizes him with a broom handle several times over, leaving him bleeding out onto the floor. It's a shocking, harrowing and deeply upsetting scene to watch. Tyler is left bleeding from his backside for long after the attack, and Monty's attack sets Tyler back on the fateful course that seemed to be hinted at during season 1.

Art Mirrors Life

Despondent, rejected, angry, and feeling as though everything is futile, Tyler packs his car full of guns and heads to Liberty High's Spring Fling dance, with only one disturbing and violent intention in mind. He wants the ultimate revenge - not only on Montgomery, but also on all the innocent students attending the dance. Before he gets out of the car, he texts Mackenzie to tell her of his intentions, possibly as a covert cry for help. Could it be that Tyler never intended to carry out the shooting? Mackenzie gets word to Clay, Jessica and Justin and - in keeping with many of the stupid decisions he's made during 13 Reasons Why season 2 - Clay tries to talk Tyler down rather than alerting and evacuating the whole school.

Although it's clearly not the sensible thing to do, it's pretty hard not to get emotional as it all plays out, with Clay telling Tyler "I don't want you to die." As Tyler falters, it is left to Clay to deliver the most poignant lines, made all the more powerful knowing that the day season 2 was released, 9 students and a teacher were killed in a school shooting in Texas.

“If you really think this’ll change a goddamn thing and not just be another f**king tragedy adults cry about for a week and then forget. If you really think this is going to be different, then do what you gotta do.”

Tony pulls up, Tyler is bundled into his car and driven away just as the cops arrive, leaving Clay holding an assault rifle, with Jessica and Justin by his side.

Was It Meant To Be This Way?

13 Reasons Why does not depict a school shooting; rather, it focuses on the steady build up of events that lead Tyler to make this decision. His text to Mackenzie gives the impression that although he had set everything up for a mass shooting, he never intended to carry it out. However, that might not have initially been the case. Before the release of season 2, rumors were circulating that the show needed to re-edit certain scenes in order to remove a school shooting scene. While everyone assumed this was following on from Tyler's scene at the end of season 1, it now seems as though maybe the show had filmed a shooting for the season 2 finale, but in light of the Florida shooting, they changed the ending. 13 Reasons Why season 2's release, sadly, could not have been more timely.