Entertainment
13 Reasons Why released its third season this summer, with a brand new character narrating life at Liberty High as an outsider. The series opted for deposition-style storytelling in Season 3, with most of the events playing out as Ani Achola (Grace Saif) gave a statement to police. As the season continued, it became increasingly clear Ani was hardly a reliable narrator, which was finally confirmed by the shocking reveal in the final episode. Now, 13 Reasons Why theories for Season 4 are already taking over Reddit, thanks to some carefully placed cliffhangers in the Season 3 finale.
Warning: Spoilers for Season 3 of 13 Reasons Why ahead.
The story Ani crafted for the police framed Monty de la Cruz (Timothy Granaderos) for Bryce Walker's (Justin Prentice) death, even as viewers come to realize Alex Standall (Miles Heizer) and Jessica Davis (Alisha Boe) are actually the ones responsible.
In the aftermath, the biggest questions now surround what Winston Williams (Deaken Bluman) will do with the information that Monty was actually with him at the time he was accused of murdering Bryce. And what was the deal with that off-screen death? Is Monty really dead at all? Plus, what will it mean for Tyler Down (Devin Druid), Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette), and Tony Padilla (Christian Navarro) that the guns from Spring Fling were discovered by a fisherman dragging the river? There are a ton of questions laid out for Season 4, and fans have a lot of ideas for how they might be answered.
Bryce Walker Left 13 Tapes
Probably the most popular theory floating around is one submitted by Redditor matthew-onreddit: Bryce Walker actually left 13 tapes and Jessica only has one of them in her possession. While it would bring the series full circle to end with the 13 tapes motif, Season 3 is already getting a lot of flack for how sympathetically it portrayed a serial rapist. Giving Bryce 13 whole tapes to explain his actions feels like an awful lot of attention to be giving him, and it probably wouldn't succeed at being the redemptive arc the show might hope for. (Though as Season 3 proves, the show is not above pitifully flopped redemption plots.)
What's Going To Happen With The Guns?
Arguably the one big cliffhanger Season 3's finale gave us was a fisherman discovering the bag of assault rifles Clay and Tony tossed into the river after successfully thwarting Tyler's school shooting attempt. But what was the point of that scene? As Redditor ThatPackerFan points out, Ani already told the police about what happened at Spring Fling and neither Tyler, Clay, nor Tony were apprehended about it.
I think the person this spells the most trouble for is Tony, who already has two strikes against him, and law enforcement seems to have a vendetta against him for his family's immigrant status, too. Tony and his younger sister are citizens, so he can't be deported. But he can certainly be thrown in prison, which is where it seems like Season 4 might be going.
Winston Becomes A Major Player For What He Knows
At the end of Season 3, it was revealed that Ani lied about Monty killing Bryce, when really, he was off hooking up with Winston. In the season finale, Winston shows up to confront the Liberty kids, and even though he was victimized by Monty, too, he seems intent on clearing his name of Bryce's murder. He provides an ironclad alibi for Monty, but whether he'll be believed or not remains to be seen. Redditor FutureAllStar suspects that Winston will become a huge focus of the show's final season.
Justin Foley Dies
FutureAllStar also suggested Justin (Brandon Flynn) might die in Season 4, and a ton of fans in the thread agreed. Like it or not, it does feel like someone has to die in Season 4, and Justin seems like a natural choice. He's the perfect "unexpected" target, since he's on his way to redemption with the Jensens, having finally asked for help after relapsing. It would be super tragic — yet fitting for this particular show — for such a troubled character to die just as he's found peace.
Monty's Off-Screen Death Is Suspicious
Monty's death came seemingly out of nowhere this season, and the fact that it happened off-screen has fans very suspicious. Redditor PerthIsAlright speculates that his sudden demise, as reported by Deputy Standall, screams Monty's actually in witness protection. But why? For what? The evidence to support that is thin. It seems more likely that the show has already received so much criticism for its gruesome depictions of violence that it simply didn't want to show yet another death on-screen.
Alex Will Eventually Get Busted & Deputy Standall Will Lose His Job
This seems inevitable. Whether because Winston manages to convince police that Monty was actually with him when Bryce was killed, or because some other evidence surfaces, Alex's days seem numbered, as FutureAllStar notes. It also seems like he'd take the fall for Jessica, freeing her from any consequences for standing by and watching him kill Bryce. And finally, there are almost certainly going to be consequences for Deputy Standall (Mark Pellegrino), who goes out of his way to cover up his son's involvement in the murder, once he discovered his hunch was correct.
Everyone Is Off To College
Season 3 ended in the middle of Clay's senior year, so it seems likely that Season 4 will feature graduation. The question is, will viewers see these characters go off to college? Maybe the season will open with graduation and then explore everyone's past coming back to haunt them at college. Or, the final season could play out the rest of senior year and then end with graduation. Or, we could get a brief college epilogue as the finishing touch on the past four seasons, showing everyone on their way to life after Liberty High. My sense is that at least a glimpse of the characters' post-graduation lives will be revealed before the series comes to an end.
Season 3 of 13 Reasons Why is currently streaming on Netflix.