How will 13 Reasons Why end? The best fan theories as the fourth and final series comes to Netflix

Warning: Season three spoilers below!
Helena Rose8 June 2020

Every season of 13 Reasons Why so far has been packed with unexpected and shocking twists, so viewers can bet the ending of the final season will be the same.

After three years of covering up some very serious crimes, fans have plenty of guesses about what might be in store next for the teens at Liberty High.

In some ways season three left us with more questions than answers, with lies, close-calls with the police, and messed-up love lives.

In short: Bryce was beat up by Zach, then murdered by Alex. Jessica watched it happen. Tyler revealed Monty raped him, and Monty was sent to prison where he was murdered in his cell.

David Moir/Netflix

The gang, encouraged by Clay, pinned Bryce's murder on Monty. Alex confessed to his policeman father, but his father burned evidence to protect him.

However, fellow student Winston knew the truth - Monty couldn't have killed Bryce as he was having sex with him at the time of the murder.

The major cliffhanger came as the final scenes saw fishermen come across the assault weapons that Tyler was planning to use in his aborted mass shooting.

(David Moir/Netflix)
Netflix

As the trailer for season four dropped, it revealed the crew who framed Monty for Bryce’s murder would have to face the music.

It looks like Winston, Monty’s alibi on the night in question, is after justice for his dead lover, and Clay’s secrets and lies are coming back to haunt him.

With speculation at an all-time high, here’s what fans of the show think might happen in the final season:

Monty isn’t dead

David Moir/Netflix

In the third season, we didn’t actually see the death of Monty on-screen - the group only learned he had died after a local drug dealer told Justin and Ani he saw Monty being killed in his jail cell.

Viewers on Twitter found Monty's off-screen murder suspicious, especially as 13 Reasons Why has never shied away from showing gory events on screen.

Because of all this, some fans still think he could be secretly alive and will make his surprising return in the final season.

Bryce left 13 tapes

David Moir / Netflix

If this fan theory is true, it would bring the show full-circle and throw back to the original premise of Hannah leaving tapes behind.

This theory is made even more likely, considering Bryce did leave one tape - a final confession he handed to Jessica detailing his past crimes, confessing to raping her, and describing his guilt.

Tyler goes to prison

David Moir/Netflix

A fisherman found Tyler's guns in the river at the end of the third season, which could cause some troubles for the character.

If the authorities realise Tyler planned to commit a school shooting, whether it was a false alarm or not, there could be some serious ramifications for him - and his friends who helped cover his tracks.

Justin will die

David Moir/Netflix

13 Reasons Why aren’t averse to killing off fan favourites, which would put Justin in prime position.

Fans on Reddit are predicting the character’s untimely death, pinned to his addiction problems.

This twist might have been foreshadowed as far back as Season 1, when Justin and Jessica dressed up as Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen at the school dance, and Clay reminded them of how their story ends (with both of them dead).

Plus, in a picture posted to 13 Reason Why’s official instagram page, Justin calls Jessica ‘Nancy’ and signs off ‘Sid’… could this be the end for one or both of them?

Clay will have a psychotic breakdown

David Moir/Netflix

This isn’t so much a theory as an inevitability, with Clay probably having the roughest ride on the entire show.

The season 4 trailer shows Clay in therapy for his mental health issues, having hallucinations of himself in prison, and being haunted by the ‘ghosts’ of Bryce and Monty.

Zach will die

David Moir/Netflix

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Brian Yorkey teased that Zach's Season 4 storyline is "really interesting" and goes to places that he had not expected.

Naturally, the fandom have decided this means an untimely death because… well, it’s 13 Reasons Why.

The graffiti is meant to expose Alex and Zach

Netflix

The season 4 trailer shows some very mysterious graffiti messages, starting with the words "Monty was framed" spray-painted in giant letters in the Liberty High hallway.

But it also shows a symbol appearing multiple times, which looks like a V with an arrow through the centre. The first impression is that the symbol points to Bryce's true killers, as the symbol could be the combination of an ‘A’ and a ‘Z’.

Does the graffiti artist knows Alex and Zach are the two people most responsible for Bryce's death?

The fourth season of 13 Reasons Why comes to Netflix on Friday, June 5

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