13 Reasons Why: We Need to Talk About That Ending

While Jay Asher's 2007 novel ends with Clay (Dylan Minnette) quietly passing on the tapes to the next person on Hannah's (Katherine Langford) list and reaching out to his depressed classmate Skye (Sosie Bacon), Netflix opted for a much more dramatic conclusion.

Hannah does give life one last try after recording Tape 12, which detailed her assault, when she approaches her guidance counselor Mr. Porter (Derek Luke) about her rape, depression and suicidal thoughts.

In the counselor's office, Clay badgers Mr. Porter about how he mishandled the situation when Hannah came to him after the assault and insists that it's now up to Mr. Porter to decide what to do with the tapes, which contain more than enough evidence for an arrest warrant for Bryce.

[...] rather than end the series by focusing on Hannah's or Jessica's wants and needs, this plan becomes a way for Clay to feel like he's accomplishing something profound in Hannah's honor, that he's found a way to make things better for people in her situation -- when really, what he's doing is making himself feel better.

Presenting the idea that Bryce taking responsibility for being a rapist is a potential way to get closure or justice for the tragedy of Hannah's death is a false equivalence that runs counterintuitive to the series' whole message: that the reasons someone commits suicide are complicated, varied, and often hard to understand from an outside perspective.

While Clay's decision to reach out to Skye in the finale is influenced by him recognizing the signs of depression and wanting to help her avoid a fate similar to Hannah's, the Alex reveal is a reminder that it's not always that simple, that even knowing the signs -- ones that were blatantly clear in Alex, upon reflection -- you still can never truly know what is going on in someone else's mind.

Even Clay, the show's good guy hero who clearly thinks he's learned when he reaches out to Skye, was the one who se