The upcoming season 2 of 13 Reasons Why promises to reveal even more secrets that the students of Liberty High are keeping under lock and key. However, weeks before 13 Reasons Why's season 2 release date on May 18, show creator Brian Yorkey is clearing up one of the freshman season's biggest lingering mysteries. Did Tyler (Devin Druid) shoot Alex (Miles Heizer)?
At the end of season 1 of 13 Reasons Why, we learn that Alex had shot himself in the head and was in critical condition. There were many signs that Alex was dealing with guilt over the death of his friend Hannah (Katherine Langford) which seemingly led to suicidal ideation. However, some fans thought that Alex did not attempt to take his own life, and that, instead, it was the bullied Tyler — who was seen with an arsenal of weapons at the end of season 1 — who shot his classmate.
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Tyler was one of Hannah's "reasons why," but did not fit in with the others in the group. He was bullied relentlessly, and, at the end of the season, was shown putting up pictures of the classmates who were cruel to him, implying that he might have a hit list of sorts. Alex's photo was the one that Tyler took down first. You could interpret the scene in two ways: That Tyler took down the photo because Alex had stood up for him against another bully... or that Tyler removed the picture because he was going after Alex first.
Chilling? Definitely. Show creator Yorkey, however, is finally confirming Alex's fate, and it implies that Tyler is not a murderer. Yorkey told The Hollywood Reporter:
"Alex Standal attempted suicide at the end of season 1 and that continues to be very much a part of the story, but there's no new scene of suicide. That's not the story we’re telling. And that’s a tiny bit of a spoiler, but not really."
We don't know if Alex survives to see season 2, but Tyler is not to blame for what happened in this situation. In a way, there's something hopeful about that: Perhaps Alex standing up for Tyler allowed him to see the good in his classmates, and stopped him from committing further violence.
We'll have to wait until the show debuts on May 18 to find out more about these two characters, but the information certainly paints the two of them in different lights.
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If you are thinking about suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Suicide Crisis Line at 1-800-784-2433.
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