WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers about Season 3 of 13 Reasons Why.
After 13 episodes of finger-pointing, cover-ups, and investigations, Bryce Walker’s (Justin Prentice) killer was finally revealed in the Season 3 finale of 13 Reasons Why.
It turns out Alex (Miles Heizer) was the one who killed Bryce by pushing him into the river at the docks, where he would go on to drown. So how did we get here? Let’s back up.
It all started before the Homecoming game, when Bryce asked Jessica (Alisha Boe) to meet him after because he had something he wanted to give her. A fight broke out out during the game in which Bryce broke Zach’s (Ross Butler) knee out of anger. This led Zach to follow Bryce to the docks after the game was over. The two get into a fight as Zach leaves Bryce with a broken leg and a broken arm, but he stopped short of actually killing him.
Later, Jessica shows up with Alex, who she brought for protection. Bryce gives Jessica a tape, confessing to all of the rapes he’d committed and apologizing for everything he’s done. As the pair were leaving, Bryce asked for some help getting up and getting to a hospital. Alex helps him and as they begin to walk, Bryce threatens to get Zach back and hurt him. Alex is so overcome with rage that he shoves Bryce into the river, letting him drown.
Alex gets away with all of this in the end. How? Well, Tyler (Devin Druid) goes to the police and tells them about Monty (Timothy Granaderos) sexually assaulting him back in Season 2. So Monty is arrested and goes to jail. Off screen, Monty ends up being found dead in his cell, so Jessica and Alex conveniently are able to blame Bryce’s death on him.
However, Alex’s father deputy Deputy Standall (Mark Pellegrino) knows that his son did is actually the one responsible for this. “We found tire tracks consistent with my wife’s car but we were in bed all night,” he said. But wanting to protect his son, he too puts all of the blame on Monty.
Season 3 Notes
- The finale felt like the series finale, and honestly it should have been. Jessica says it best at the end of the season three finale: “We’ve been through so much shit, and I just want something different.” Preach! This show should have wrapped with this finale. What else can happen in Season 4?
- Season three was the worst season by far. When the show first promoted the third season with #WhoKilledBryceWalker, my response was “who cares”? Bryce was an asshole for two seasons — raping girls, doing drugs, and getting away with whatever he wanted all because he was the big school football star. Like everyone else, I didn’t care who killed Bryce because he was a big douchebag.
- Despite me not liking Bryce, he did not deserve to die. Justin Prentice, who plays Bryce, really did a solid job conveying the regret Bryce had.
- Alex getting away with Bryce’s death (at least for now) makes this season feel really pointless. We spent 13 episodes investigating who killed Bryce only for his killer to get away with it? Not really a solid ending.
- Another strike against this season was the constant jumping around; it got to the point where you could not tell what was a flashback or what was present time.
- Ani (Grace Saif) was this season’s narrator and other than having a cool British accent, I felt like she was out of place. She had nothing to do with the events of the first two seasons and I felt they should have had Chloe (Anne Winters) tell this season’s story.
What did you think of the season? Let me know in the comments below!
13 Reasons Why is currently streaming on Netflix.