| “ | You've heard of the butterfly effect, right? That if a butterfly flaps its wings at just the right time in just the right place. It can cause a hurricane thousands of miles away. It's chaos theory. But, see, chaos theory isn't exactly about chaos. It's about how a tiny change in a big system can affect everything. Chaos theory. Sounds dramatic, but it's not. Ask a mathematician. Better yet, ask someone who's been in a hurricane. | ” |
Tape 2, Side A is the third episode of the first season of 13 Reasons Why. It is the third episode of the series overall. This episode and side of the second tape is about Alex Standall.
Synopsis
Jealousy and gossip take a toll on Hannah's relationships. As Alex struggles with feelings of regret, the guys pressure Clay into getting drunk.
Plot
Flashback
Hannah and Clay sit on top of the movie theater they work at and stargaze.
Because of the "Hot List," Hannah gets assaulted daily as guys start to grab her, make lewd comments, and take pictures. This is all just a game to them but it's one that Bryce takes too far. Hannah is at the local liquor store purchasing a candy when she runs into Bryce. He offers to buy her the candy bar. As he's handing Hannah the candy, he reaches over and grabs her ass. He smugly says that Alex appropriately gave her the title of "best ass." Hannah doesn't move as Bryce leaves. Once she's sure that he's gone Hannah begins to cry and quickly leaves the liquor store.
Present day
Alex is not taking Hannah's suicide too well and blames himself for her death. He's listened to the tapes twice and knows that what he did was wrong. By making the list, Alex gave the rest of the school the ammo to sexualize Hannah. He admits that he only gave her the "hot ass" award was to get back at Jessica for refusing to have sex with him.
Olivia still can't seem to find a reason why Hannah killed herself. She goes to the Principal and asks if he noticed anything different about Hannah. How she acted in school. The Principal refuses to talk to her since she's brought a lawsuit against the school. Olivia goes into the girl's bathroom and finds graffiti about Hannah. She comes to the conclusion that Hannah was being bullied and that's all the evidence she needs. Olivia arrives at Hannah's memorial while Courtney is there, Courtney lies and tells her that everyone loved her, Olivia dismisses this, while looking at roses and tells her that anyone who knew Hannah knew she didn't like roses, she thought they were cliché.
The principal, Gary Bolan and the counselor, Kevin Porter, are talking about the lawsuit, the principal asks the counselor if Hannah ever came to him for help. He dismisses this, the principal leaves and he pulls out a journal calendar, he takes out a page, the date is shown to be October 10, 2017, we don't know it yet but this is the day Hannah tries to get help about what is going on and what had happened to her, but ultimately kills herself. It seems that he took the page out because he made a mistake and didn't see the signs which will cause the school and him a lot of trouble.
Clay uses the map and goes to visit the liquor store where Bryce grabbed Hannah's butt. He runs into Bryce who is purchasing alcohol for him and his friends. They convince Clay to drink with them and he has a chugging contest against Alex, which, he wins. Tony watches this happen, after finishing, Clay walks up to him, Tony still refuses to tell Clay what is going on, Tony gets in his car and drives off, Clay gets on his bike and follows him, only to see him beat up someone. He rides home, and has dinner with his parents but ends up throwing up on the dinner table.
Alex decides to jump into the pool with all his clothes on after coming to the conclusion that his new friends have only made his life miserable.
Cast
Quotes
| “ | I'm cleaning up. What, they think these are gonna save someone's life? "Suicide's not an option"? Yeah, you know what? Clearly it is an option, you know? Why don't they put up a poster that says "Don't be a dick"? Why don't we put up that poster? | ” |
| — Alex |
| “ | Maybe you think I'm being silly, I'm some stupid girl who gets all worked up over a little thing, but little things matter. For instance, you never told me when you started dating Jessica, but I remember just how it ended: with your list. | ” |
| — Hannah (over the tapes to Alex) |
| “ | You can't imagine the first thing about my life right now | ” |
| — Olivia to Principal Gary Bolan |
Soundtrack
TRAILER SONG: "Game of Survival" by Ruelle.
INTRO SONG: "Oh, In This World Of Dread, Carry On" by Eskmo.
DATE ANNOUNCEMENT SONG: "Monsters" by Ruelle.
| Song | Artist | Album | Scene |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doing It to Death | The Kills | Ash & Ice | present day: At the beginning, Hannah explains the butterfly effect; as Jessica looks for Justin at his Moms' house; Clay sees a mural with the words "You Are Not Alone", he hallucinates to see "You Are Being Watched". |
| Whatever You Want | Cold Showers | Matter of Choice | Clay asks Hannah to watch the lunar eclipse with him. |
| The Only Boy Awake | Meadows | The Only Boy Awake | Hannah and Clay hang out on the rooftop of The Crestmont to watch the eclipse at night. |
| Into The Black | Chromatics | Kill for Love | Guilt and sadness consumes Alex as he falls hopelessly into the pool at Bryces' house. |
| 13 Reasons Why (A Netflix Original Series Soundtrack) | |||
| How It Ends | Great Elk | Star Stuff | Clay grabs coffee at Monet's and chats with Skye |
| Harlem Nocturne | Jazz Band (in series) | N/A | Song band plays in rehearsal |
| Cowards Starve | Prtotomartyr | The Agent Intellect | Clay drinks 40oz of alcohol while with Alex and the jocks, gets into an argument with Tony, and witnesses Tony and his family beat someone up. |
Original Music
| Song | Artist | Album | Scene |
|---|---|---|---|
| Courtney | Eskmo | 13 Reasons Why (A Netflix Original Series Score) | flashback: Hannah narrates losing Jessica and Alex because they were in a relationship as Hannah sees them in the cafeteria laughing and holding hands; Alex and Clay talk. |
| Alex | Eskmo | 13 Reasons Why (A Netflix Original Series Score) | Hannah sees Alex and Jessica in the lunchroom, Alex and Clay talk; Alex and Clay talk in the hallway and Mr. Porter spots them |
| Justin | Eskmo | 13 Reasons Why (A Netflix Original Series Score) | Mr. Porter is speaking with the principal and discusses what Coach Bolan has told him about Justin's home life. |
| From This Height | APM Music | Indie Poppers | Clay is chatting with Alex in Monet's |
| From the Halls of Montezuma | APM Music | Patriotic America | Plays at the beginning of the movie shown in Clay's class |
Images
