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You're going to tell me this one's no big deal but let me tell you about being lonely. Humans are a social species. We rely on connections to survive. Even the most basic social interactions help keep us alive. Statistics prove the subjective feeling of loneliness can increase the likelihood of premature death by 26%. If it sounds like I'm quoting from a school textbook, I am. Too bad nobody bothered to read it. And let me tell you there's all kinds of ways to feel lonely.
— {{{SaidBy}}}, in "[[{{{Episode}}}]]"


Tape 4, Side A is the seventh episode of the first season of 13 Reasons Why. It is the seventh episode of the series overall.

The subject of this tape is Zach Dempsey.

Synopsis[]

Another student sabotages Hannah during a class project. Clay's nightmares over Hannah spill over into the daytime.[1]

Plot[]

Flashback[]

Zach comforts Hannah at Rosie's Diner, after having been groped by Marcus. Zach tells Hannah that he likes her and not just for her "great ass." Hannah reacts badly as she's still not over the whole Alex's "hot" list. Zach tries to apologize but Hannah isn't taking it anymore. Zach goes back to his friends and plans some payback for her dissing him.

Hannah's communications class has set up a "compliment bag." It's this new thing that allows students to anonymously give their classmates positive feedback. When Hannah comes to school the next day, hers is empty. Apparently, Zach has been stealing her compliments as payback. Hannah sets a trap to catch him doing so by planting a depressing letter in her bag for Zach to find. She catches Zach reading it in the hallway. Hannah flips out and screams at him asking why he's picked her to bully. Of course, he doesn't respond.

Hannah puts a note in the class discussion bag asking "what if the only way not to feel bad is to stop feeling anything at all, forever?". Everyone except from Zach, Skye and the teacher determine that the note is probably just someone seeking attention. Hannah could tell Zach knew it was her who had written it, yet he says nothing, letting everyone believe that Skye wrote it because she was the only one to speak up. This causes Hannah to fall deeper into loneliness.

Present day[]

Clay begins to have hallucinations about Hannah that interfere with his life. This leads up to the big basketball game in which Clay has daydreams of him beating up Zach for what he did to Hannah. He tries to hold himself together, until he hallucinates that Hannah is dead in the middle of the court. Clay yells at the players to stop the game before he realizes that Hannah isn't actually there.

Clay decides to carve Hannah's "Why me?" question into the side of Zach's Audi. Zach and his mom come over to Clay's house the next day. They accuse Clay of vandalizing Zach's car. Clay confirms that it was him who did it. Zach and Clay talk about what's on Hannah's seventh tape and about the letter. Zach says that he didn't throw it away and shows that he still carries it in his wallet.

Clay returns Hannah's tapes to Tony. He admits that he's not strong enough and that it's too hard to listen to Hannah anymore. Clay then goes to school in a noticeably happier mood; much to his classmates' confusion. However, his hallucinations continue. Clay realizes even though he doesn't have the tapes, he can't escape his guilt over Hannah's death.

In the classroom, Clay tells his teacher that Hannah was the one who wrote the note in the class discussion. Before his teacher can respond, Clay is pulled out of class by Mr. Porter to give a school tour for the new foreign exchange students. While on the tour, Clay shows the new students Hannah's locker and makes a scene about all the school's new suicide awareness being too late. He is interrupted by Mr. Porter who takes him to the office. Courtney, Sheri, Zach, Jessica, Tony and Justin stand still in a group as he is taken away, Justin questions him before he leaves "New game?"

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]


Quotes[]


The kind of lonely I'm talking about is when you feel you've got nothing left. Nothing and no one. Like you're drowning and no one will throw you a line.
— Hannah Baker


We all need it. Human contact. And communications class, crazy as it was, was human contact for me. Until someone in that class cut my lifeline someone who is known for being sweet. I'll tell you who it is but you're going to have to wait. Just like I did.
— Hannah Baker


You were so sweet, just like Kat said, once upon a time. So sweet, well. Welcome to your tape, Zach. For those of you who aren't Zach, you can relax, for now, at least. As for you Zach, I wonder if you've ever felt what it's like to be lonely.
— Hannah on Zach's tape.


Maybe you don't know what it's like to need a lifeline, Zach. But the day after you insulted me in the cafeteria. My compliment bag was empty, not even a cute bunny, by the end of the second week I knew something was up. Maybe I should have let it go, but I didn't I wrote you a letter. I poured my heart out, opening up about personal things I hadn't had the courage to admit to anyone. How hard life was getting, how lonely I felt and how those stupid compliments, actually meant something to me.
— Hannah on Zach's tape.


Why me, Zach?! Why me?!
— Hannah to Zach after he reads her letter.


Everyone is just so nice until they drive you to kill yourself. And sooner or later, the truth will come out. It's gonna come out.
— Clay Jensen


Skye: "Sticking it to the man, or you know one particular man who's rich enough and fucked up enough to get his asshole son a $60,000 car."
Clay: "Skye what are you– were you at the game?"
Skye: "God no, sculpture studio it's the only time I can get the welding rig away from the shop boys. Were you at the game?"
Clay: "I was"
Skye: "But it was so bad you had to leave before half time."
Clay: "I can't do this anymore, this goddamn school, it's a terrible place."
Skye: "You're just now coming to this realisation, where have you been for the past three years? Oh that's right pining after a pretty dead girl."
―  Skye and Clay after he keys Zach's car



Trivia[]

  • Zach is the one taking Hannah's compliments, so she leaves him a letter to find.
  • Hannah stated on the tapes that Zach threw her letter away, however when confronted by Clay he revealed that he kept the letter.

Multimedia[]

Soundtrack[]

Song Artist Album Scene
Intro Song: "Oh In This World Of Dread, Carry On (13RY Edit)" by Eskmo.
The Stranger Actor St. Vincent present day: Hannah talks about loneliness; Clay's parents have breakfast.
The Great Longing Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing Lost Under Heaven flashback: Zach and Hannah sit at the diner table.
That Thing You Do That Thing That You Do - Superpop (Compilation)[2] present day: start of the basketball game.
Huntress Sväva Sväva present day: Jessica drives Justin as they talk
The Walls Came Down Modern Romans The Call present day: Clay becomes angry in the hallway, while giving the foreign exchange students a tour of the school, over the fact that the students drove Hannah to kill herself; credits

Images[]

See also[]


References[]

  1. Official Netflix Synopsis of Tape 4, Side A
  2. Extreme Music (extrememusic.com) – "That Thing That You Do [XSP023]" (Retrieved February 5, 2019)
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