’13 Reasons Why’ Creator Addresses Season 2 School Shooting Rumors

13 Reasons Why creator Brian Yorkey is addressing speculation that season 2 will feature a school shooting.

The second season of popular Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why is set to debut on the streaming platform on May 18, and many fans are wondering if character Tyler Down, who was last seen entering Liberty High School with an arsenal of guns, was planning a school shooting after being ostracized by his peers. Series creator Brian Yorkey is now addressing that speculation and what the series is hoping to do with the troubled character.

“With Tyler, we are very interested in trying to understand the mindset of a young man who has been bullied, is suffering from severe social isolation and might be thinking about making a tragic choice in response to those feelings,” Yorkey told USA Today. “Without giving anything away, we’re much more interested in exploring his experience than we are in expressing the worst possible outcome.”

Speculation that Tyler, portrayed by Devin Druid, was planning a school shooting was sparked following his last scenes in the show’s debut season and the character’s arc.

Tyler landed himself on Hannah Baker’s list of 13 reasons for his stalker-like behavior and obsession with Hannah, at one point in the series being shown taking photographs of an unsuspecting Hannah. After Clay learned of Tyler’s obsession, he spread a naked photo of him around the school, leading Tyler to be further ostracized by his peers.

When fans last saw Tyler, it was clear that his story was nowhere near over, as he was entering the school with a backpack full of guns and taking down a photo of Alex, who was later revealed to have been shot. However, it was not known if the gunshot wound was self-inflected or a result of somebody else’s actions.

Given the string of recent school shootings, the possibility that a school shooting would be depicted in 13 Reasons Why‘s sophomore season was deemed highly controversial and even led to speculation that the season 2 premiere had been pushed back in order to edit out a scene depicting a school shooting.

While it is not yet known if the already controversial series will go down that road, a teaser trailer for the new season suggests that the show’s new narrator could be Tyler, who is in Liberty High School’s photography department.

13 Reasons Why season 2 will be available for streaming beginning May 18. Fans can catch up on all episodes of season 1, which are currently available for streaming on Netflix.